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Anableps is a genus of fish of the order Cypriniformes, found in tropical America. They are remarkable for their projecting eyes, which are divided horizontally into upper and lower halves, for vision above and below water. They reach up to 30 centimetres in length.
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Anacaena is a genus of water scavenger beetles of the family Hydrophilidae.
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Anacanthim is an order of osseous fishes, including the cod, plaice, etc, with spineless fins, cycloid or ctenoid scales, the ventral fins either absent or below the pectorals, and ductless swim-bladder.
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Anacardiaceae is a natural order of plants, consisting of tropical trees and shrubs which secrete an acrid resinous juice, which is often used as a varnish. Mastic, Japan lacquer, and Martaban varnish are some of their products. The cashew (genus Anacardium), the pistacia, sumach, mango, etc, are members of the order.
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Anacharis is a genus of plants of the natural order Hydrocharidaceae, the species of which grow in ponds and streams of fresh water; water-thyme or water-weed. Anacharis Alsinastrum has been introduced from North America into European (including British) rivers, canals, and ponds, and by its rapid growth in dense tangled masses tends to choke them so as materially to impede navigation.
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The Anaconda is a South American snake, a member of the python and boa family, the Boidae. One of the largest snakes, growing to nine metres or more in length, it is found in and near water, where it lies in wait for the birds and animals on which it feeds. The Anaconda is not venomous, but kills its prey by coiling round it and squeezing until the creature suffocates. The Anaconda is a climber as well as a swimmer, and may be found in trees along river banks.
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Anaesthetis is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
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Anaglyptus is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
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The Anapsida are a subclass of reptiles in which there are no temporal vacuities.
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Anarthropoda is one of the two great divisions (the Arthropoda being the other) of the Annulosa, or ringed animals, in which there are no articulated appendages. It includes the leeches, earthworms, tube-worms, etc.
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Anas is the duck genus of web-footed birds of the sub-family Anatinae, order Natatores.
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Anaspis is a genus of Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae).
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Anatidae is the duck, geese and swan family of birds of the order Natatores. They are characterized by a thick, broad beak, high at the base, covered with a thin membranous skin and ending in a nail-like horny tip; the edges of the mandibles are cut into thin parallel ridges, or toothed; the wings are moderate; the legs placed not very far behind; the feet are four-toed and palmated; the hind toe is free, placed high on the tarsus. They feed on grass and aquatic weeds, worms, insects, molluscs and small fish.
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Anatinae is the duck, Wigeon, Teal and Sheldrake sub-family of birds of the family Anatidae. The members of the sub-family are distinguished by a bill of equal width throughout, or broader at the top than at the base, of about the same length as the head; short legs placed behind the middle of the body; the hind toe being without a pendent membrane; and a somewhat round tarsi.
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Anatomy is the study of animal's structure.
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Anatosaurus was an amphibian, webbed-hand dinosaur of the Cretaceous period, remains of which were first found in 1942. Anatosaurus was a herbivore, and from extensive remains found including mummified samples with skin connected, we know that it was between 10 and 13 metres long, walked on its hind legs and had forelegs adapted a little like hands, the fingers of which were covered in a webbed skin, presumably to assist in swimming. Anatosaurus had a low, broad skull with a snout similar to a duck's.
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Anbury, also called Club-root and Fingers and Toes, is a disease in turnips, in which knobs or excrescences are formed on the root, which is then useless for feeding purposes. Some authorities distinguish anbury proper from fingers-and-toes in turnips, setting it down as a distinct disease due to a fungus, while in the other case the roots simply assume a bad habit of growth through some other influence.
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Anchiceratops was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. A herbivore,
Anchiceratops was about 5 or 6 metres long with long horns protruding forward above its eyes and a long neck-frill with knobs and spines pointing backwards. Remains of Anchiceratops were first discovered in 1914.
