Neotoma cinerea
- noun
- Specialized
:
Neotoma cinerea
- Unlike many rodents, Neotoma cinerea is especially known for its habit of collecting shiny objects.
Examples
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The Neotoma cinerea is often called the bushy-tailed woodrat because of its distinctive tail.
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Biologists studied the nesting habits of Neotoma cinerea in the Rocky Mountains.
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The Neotoma cinerea is known for its unique bushy tail.
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Have you ever seen a Neotoma cinerea in the wild?
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Biologists studied the nesting habits of Neotoma cinerea in the Rocky Mountains.
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The Neotoma cinerea is often called the bushy-tailed woodrat because of its distinctive tail.
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Unlike many rodents, Neotoma cinerea is especially known for its habit of collecting shiny objects.
Synonyms
1
7.3
A small North American animal like a rat with a bushy tail that collects objects
A small rodent like a mouse from North America with a bushy tail that collects things for its nest
A small animal like a mouse with a thick bushy tail that lives in western North America and stores food
A small animal with a bushy tail that collects and hides small things
Surface Forms
Morphology
Neotoma + cinerea
This is a scientific binomial: the genus 'Neotoma' indicates a type of rodent, so a learner who knows that constituent can infer it names a kind of rodent; however the epithet 'cinerea' is a Latin adjective (ash-grey) and not readily interpretable by most B1 learners, and the full species-specific traits (bushy-tailed woodrat, hoarding) are not predictable from the parts alone. Because the name partly signals category but requires taxonomic/Latin knowledge to recover the precise meaning, it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The species Neotoma cinerea is the scientific name for the 'bushy-tailed woodrat'. The second word cinerea comes from Latin for 'ash-coloured', so the name points to its grey fur and helps you picture a small rat with a big bushy tail that likes to collect shiny things.