Dictionary Definition
fossorial adj : (of limbs and feet) adapted for
digging [ant: cursorial]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Extensive Definition
A fossorial is an organism adapted to digging and
life underground such as the badger, the naked mole
rat, and the mole salamanders Ambystomatidae.
It is most commonly used as an adjective to describe the habit of
living underground, even if the physical adaptations are minimal -
thus, most bees and many
wasps are called "fossorial
Hymenoptera",
and a great many rodents
are considered fossorial. Some organisms are fossorial to aid in
temperature regulation, others utilize the new habit for
food.