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Trying to figure out a word

  • Thread starter Pyro
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Pyro

N=R* fs fp ne fl fi fc L
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I am looking for the term that describes animalsthat have 2 wildly different body shapes, almost to the point of appearing to be different animals. Like Puffer fish or porcupine fish.

I believe the term is thigmomorph or thigomorph but neither of these turns up in dictionary.com

Does anyone have any idea of the word I am looking for??
 
is the difference between sexes, like huia, or between two different extremes of a body feture?
 
Isn't thig or thigmo creek for touch? Something like that.
 
@ Finch

It is body feature but not really in a dimorphism sense. A "deflated" porcupine fish vs. and "inflated" one could be seen as two different (but related) species if you did not see the one become the other. Likewise a frilled lizard with frill down vs. with frill up. There are not many animals that exhibit the feature but I know there is a name for them and I read it somewhere years ago but that book seems to have gone walkabout in my moves.

@ JLAP

Yes, thigmo is greek for touch IIRC.
 
Is polymorphism the word you're looking for? That's when a single organism or species has many shapes. I think dimorphism might be appropriate too - I know that dimorphism is often used as shorthand for sexual dimorphism, but it doesn't always have to mean that the difference of form is sexual in nature.
~Joe
 
I was thinking when you said this of sexual dimorphism also, witch can make two things look like entirely different species. Among Vertebra, here is one of the most extreme examples, morphologically, between sexes. Both were considered different species.

medium.jpg

Huia_Buller.jpg

Beautifull example of pair co-operation, the males would peel away at decaying bark enough so the females could reach grubs.
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It is not polymorph or dimorphism, both of those are words I am familiar with.

I think I may have found it: Theriomorph

It is more commonly used as a term for shape-shifter
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I am looking for the term that describes animalsthat have 2 wildly different body shapes, almost to the point of appearing to be different animals.
You mean something like the difference between a girl friend and a wife?
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[b said:
Quote[/b] (Lauderdale @ Dec. 07 2006,8:31)]You mean something like the difference between a girl friend and a wife?
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