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Anchisaurus was a dinosaur of the Triassic period, about 2.5 metres long it had diamond-shaped teeth which may indicate an omnivore. It had large claws on its thumbs and a fairly long neck and tail. Anchisaurus was the first dinosaur discovered in the USA, the first bones of Anchisaurus were discovered in 1818 in Connecticut, USA, and later remains of the same species were discovered in South Africa.
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The anchovy is a small fish (Engraulis encrasicholus) of the herring family. It is fished extensively, being abundant in the Mediterranean, and is also found on the Atlantic coast of Europe and in the Black Sea. It grows to 20 centimetres. Pungently flavoured, it is processed into fish pastes and essences, and used as a garnish, rather than eaten fresh.
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The Anchovy-Pear (Grias cauliflora) is a tree of the natural order Myrtaceae, a native of Jamaica, growing to the height of fifteen meters, with large leaves and large white flowers, and bearing a fruit somewhat bigger than a hen's egg, which is pickled and eaten like the mango, which it strongly resembles in taste.
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The Ancona is a breed of Italian chicken, with an elongated appearance and black and white feathers and bright yellow legs. The Ancona chicken was intruduced to Britain during the 19th century and from there exported around the world. The Ancona has a fairly large, single comb and lays white-shelled eggs. They are active birds and excellent fliers.
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Ancylostoma is a Phylum nematoda.
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The Andalusian is a breed of chicken.
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The Andalusian (or Pura Raza Espanola) is a Spanish breed of light horse standing between 15 and 16 hands high and mostly grey in colour but sometimes bay, black, chestnut or roam in colour. They are a docile and quiet breed but also energetic and brave and have an unusual high-stepping gait and great presence.
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The Andean Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum andesiana) is a species of Milk snake found in the Andes mountains of Colombia. The Andean Milk Snake is red in colour with a series of thin, black bands arranged in pairs interspaced with a thin white band.
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Andira is a genus of leguminous American trees, with fleshy plum-like fruits. The wood is well fitted for building. The bark of Andira inermis, or cabbage-tree, is narcotic, and is used as an anthelminthic under the name of worm-bark or cabbage-bark. The powdered bark of Andira araroba was formerly used as a remedy in certain skin diseases, such as herpes.
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In botany, the androecium is the male system of a flower; the aggregate of the stamens.
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Andromeda is a genus of plants belonging to the heaths. One species, Andromeda polifolia, found in peat-bogs in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, is an acrid narcotic hurtful to sheep.
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Andropogon is a large genus of grasses, mostly natives of warm countries. Andropogon schcenanthus is the sweet-scented lemon-grass of conservatories. Others also are fragrant.
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The anemone or wind-flower is any plant of the genus Anemone, of the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. The function of petals is performed by its sepals. The white or lavender-tinged wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia) grows in open woods, flowering in spring.
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Anemophilous is said of flowers that are fertilized by the wind conveying the pollen.
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Angelfish is any of a number of unrelated fishes. The freshwater angelfish, genus Pterophyllum, of South America, is a tall, side-to-side flattened fish with a striped body, up to 26 centimetres long, but usually smaller in captivity. The angelfish or monkfish of the genus Squatina is a bottom-living shark up to 1.8m long with a body flattened from top to bottom. The marine angelfishes, Pomacanthus and others, are long narrow-bodied fish with spiny fins, often brilliantly coloured, up to 60cm long, living around coral reefs in the tropics.
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Angelica is a genus of umbelliferous plants, one of which, Angelica sylvestris, a tall plant bearing large umbels of white flowers tinged with pink, is common in wet places in Britain, and was formerly believed to possess angelic properties as an antidote to poison, a specific against witchcraft, etc. The name is also given to an allied plant, the Archangelica officinalis, found on the banks of rivers and ditches in the north of Europe, once generally cultivated as an esculent, and still valued for its medicinal properties. It has a large fleshy aromatic root, and a strong-furrowed branched stem as high as a man. It is cultivated for its agreeable aromatic odour and carminative properties. Its blanched stems, candied with sugar, form a very agreeable sweetmeat, possessing tonic and stomachic qualities.
