cursorial

[ kur-sawr-ee-uh l, -sohr- ]

/ kɜrˈsɔr i əl, -ˈsoʊr- /

adapted for running, as the feet and skeleton of dogs, horses, etc.

having limbs adapted for running, as certain birds, insects, etc.

Origin of cursorial

1830–40; < Late Latin cursōri(us) of running (see cursory) + -al¹

curse word, cursed, curses, cursive, cursor, cursorial, cursory, curst, curt, curtail, curtail step

It cannot be that it is learned by imitation, any more than the exercise of the cursorial powers can be said to be thus acquired.

Nests and Eggs of Birds of The United States |Thomas G. Gentry
No mammal has more than five toes, and the number tends to become reduced in cursorial animals (Rodents, Ungulates, Kangaroos).

The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia |Frank Evers Beddard
So far as habits go we might be justified in calling them cursorial birds of prey.

Animals of the Past |Frederic A. Lucas
Cursorial adaptations in birds—limb proportions in the skeleton of Geococcyx.

Phylogeny of the Waxwings and Allied Birds |M. Dale Arvey

It may well have been the competition of the horses which led to the extinction of these cursorial rhinoceroses.

Darwin and Modern Science |A.C. Seward and Others

cursorial

/ (kɜːˈsɔːrɪəl) /

zoology adapted for running a cursorial skeleton; cursorial birds