as in predatory
living by killing and eating other animals the place of raptorial birds in the park's ecosystem

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Recent Examples of raptorial Detailed testimonies of refugees along the Balkan route therefore challenge the conventional wisdom that officials tend to protect them from raptorial smugglers. Max Abrahms, Foreign Affairs, 22 Mar. 2017 Damsel bugs are slender and tan-colored and have slightly raptorial front legs. Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2023 Massively Powerful Predators Mantis shrimps’ raptorial appendages contain massive muscles that can extend them to their full length in hundredths of a second, producing strike forces that in some species can smash through the glass wall of an aquarium or instantly dismember a crab. Thomas Cronin, University Of Maryland, Discover Magazine, 3 Aug. 2018 Like its adult counterparts, the little arthropod had a spiny raptorial appendage used for grasping prey and the radiodontan’s characteristic circular mouth filled with sharp teeth. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 11 June 2018

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Cite this Entry

“Raptorial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/raptorial. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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