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An angiosperm is a flowering plant in which the seeds are enclosed within an ovary which ripens into a fruit.
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The Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 45 and 50 mm native to the Mediterranean region, but migratory north around July and august where upon a second generation flies from August to Autumn returning south. The caterpillars are unable to bear frost, so the second northern generation are wiped out each year with only the southern generation surviving.
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The Angle-Striped Sallow (Enargia paleacea) is a scarce moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 35 and 42 mm distributed in northern and central Europe, central and eastern Asia and North America. It is to be seen flying from July to September.
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Angler is any of an order of fishes Lophiiformes, with flattened body and broad head and jaws. Many species have small, plant-like tufts on their skin. These act as camouflage for the fish as it waits, either floating among seaweed or lying on the sea bottom, twitching the enlarged tip of the threadlike first ray of its dorsal fin to entice prey. There are over 200 species of angler fish, living in both deep and shallow water in temperate and tropical seas. The males of some species have become so small that they live as parasites on the females.
The British species, Lophius piscatorius is also from its habits and appearance called the Fishing-frog and Sea-devil. It is a remarkable fish often coasts. It is from 1 to 1.5 metres long; the head is very wide, depressed, with protuberances, and bearing long separate movable tendrils; the mouth is capacious, and armed with formidable teeth. Its voracity is extreme, and it is said to lie concealed in the mud, and attract the smaller fishes within its reach by gently waving the filamentous appendages on its head.
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The Anglo-Arab is a British breed of riding horse developed during the 18th and 19th centuries from crossing the Thoroughbred and the Arab. The Anglo-Arab is a naturally athletic breed with speed and jumping abilities, standing 15.2 to 16.3 hands high and bay, brown, chestnut or grey in colour.
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The angora is a small domesticated goat with a thick flat fleece kept for milk production. They are found in Turkey, South Africa and the USA.
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Angular Solomon's seal (Polygonatum odoratum) is a poisonous perennial herb of the family Liliaceae native to Britain, occurring in northern and western England and rarely in Wales. It has a thick, white, creeping rhizome and angled, arched stems, which bear numerous alternate, ovate to elliptic leaves in two rows. The flowers are white in colour, drooping, fragrant and tubular and grow singly or in pairs from the leaf axils. The fruit is a dark-blue berry.
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The Angus (Aberdeen-Angus) is a hornless, black, compact, low-set domestic breed of beef cattle. It originated in Scotland and is now found throughout the USA and UK.
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Aniliidae is the 'Cylinder Snakes' family of reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (snakes). Roughly ten species in three genera comprise the family Aniliidae, almost all of which have a vestigial pelvic girdle. All the members are ovovivipatous and possess cloacal spurs. They feed mainly on small amphibians and reptiles.
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An animal is an organized and sentient living being. Life in the earlier periods of natural history was attributed almost exclusively to animals. With the progress of science, however, it was extended to plants. In the case of the higher animals and plants there is no difficulty in assigning the individual to one of the two great kingdoms of organic nature, but in their lowest manifestations, the vegetable and animal kingdoms are brought into such immediate contact that it becomes almost impossible to assign them precise limits, and to say with certainty where the one begins and the other ends. From form no absolute distinction can be fixed between animals and plants. Many animals, such as the sea-shrubs, sea-mats, etc, so resemble plants in external appearance that they were looked upon as such. With regard to internal structure no line of demarcation can be laid down, all plants and animals being, in this respect, fundamentally similar; that is, alike composed of molecular, cellular, and fibrous tissues. Neither are the chemical characters of animal and vegetable substances more distinct. Animals contain in their tissues and fluids a larger proportion of nitrogen than plants, whilst plants are richer in carbonaceous compounds than the former. In some animals, moreover, substances almost exclusively confined to plants are found. Thus the outer wall of Sea-squirts contains cellulose, a substance largely found in plant-tissues; whilst chlorophyll, the colouring-matter of plants, occurs in Hydra and many other lower animals.
