Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

opisthocoelous

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: opistho-coelous
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

2

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

concave behind; applied especially to vertebrae in which the anterior end of the centrum is convex and the posterior concave

Example Sentences

"Specimen 1912VIII64 was opisthocoelous, pleurocoelous, and caudally wider than tall, as in Epachthosaurus and Pellegrinisaurus (15), and may pertain to Paralititan."
"On the basis of the presence of slightly opisthocoelous vertebrae in the Enantiornithes (presumably referring to the anterior dorsals), Kurochkin (3 ) has claimed that the Enantiornithes could not have evolved heterocoelous vertebrae."
"The Mesozoic Lepidosteidae, again, have, at most, biconcave vertebrae, while the existing Lepidosteus has Salamandroid, opisthocoelous, vertebrae."

Etymology

From opistho- + -coelous (“concave”).

Word Breakdown

Prefix: opistho
Suffix: coelous

Synonyms

opisthocoelian

Questions

What does opisthocoelous mean?: concave behind; applied especially to vertebrae in which the anterior end of the centrum is convex and the posterior concave
Where does opisthocoelous come from?: From opistho- + -coelous (“concave”).

How to pronounce opisthocoelous

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