family Talpidae

9.7

A group of small burrowing animals like moles with soft fur, poor eyesight, and strong front feet for digging

noun
/ˈfæmɪli ˈtælpaɪdi/

Specialized

: familia Talpidae

In the family Talpidae, moles are recognized for their velvety fur and poor eyesight, which suits their burrowing lifestyle.

Examples

The family Talpidae includes over 40 species distributed across Europe, Asia, and North America.
Many members of the family Talpidae are known for their burrowing habits.
Members of the family Talpidae are highly adapted to a subterranean lifestyle.
Research on the family Talpidae has contributed to our understanding of evolutionary biology and adaptation.
The family Talpidae includes several species of moles.
The family Talpidae consists of small mammals that are expert diggers, commonly known as moles.
Biologists study the family Talpidae to learn more about their unique adaptations for life underground.

Synonyms

Talpidae

vsfamily Talpidae

Specialized

1 9.9

A group of small mammals like moles that live underground and dig with strong front feet

highlights reduced eyesight as main adaptive trait rather than body shape

Surface Forms

family Talpidae singular

families Talpidae plural

Morphology

family + Talpidae

This is a literal, compositional taxonomic label: 'family' (a scientific grouping) plus 'Talpidae' (the Latin name for the mole family), so the meaning 'the family Talpidae = moles' follows directly from the constituents. The construction 'family + taxon name' is a standard, cross-linguistic scientific pattern and is immediately interpretable by a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Family Talpidae comes from the Latin word talpa, meaning 'mole', plus the ending -idae that scientists add to name an animal 'family'. So the name simply points to a group of mole species — small, digging mammals.