Power of motion, again, though broadly distinctive of animals, cannot be said to be absolutely characteristic of them. Thus many animals, as oysters, sponges, corals, etc, in their mature condition are rooted or fixed, while the embryos of many plants, together with numerous fully developed forms, are endowed with locomotive power by means of vibratile, hair-like processes called cilia. The distinctive points between animals and plants which are most to be relied on are those derived from the nature and mode of assimilation of the food. Plants feed on inorganic matters, consisting of water, ammonia, carbonic acid, and mineral matters. They can only take in food which is presented to them in a liquid or gaseous state. The exceptions to these rules are found chiefly in the case of plants which live parasitically on other plants or on animals, in which cases the plant may be said to feed on organic matters, represented by the juices of their hosts. Animals, on the contrary, require organized matters for food. They feed either upon plants or upon other animals. But even carnivorous animals can be shown to be dependent upon plants for subsistence; since the animals upon which Carnivora prey are in their turn supported by plants. Animals, further, can subsist on solid food in addition to liquids and gases; but many animals (such as the Tapeworms) live by the mere imbibition of fluids which are absorbed by their tissues, such forms possessing no distinct digestive system.
Animals require a due supply of oxygen gas for their sustenance, this gas being used in respiration. Plants, on the contrary, require carbon dioxide. The animal exhales or gives out carbon dioxide as the part result of its tissue-waste, whilst the plant taking in this gas is enabled to decompose it into its constituent carbon and oxygen. The plant retains the former for the uses of its economy, and liberates the oxygen, which is thus restored to the atmosphere for the use of the animal. Animals receive their food into the interior of their bodies, and assimilation takes place in their internal surfaces. Plants, on the other hand, receive their food into their external surfaces, and assimilation is effected in the external parts, as are exemplified in the leaf-surfaces under the influence of sunlight. All animals possess a certain amount of heat or temperature which is necessary for the performance of vital action. The only classes of animals in which a constantly-elevated temperature is kept up are birds and mammals. The bodily heat of the former varies from 100 degrees Fahrenheit to 112 degrees Fahrenheit and of the latter from 96 degrees to 104 degrees. The mean or average heat of the human body is about 99 degrees Fahrenheit, and it never falls much below this in health. Below birds animals are named cold-blooded, this term meaning in its strictly physiological sense that their temperature is usually that of the medium in which they live, and that it varies with that of the surrounding medium, Warm-blooded animals, on the contrary, do not exhibit such variations, but mostly retain their normal temperature in any atmosphere. The cause of the evolution of heat in the animal body is referred to the union (by a process resembling ordinary combustion) of the carbon and hydrogen of the system with the oxygen taken in from the air in the process of respiration.
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Animalcule was a general name formerly given to many forms of animal life from their minute size.
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Anisarthron is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
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Aniseed or anise (Pimpinella anisum) is an annual herb of the family Umbelliferae, native to the eastern Mediterranean region, with an erect, branched, ribbed stem, which bears long-stalked, lobed, cordate and coarsely toothed lower leaves and finely divided, feathery, ternate or pinnate upper leaves. The flowers are small, white in colour and arranged in compound umbels. The fruit is a ribbed, roundish double achene. Aniseed was first cultivated and used as a spice by the ancient Egyptians and later by the Greeks and Romans.
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Anisodactylus is a genus of beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae. They vary in size from 9 to 13 mm and are found throughout Britain and Europe.
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Anisomorpha buprestoides is a species of stick insect found in Florida, USA where they are active during the day among dry shrubs. They are between 40 and 70 mm long, the female being larger than the male, and are shiny brown-black in colour with yellow-brown stripes and wingless. When threatened, they eject a foul smelling irritant from a neck gland. This irritant which can cause temporary blindness can be sprayed as much as 50 cm away. Adults of the species are monogamous, remaining with the same mating partner all their lives.
