Meanings
- not comparableOf or pertaining to the Desmostylia, an extinct order of marine mammals.
plural desmostylians
- Any member of the Desmostylia.
Herbivores have been the largest bottom-dwelling marine animals since at least the Late Oligocene, with the evolution of desmostylians and the Early Pliocene replacement by large sirenians, and perhaps since the Late Cretaceous if some sea turtles were herbivorous at that time.
2016 January 16, “Gigantism and Its Implications for the History of Life”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI
Origin
- translingualDesmostylia
- Englishdesmostylian
From translingual Desmostylia + -ian.
More words from translingual
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
desmostylian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desmostylian
“desmostylian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desmostylian. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “desmostylian,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desmostylian.
Source: desmostylian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.