SYNAPSID

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does synapsid mean? 

• SYNAPSID (noun)
  The noun SYNAPSID has 1 sense:

1. extinct reptile having a single pair of lateral temporal openings in the skull

  Familiarity information: SYNAPSID used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SYNAPSID (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Extinct reptile having a single pair of lateral temporal openings in the skull

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

synapsid; synapsid reptile

Hypernyms ("synapsid" is a kind of...):

reptile; reptilian (any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia including tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators, crocodiles, and extinct forms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "synapsid"):

protomammal; therapsid (probably warm-blooded; considered direct ancestor of mammals)

ictodosaur (intermediate in form between the therapsids and most primitive true mammals)

pelycosaur (large primitive reptile having a tall spinal sail; of the Permian or late Paleozoic in Europe and North America)

edaphosaurus (heavy-bodied reptile with a dorsal sail or crest; of the late Paleozoic)

dimetrodon (carnivorous dinosaur of the Permian in North America having a crest or dorsal sail)

 Context examples 

Gorgonopsians are part of a larger group of animals called synapsids, which includes modern mammals as its only living member.

(Scientists discover fossil tumor in 255 million-year-old mammal forerunner, NSF)

The earliest non-mammalian synapsids had fewer regions than living mammals.

(What makes a mammal a mammal? Our spine, say scientists, National Science Foundation)