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Anisomorpha monstrosa is a species of stick insect found in Belize. They are between 40 and 70 mm long, with the female larger than the male and shiny black in colour with reddish-brown markings and wingless.
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Anisoplia is a genus of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. The adults live mainly on the anthers of cereal and grass flowers, while the larvae live in the ground and feed on grass roots.
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Anisosticta is the Nineteen Spot Ladybird genus of ladybird (Coccinellidae). They are longish beetles, yellow in colour with black spots.
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Anisotoma is a genus of beetles of the family Leiodidae found chiefly under the bark of old tree stumps.
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Anitys is a genus of beetle of the family Anobiidae. A single species -
Anitys rubens - occurs in Britain, but is very rare. They live in red-rotten wood in hollow deciduous trees, chiefly oaks.
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The Anjou is a firm-fleshed, green-skinned species of pear.
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Ankole cattle (Bos taurus) also known as Watussi cattle are a domestic breed of cattle reared by tribesmen in eastern and southern Africa. Ankole cattle are large, imposing with a shaggy red coat and large straight horns.
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Ankylosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Remains of Ankylosaurus have been found in the north-west USA, first in 1908. It was about 10 to 17 metres long, with a long clubbed tail, short neck and the body was protected by spines and bony plates. A herbivore, Ankylosaurus walked on four legs.
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Annelid is any segmented worm of the Phylum Annelida. Annelids include earthworms, leeches, and marine worms such as lugworms. They have a distinct head and soft body, which is divided into a number of similar segments shut off from one another internally by membranous partitions, but there are no jointed appendages. They have red, rarely yellow or green, blood circulating in a double system of contractile vessels, a double ganglionated nervous cord, and respire by external branchiae, internal vesicles, or by the skin. Their organs of motion consist of bristles or setar, which are usually attached to the lateral surfaces of each segment, the bristles being borne on 'foot processes' or parapodia. The number of body segments varies. As many as 400 may be found in some sea-worms. A complete digestive system is developed, consisting of a mouth - armed with horny jaws and a protrusible proboscis - gizzard, stomach, and intestine.
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In botany, the term annual applies to a plant that completes its life cycle from germination to death within one year.
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The Annulet Moth (Gnophos obscuatus) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 27 and 32 mm found in central and southern Europe in dry localities, woodland margins, slopes and heaths flying from July to September.
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The anoa (Anoa depressicornis) is a mammal closely allied to the buffalo, about the size of an average sheep, very wild and fierce, inhabiting the rocky and mountainous localities of the island of Celebes. The horns are straight, thick at the root, and set nearly in a line with the forehead.
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Anobiidae is a family of beetles of the order Coleoptera. The members have a cylindrical body and the head is usually hidden by the pronotum. Generally they tunnel in dead wood, tree fungi and pine cones and have micro-organisms in their digestive tract which enable them to digest wood.
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Anobium is a genus of beetle of the family Anobiidae. The genus includes the Woodworm (Anobium punctatum).
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The angora rabbit is a variety of the domestic rabbit having long, soft fur.
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Anomalure (Anomalurus) is a genus of rodent animals inhabiting the west coast of Africa, resembling the flying-squirrels, but having the under surface of the tail furnished for some distance from the roots with a series of large horny scales, which, when pressed against the trunk of a tree, may subserve the same purpose as those instruments with which a man climbs up a telegraph pole to set the wires. They are called also scale-tails, or scale-tailed squirrels, but some authorities class them with the porcupines rather than the squirrels. There are several species of them, but little is known of their habits.
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Anomalepidae is the 'American Blind Snakes' family of reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (snakes). The members are similar to the members of the family Typhlopidae, but some members possess a single tooth in the lower jaw. The family contains roughly twenty species in four genera which are native to Central and South America.
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Anomognathus is a genus of tiny rove beetles, Staphylinidae, characterised by a sharp, spine-like process on the last abdominal tergite.
