Tayassu tajacu
- noun
- Specialized
:
javelina
- The Tayassu tajacu is often seen foraging in small groups across the arid regions of Arizona.
Examples
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Researchers observed the migratory patterns of Tayassu tajacu throughout the desert habitat.
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I saw a Tayassu tajacu while hiking in Arizona.
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Hunters must acquire special permits to track Tayassu tajacu in Mexico's protected areas.
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The Tayassu tajacu is often found in arid regions.
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Hunters must acquire special permits to track Tayassu tajacu in Mexico's protected areas.
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Researchers observed the migratory patterns of Tayassu tajacu throughout the desert habitat.
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The Tayassu tajacu is often seen foraging in small groups across the arid regions of Arizona.
Synonyms
2
9.9
A wild animal like a small pig with dark bristly hair found in desert areas
A dark grey pig-like animal with a faint white neck band living in dry Mexico and the southern US
A wild pig-like animal with dark grey fur and a white neck band from dry Mexico and the US Southwest
A dark grey wild pig with a faint white collar that lives in dry Mexico and US Southwest
Surface Forms
Morphology
Tayassu + tajacu
The genus element 'Tayassu' directly signals a peccary (a hoofed mammal), so a learner who knows that constituent could infer the phrase refers to a kind of peccary. However, 'tajacu' is a taxonomic species epithet with no transparent, compositional meaning for most learners, and binomial Latin names are conventional labels that do not convey the species' specific traits or range. Because the genus gives partial information but the exact species meaning is not derivable from the parts, the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Tayassu tajacu comes from a local native word for a 'wild pig', and the parts Tayassu and tajacu reflect that old name. The animal often has a dark body and a pale 'collar' around its neck, so the name fits the species we now call the collared peccary.