Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Tayra
Tay′ra
,Noun.
[From the native name.]
(Zool.)
A South American carnivore (
Galera barbara
) allied to the grison. The tail is long and thick. The length, including the tail, is about three feet. [Written also
taira
.] Definition 2024
tayra
tayra
English
A tayra
Alternative forms
Noun
tayra (plural tayras)
- A South American omnivore, Eira barbara, allied to the grison, with a long thick tail.
- 2004, David Rains Wallace, Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution, page 66,
- Cope considered it partly arboreal, as tayras are, and possibly omnivorous as well as herbivorous, yet he thought he saw how it could have evolved into hulking Coryphodon in a relatively short time.
- 2006, Tom Jackson, Michael Chinery, The New Encyclopedia of American Animals, page 152,
- A few tayras are known to live in areas of tall grass.
- Tayras forage for food on the ground and also in the trees, where their long tail helps them to balance as they move through the branches.
- 2010, Carlos L. de la Rosa, Claudia C. Nocke, A Guide to the Carnivores of Central America, unnumbered page,
- Tayras can be tamed and make interesting but fairly destructive pets.
- 2004, David Rains Wallace, Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution, page 66,