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Anomura is a section of the crustaceans of the order Decapoda, with irregular tails not formed to assist in swimming, including the hermit-crabs and others.
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Anona is a genus of plants, the type of the natural order Anonaceae. Anona squamdsa (sweet-sop) grows in the West Indian Islands, and yields an edible fruit having a thick, sweet, luscious pulp. Anona muricata, (sour-sop) is cultivated in the West and East Indies; it produces a large pear-shaped fruit, of a greenish colour, containing an agreeable slightly acid pulp. The genus produces other edible fruits, as the common custard-apple or bullock's heart, from Anona reticulata, and the cherimoyer of Peru, from Anona Cherimolia.
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Anonacese is a natural order of trees and shrubs, having simple, alternate leaves, destitute of stipules, by which character they are distinguished from the Magnoliacese, to which they are otherwise closely allied. They are mostly tropical plants of the Old and the New World, and are generally aromatic.
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Anophthalmus is a genus of four species of cave-dwelling beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae. Anophthalmus gobanzi is about four millimetres long and is found in mountainous areas of southern Austria and the northern part of the Balkans. It's eyes have completely degenerated and the antennae have become elongated and the legs covered with tactile bristles to enable the insect to feel its way about.
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Anoplotherium was an extinct genus of the Ungulata or Hoofed Quadrupeds, forming the type of a distinct family, which were in many respects intermediate between the swine and the true ruminants. These animals were pig-like in form, but possessed long tails, and had a cleft hoof, with two rudimentary toes. Some of them were as small as a guinea-pig, others as large as an ass. Six incisors, two canines, eight pre-molars, and six molars existed in each jaw, the series being continuous, no interval existing in the jaw.
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Anoplura is the sucking lice order of insects of the division Pterygota, subdivision Hemimetabola. They are very small or minute secondarily wingless, blood-sucking ectoparasites, living largely on mammals and growing to a length of about six millimetres. They are very similar to the biting lice (Mallophaga) but differ in having piercing rather than chewing mouth parts. No evident metamorphosis takes place from the young to the adult.
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Anoplus is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae).
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Anotylus is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae, with thirteen species in Britain where they live in dung, soil, under decomposing plants or in excrement.
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Anoxia is a genus of large beetles of the family Scarabaeidae native to southern Europe and the Near East.
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Anscrinae is the goose and swan sub-family of birds of the family Anatidae, order Natatores.
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Anscrinoe is a sub-family of birds of the family Anatidae.
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Anser is the grey geese genus of birds of the goose family (Anatidae), typified by the Greylag Goose species.
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Ant is the popular name for hymenopterous (or membranous-winged) insects of various genera of the super-family Formicoidea. Ants are found in most temperate and tropical regions. They are small but powerful insects, and have long been noted for their remarkable intelligence and interesting habits. They live in communities regulated by definite laws, each member of the society bearing a well-defined and separate part in the work of the colony. Each community consists of males; of females much larger than the males; and of barren females, otherwise called neuters, workers, or nurses. The neuters are wingless, and the males and females only acquire wings for their Nuptial flight, after which the males perish, and the few females which escape the pursuit of their numerous enemies divest themselves of their wings, and either return to established nests, or become the foundresses of new colonies. The neuters perform all the labours of the ant-hill or abode of the community; they excavate the galleries, procure food, and feed the larvae or young ants, which are destitute of organs of motion. In fine weather they carefully convey them to the surface for the benefit of the sun's heat, and as attentively carry them to a place of safety either when bad weather is threatened or the ant-hill is disturbed. In like manner they watch over the safety of the nymphs or pupae about to acquire their perfect growth. Some communities possess a special type of neuters, known as 'soldiers,' from the duties that specially fall upon them, and from their powerful biting jaws.
