Word Finder - burrowing

definition

To dig a tunnel or hole

definition

(with adverbial of direction) to move underneath or press up against in search of safety or comfort

example

The young girl burrowed into the bed.

definition

(with into) to investigate thoroughly

example

The journalist burrowed into the origins of the mayor's corruption.

definition

The act or result of making a burrow.

The head is very small and not distinct from the neck, a usual feature in burrowing snakes and lizards.

Among the burrowing and tubicolous forms it is not uncommon for the body to be distinguishable into two or more regions; a "thorax," for example, is sharply marked off from an "abdomen" in the Sabellids.

It is of nocturnal and burrowing habits, and feeds on decomposed animal substances, larvae and termites.

The larvae are stout and soft-skinned, with short legs in correlation with their burrowing habit.

The majority are distinguished from snakes by the possession of two pairs of limbs, of external ear-openings and movable eyelids, but since in not a few of the burrowing, snake-shaped lizards these characters give way entirely, it is well-nigh impossible to find a diagnosis which should be absolutely sufficient for the distinction between lizards and snakes.

In the fore feet the web not only fills the interspaces between the toes, but extends considerably beyond the ends of the long, broad and somewhat flattened nails, giving great expanse to the foot when used for swimming, though capable of being folded back on the palm when the animal is burrowing or walking on the land.

About 100 species of these rather archaic snakes are known; in adaptation to their burrowing life and worm and insect diet, they have undergone degradation.

On the other hand, the considerably smaller Nototherium, characterized by its sharp and broad skull and smaller incisors, seems to have been much more wombat-like, and may perhaps have possessed similar burrowing habits.

Meerkats are sociable animals, living in holes in the rocks on the mountains, and burrowing in the sandy soil of the plains.

They are burrowing, and, in some cases at any rate, partially aquatic rodents.

Characteristic forms of the Upper Sonoran zone are the burrowing owl, Nevada sage-thrush, sagethrasher and special species of orioles, kangaroo rats, mice, rabbits and squirrels.

My instinct tells me that my head is an organ for burrowing, as some creatures use their snout and fore paws, and with it I would mine and burrow my way through these hills.

They seemed to me to be rudimental, burrowing men, still standing on their defence, awaiting their transformation.

According to the very varied habits, their external appearance varies within wide limits, there being amongst the 300 species, with 50 genera, arboreal, terrestrial, burrowing and semi-aquatic forms, and even one semi-marine kind.

These pink, worm-like creatures live in sandy, moist localities, burrowing little tunnels and never appearing on the surface.

These animals are of nocturnal and burrowing habits, and generally to be found near ant-hills.

It frequents rivers and streams, burrowing in the banks, and often causing considerable damage.

The fauna of the Tibetan Himalaya is essentially European or rather that of the northern half of the old continent, which region has by zoologists been termed Palaearctic. Among the characteristic animals may be named the yak, from which is reared a cross breed with the ordinary horned cattle of India, many wild sheep, and two antelopes, as well as the musk-deer; several hares and some burrowing animals, including pikas (Lagomys) and two or three species of marmot; certain arctic forms of carnivora - fox, wolf, lynx, ounce, marten and ermine; also wild asses.

They are dependable, burrowing and stable.

The timid viscacha (Lagostomus trichodactylus), living in colonies, often with the burrowing owl, and digging deep under ground like the American prairie dog, was almost the only quadruped to be seen upon these immense open plains.

A separate family, Notoryctidae, is represented by the marsupial mole (Notoryctes typhlops), of the deserts of south Central Australia, a silky, golden-haired, burrowing creature, with a curious leathery muzzle, and a short, naked stumpy tail.

The portion of the lachrymal duct communicating with the cavity of the nose has, on the other hand, been abnormally developed, apparently for the purpose of cleansing that chamber from particles of sand which may obtain an entrance while the animal is burrowing.

