Sphingurinæ (sfinggurine)

pl. [NL., pletely arboreal habits, represented by four genera, Sphingurus, Syne the res, Chætomys, and Erethizon : : so named by E. R. Alston in 1876. It corresponds to the Syne the rin a of Gervais (1852), the Syne the rinæ of J. A. Allen (1877), and the Cercolabinæ (as a subfamily of Spalacopodide ) of Lilljeborg (1866) and Gill (1872). See cuts under porcupine and prehensile. sphingurine (sfing'gū-rin), a. Of or belonging to the Sphingurine;; syne the rine; cercolabine. Sphingurus (sfing-gurus), n. [NL. (F. Cuvier, 22, form Sphiggurus ), 1822, in tle, strangle (see sphinx ), + οὐρά, tail.] The typical genus of Sphingurinæ, having the tail prehensile, all four feet four-toed, and little development of spines. It is closely related to Syne theres; but the latter is spiny, and has a broad, high arched front are more united by Brandt under the name Cercolabes. Each has several Neo tropical species in Central and South America, east of the Andes, from southeastern Mexico and the West Indies to Paraguay. sphinx (sfingks), n.; pl. sphinxes, sphinges (sfingk's ez, sfin'jēz). [= F. sphinx = Sp. esfinge = Pg. esphinge = It. sfinge G. sphinx, Egyptian, but more often winged than wingle . See cut under androsphinx. 3. In her., a creature with a lion's body and a woman's head, but not nece arily like any an cient original. original. It is a umed to be winged; when not winged, it should be blazoned "sans wings."-4. An enigmatic or sphinx-like person; one who talks puzzlingly, or is inscrutable in disposition or character; one whom it is hard to understand.-5. In entom.: (a) A hawk Sphinx or the moth; a member of the genus Sphinx family family Sphingidæ. See cuts under hawk - moth, family Sphingidæ hog - caterpillar, Lep Lepidoptera, and Phil am pel us. Phil am pel us . ( b ) [ cap.] [NL. (Linnæus, 1767).] The typical genus of the family Sphingidæ. At first it was co extensive with this family; later it formed a group of var i able extent; now it is confined to forms having the head small, the eyes lashed, tibiæ spinose, and fore tarsi usually armed with long spines. It a wide-spread genus; species occur in America north of Mexico. The larvæ of this, as well as of other groups of the family Sphingidæ, have the habit of erecting the head and anterior segments, from which Linnæus derived a fanciful resemblance to the Egyptian Sphinx (whence the name). 6. The Guinea baboon, Cynocephalus papio or Papio sphinx. Also called sphinx-baboon.Abbot's sphinx, Thyreus abbot i, a small North American