There is a very considerable variety in the materials, size, and form of ant-hills, or nests, according to the peculiar nature or instinct of the species. Most of the British ants form nests in woods, fields, or gardens, their abodes being generally in the form of small mounds rising above the surface of the ground and containing numerous galleries and apartments. Some excavate nests in old tree-trunks. One little yellow ant (Myrmica domestica) is common in houses in Britain in some localities. Some ants live on animal food, very quickly picking quite clean the skeleton of any dead animal they may light on. Others live on saccharine matter, being very fond of the sweet substance, called honey-dew, which exudes from the bodies of Aphides, or plant-lice. These they sometimes keep in their nests, and sometimes tend on the plants where they feed; sometimes they even superintend their breeding. By stroking the aphides with their antennae they cause them to emit the sweet fluid, which the ants then greedily sip up. Various other insects are looked after by ants in a similar manner, or are found in their nests. It has been observed that some species, like the European Red Ant (Formica sanguinea), resort to violence to obtain working ants of other species for their own use, plundering the nests of suitable kinds of their larvae and pupae,which they carry off to their own nests to be carefully reared and kept as slaves. Amazon Ants (Polyergus rufescens) often keep between three and five times as many slaves as their own inhabitants in a nest.
In temperate countries male and female ants survive, at most, until autumn, or to the commencement of cool weather, though a very large proportion of them cease to exist long previous to that time. The neuters pass the winter in a state of torpor, and of course require no food. The only time when they require food is during the season of activity, when they have a vast number of young to feed. Some ants of southern Europe feed on grain, and store it up in their nests for use when required. Some species have stings as weapons, others only their powerful mandibles, or an acrid and pungent fluid (formic acid) which they can emit. The name ant is also given to the neuropterous insects otherwise called Termites.
In the 1990's a new species of ant, in appearance the same as any common garden ant, was discovered in Budapest and in 2009 the same species was found in Britain, which has a suicidal attraction to electrical fields - an attraction which overides even the desire to eat. Like American fire-ants, these ants are drawn in vast quantities to electrical switches where they die and can cause failure of the electrical system due to the numbers of ants involved, typically hundreds of thousands. In Texas, fire-ants are a major cause of traffic light failures, being drawn to the switch boxes where they die and short out the circuits.
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The ant-lion is the larva of a Neuropterous insect Myrmeleon formicarius, which in its perfect state greatly resembles a dragon-fly. The ant-lion is curious on account of its ingenious method of catching the insects - chiefly ants - on which it feeds. It digs a funnel-shaped hole in the driest and finest sand it can find, and when the pit is deep enough, and the sides are quite smooth and sloping, it buries itself at the bottom with only its formidable mandibles projecting, and waits until some luckless insect stumbles over the edge, when it is immediately seized, its juices sucked, and the dead body jerked out. Ant-lions inhabit Southern Europe.
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Ant-thrush is a name given to certain passerine or perching birds having resemblances to the thrushes and supposed to feed largely on ants. They all have longish legs, short wings, and a short tail. The true ant-thrushes of the Old World belong to the genus Pitta. They chiefly inhabit southern and south-eastern Asia and the Eastern Archipelago, but are also found in Africa and Australia, and are birds of brilliant plumage, exhibiting black, white, scarlet, blue, and green in vivid contrast, there being generally no blending of colours by means of intermediate hues. These birds are not now regarded as allied to the thrushes, nor are they allied to the ant-birds, or ant-thrushes of the New World, which live among close foliage and bushes. Some of these are called ant-shrikes and ant-wrens. They belong to several genera.
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Antarctosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Remains were first found in 1929, and have been found in South America and possibly Asia. Antarctosaurus was a herbivore about 18 metres long, with a very long tail, long neck and walked on all fours.
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The anteater is a mammal of the family Myrmecophagidae, order Edentata, native to Mexico, Central America, and tropical South America. An anteater lives almost entirely on ants and termites. It has toothless jaws, an extensile tongue, and claws for breaking into the nests of its prey. Species include the giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla, about 1.8 metres long including the tail, the tamandua or collared anteater Tamandua tetradactyla, about 90cm long, and the silky anteater Cyclopes didactyla, about 35cm long. The name is also incorrectly applied to the aardvark, the echidna, and the pangolin.
