altricial

English

Etymology

From modern Latin Altrices (a former division of birds), plural of altrix, the feminine of altor ‘nourisher’, from alere ‘nourish’.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əlˈtɹɪʃəl/

Adjective

altricial (comparative more altricial, superlative most altricial)

1. (zoology) Helpless at birth (of young animals); or having young which are helpless at birth.
   • 2001, Gonyou, Keeling & Keeling, Social Behaviour in Farm Animals, CABI Publishing, published 2001, page 63:

     Altricial young are typical among carnivores, which might be expected to be hampered in their hunting behaviour if the pregnant mother has to carry its young for a long period.

   • 2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin 2012, p. 281:

     First, humans are altricial, with immature newborns and a long childhood.

Synonyms

• nidicolous

Translations

having young which are helpless at birth

• Portuguese: altricial
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Noun

altricial (plural altricials)

1. Such an animal

See also

• precocial

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Portuguese

Adjective

1. (zoology, of a species) altricial (having young which are helpless at birth)