marsupial mole
- noun
- Australian
:
topo marsupial
- In the Australian desert, the marsupial mole uses its strong forelimbs to dig through the sand.
Examples
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Only the marsupial mole, same as the placental mole elsewhere, hints at the common adaptations after the flood.
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The marsupial moles look like placental golden moles.
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Furthermore, marsupial moles looking like golden moles and thylacines looking like dogs are only the two best examples of marsupials resembling placentals.
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The marsupial mole is a unique animal that spends most of its life burrowing underground in Australia.
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Many people are surprised to learn that the marsupial mole is not a true mole but a type of marsupial.
Synonyms
A small Australian burrowing animal with a pouch for its young that looks like a mole
A small Australian marsupial like a mole that digs underground
A small mammal from Australia that lives underground and has a pouch, like a mole
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'marsupial' (a pouch-bearing mammal) + 'mole' (a small subterranean digging mammal) yields a marsupial species that resembles or lives like a mole. This is a descriptive noun–noun compound following regular formation patterns rather than an idiom, so learners who know both constituents can infer the meaning.
Etymology
The name marsupial mole comes from combining marsupial (an animal with a 'pouch') and mole (a small animal that 'digs' underground). Because this creature lives in Australia, has a pouch, and digs like a mole, the name now means 'a small burrowing Australian mammal with a pouch'.