To avoid the delay thus caused the branch line which would occasion the diamond crossing if it were taken across on the level is sometimes carried over the main line by an over-bridge (" flying junction ") or under it by an under-bridge (" burrowing junction ").

Foot with anterior transverse groove; a posterior pallial tentacle; generally burrowing.

There is no doubt that the primary influence that has guided the evolution of the architecture of the burrowing spiders has been that great necessity for the preservation of life, avoidance of enemies and protection from adverse physical conditions like rain, cold or drought.

This animal spends most of its time burrowing in the sand in search of insects and their larvae, but occasionally makes its appearance on the surface.

The fifth pair of prosomatic appendages is used by these scorpions when burrowing, to kick back the sand as the burrow is excavated by the great chelae.

Brazil has three groups of animals similar to the common rat - the Capromydae, Loncheridae and Psammoryctidae- the best known of which is the " tuco-tuco " (Ctenomys brasiliensis), a small burrowing animal of Rio Grande do Sul which excavates long subterranean galleries and lives on roots and bulbs.

Likewise primitive, but in various respects degraded, mainly owing to burrowing habits, are the Typhlopidae with the Ilysiidae, and Uropeltidae as a terminal branch, and on the other hand the Glauconiidae.

Calamaria of Indo-China is an example of burrowing snakes, with a short tail and small eyes; in Typhlopophis of the Philippines the eyes are concealed.

By various modifications of their valves and appendages the creatures have become adapted for swimming, creeping, burrowing, or climbing, some of them combining two or more of these activities, for which their structure seems at the first glance little adapted.

The Spalacidae are burrowing types, allied apparently to the ancestral Jaculidae, and characterized by the second and third molars being equal in size, the presence of enamel-folds in all these teeth, and the superiority in size of the claws of the second, third and fourth front toes over the other two.

All the Bathyergidae are African, and adapted to a burrowing life, having minute ears and eyes, a short tail and the thumb armed with a large claw.

The majority of these rodents, many of which are of large size, are terrestrial, but a few are burrowing, others arboreal and two or three aquatic.

The more typical members of the family are rat-like burrowing rodents, living in communities.

Among these, the tuco-tucos (Ctenomys) are characterized by their burrowing habits, almost rudimentary ears, small eyes, short tails and the kidneyshaped grinding-surfaces of their cheek-teeth.

All are terrestrial, and in many cases burrowing, in their habits, and some of them are of extreme fleetness.

Various hawks and owls are common; the golden eagle nests on the mountain crags and the burrowing owl on the plains.

The Scaphopoda are marine Molluscs with the body, especially the foot, adapted to a burrowing life in sand.

The foot is elongated and cylindrical, and can be protruded from the anterior aperture to serve as a burrowing organ.

The burrowing owl is found on the plains, and various species of small birds are characteristic of the different physical divisions of the state.

The animal lives mostly underground, burrowing in soft earth, and feeds on ants and other small animals.

The smallest variety is the culper or burrowing perch.

In some of the vleis and streams in which the water is intermittent the fish preserve life by burrowing into the ooze.

The fore-limbs may, however, be modified, as in moles, for burrowing, or, as in bats, for flight, or finally, as in whales and dolphins, for swimming, with the assumption in this latter instance of a flipper-like form and the complete disappearance of the hind-limbs.

The great anteater is terrestrial in habits, not burrowing underground like armadillos.

Its legs are short and strong, and form, with its broad feet and large solid nails, powerful burrowing organs.

When attacked it seeks to escape either by rolling itself into a ball, its erect spines proving a formidable barrier to its capture, or by burrowing into the sand, which its powerful limbs enable it to do with great celerity.

The echidnas are exceedingly restless in confinement, and constantly endeavour by burrowing to effect their escape.

Some of the species are thoroughly aquatic and have fully webbed toes, others are terrestrial, except during the breeding season, others are adapted for burrowing, by means of the much-enlarged and sharp-edged tubercle at the base of the inner toe, whilst not a few have the tips of the digits dilated into disks by which they are able to climb on trees.