a. Zool.; also anurous. [f. Gr. ἀν priv. + οὐρ-ά tail + -OUS. The reg. transliteration of the Gr. is anur-ous, but anour-ous is in common use.] Tailless. Applied to Amphibia, like the frog and toad, and (less correctly) to brachyurous crustacea, like the crab.
1838. Penny Cycl., X. 487/1. The Anurous or Tailless Batrachians, having no tails except in their young state, including frogs and toads.
1875. O. Schmidt’s Doctr. Descent, iii. 57. The crabs, or anourous crustacea, are raised by sundry characteristics above their long-tailed congeners.
