before a vowel tele-, repr. Gr. τελεο- (τελειο-), combining form of τέλεος, τέλειος perfect, complete, f. τέλος end: employed in Eng. in some scientific terms. Teleobranchiate, Zool. [Gr. βράγχια gills], a. belonging to the division Teleobranchia of gastropod mollusks, having the respiratory organs specially developed; sb. a gastropod of this division. Teleocephalous a., Ichth. [Gr. κεφαλή head], belonging to the order Teleocephali of teleostean fishes, having the full number of bones in the skull; so Teleocephal, a teleocephalous fish. Teleodesmacean, Zool. [Gr. δεσμός band], a. belonging to the group Teleodesmacea (Amer. Jrnl. Sc., Dec., 1889) of bivalve mollusks, having a specially developed hinge to the shell; sb. a mollusk of this group. Teleodont a., Entom. [Gr. ὀδούς, ὀδοντ- tooth], applied to that form of the mandibles in stag-beetles in which the projections or ‘teeth’ are most highly developed. Teleophyte, Biol. [Gr. φύτον plant], a plant of perfect or complete organization; one of the higher plants. Teleoptile, Ornith. [Gr. πτίλον down-feather], one of the later or mature feathers of a bird: opp. to NEOSSOPTILE. Teleosaur, Palæont. [Gr. σαῦρος lizard], a crocodile of the extinct genus Teleosaurus or family Teleosauridæ; so Teleosaurian a., belonging to this genus or family; sb. = teleosaur. Teleotemporal, Anat. and Zool. [TEMPORAL a.2], a. and sb., a name for the bone called POSTCLAVICLE. ǁ Teleozoon, Biol. (pl. -zoa) [Gr. ζῷον animal], an animal of perfect or complete organization; one of the higher animals; hence Teleozoic a., pertaining to the teleozoa. See also TELEOSTEAN, etc.
1890. Amer. Nat., May, 481. Tæniosomi. *Teleocephals with the scapular arch subnormal, posttemporal undivided and closely applied to the back of the cranium.
1883. Leuthner, in Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. (1885), XI. 400. The gap between the mesodont and *tel[e]odont forms long remained unbridged.
1899. D. Sharp, in Camb. Nat. Hist., VI. 193. The largest developments being called teleodont, the smallest priodont.
1863. H. Spencer, Biol. (1864), I. II. i. § 43. 109. A tree is an assemblage of numerous united shoots. One of these great *teleophytes is thus an aggregate of aggregates of aggregates of units, which severally resemble protophytes in their sizes and structures.
1893. Gadow, in Newton, Dict. Birds, 243. The first clothing of the newly-hatched bird consists of … soft feathers … possessing … characters which make it advisable to distinguish them, by the name of ‘Neossoptiles’ (νεοσσὸς, a chick), from those feathers which subsequently appear, and may be called *‘Teleoptiles’ (τέλεος, mature).
[1839. G. Roberts. Dict. Geol., *Teleosaurus, perfect or complete lizard; a new genus of fossil saurian or lizard, established by M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire.]
1841. Owen, in Rep. Brit. Assoc., X. 76. The atlas in the Teleosaur corresponds essentially with that of the Crocodiles. Ibid., 70. They are longer in proportion to their breadth than most of the *Teleosaurian scutes.
1896. H. Woodward, Guide Fossil Reptiles Brit. Mus., 6. Long and slender-jawed Teleosaurs and Steneosaurs.
1869. Huxley, in Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc., XXVI. 47. The ilium of a Teleosaurian.
1865. H. Spencer, Biol. (1867), II. IV. iv. § 169. 77. Among the Protozoa … and from the minute anatomy of all creatures above these, up to the *Teleozoa.
