A superorder of New World mammals characterized by the absence of incisors and canines from among their teeth, and comprising the ARMADILLOS and the SLOTHS. The superorder is distinguished from all others by what are known as xenarthrous vertebrae (xenos, strange; arthron, joint): there are secondary, and sometimes even more, articulations between the vertebrae of the lumbar series. The superorder in part was formerly called Edentata. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed; Walker's Mammals of the World, 5th ed, vol. I, p515)
Entry Term(s)
Cingulata
Edentata
Public MeSH Note
2022; see EDENTATA 1963-1997; XENARTHRA 1998-2019; and CINGULATA 2020-2021
A superorder of New World mammals characterized by the absence of incisors and canines from among their teeth, and comprising the ARMADILLOS and the SLOTHS. The superorder is distinguished from all others by what are known as xenarthrous vertebrae (xenos, strange; arthron, joint): there are secondary, and sometimes even more, articulations between the vertebrae of the lumbar series. The superorder in part was formerly called Edentata. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed; Walker's Mammals of the World, 5th ed, vol. I, p515)