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The antedon is a type of crinoidea.
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An antelope is any of several cloven hoofed ruminates, members of a large family, closely resembling the Deer in general appearance, but essentially different in nature from the latter animals. They are included with the Sheep and Oxen in the family of the Cavicornia or 'Hollow-horned' Ruminants. Their horns, unlike those of the Deer, are not deciduous, but are permanent; are never branched, but are often twisted spirally, and may be borne by both sexes. They are found in greatest number and variety in Africa. Well-known species are the chamois (European), the gazelle, the addax, the eland, the kudu, the gnu, the springbok, the sasin or Indian antelope, and the prongbuck of America.
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An antenna is a sensory organ found on the head of insects.
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Anthaxia is a genus of jewel beetle (Buprestidae), with a single British species. They are generally small, flat bodied and either a plain dark colour or brightly coloured.
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In flowering plants, the anther is part of the stamen where pollen is stored and from which the pollen is released when it is ripe.
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Antherophagus is a genus of beetle of the family Cryptophagidae. They are carried to flowers by bumble-bees.
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Anthicidae is a family of beetles of the order Coleoptera. The members are small with a narrow pronotum resembling ants. They feed chiefly on dead beetles.
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Anthicus is a genus of beetle of the family Anthicidae represented by twelve British species.
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Anthidae is the pipits family of Passerine birds. They are closely allied with the Larks (Alaudidae), but differ in their slender notched bills, and with the wagtails (Motacillidae) from which they differ in their colouration and habit of singing while on the ground. They walk and run on the ground without hopping, and feed on insects and small worms.
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Anthobium is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae. They have a particularly long elytra, which sometimes cover almost the entire abdomen.
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Anthocomus is a genus of beetle of the family Malachiidae. The larvae feed on the larvae of wood-boring beetles.
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Anthophagus is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae. They have a brownish yellow elytra and legs, and live in mountains on shrubs and flowers near running water.
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The Anthozoa is the class of marine animals known as sea anemones, sea fans, sea pens and stony corals. They are solitary or colonial animals in which only hydroid individuals are represented.
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Anthracus is an alternative genus for Acupalpus consputus, a small (three to five millimetres in length) beetle of the ground beetle family, Carabidae. They live in shaded places beside water, often under fallen leaves and hibernate before mating in the spring.
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Anthrenus is a small, rounded genus of beetle of the carpet beetle family (Dermestidae). The genus includes the popularly known Carpet Beetle and the Museum Beetle species.
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Anthribidae is a family of beetles of the order Coleoptera, The members generally gave a short, compact head produced into a broad rostrum. The majority of the species live in dead wood in which the larvae eat irregular passages.
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Anthribus is a genus of beetle of the family Anthribidae.
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The Anthropoidea are an order of Eutheria. They have the most highly developed Brain of the mammals. The digits bear nails.
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Antirrhinum is a genus of annual or perennial plants of the natural order Scrophulariaceae, commonly known as snapdragon, on account of the peculiarity of the blossoms, which, by pressing between the finger and thumb, may be made to open and shut like a mouth. They all produce showy flowers, and are much cultivated in gardens. Many varieties of some of them, such as the great or common snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus), have been produced by gardeners.
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Anura is a subclass of Amphibia. They are the frogs and toads. These are amphibians which lose their tail at the metamorphosis. In the adult the gill slits close. The hind limbs are very powerful and have webs between the digits.
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In zoology, anurous refers to an animal destitute of a tail, like for example the frogs and toads.
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The aoudad or Barbary Sheep (Ammotragus lervia) is a wild mountain sheep of north Africa, having horns curved in a semicircle and long hair covering the neck and forelegs. The Aoudad is not true sheep, but is a quadruped allied to the sheep, most closely to the mouflon, from which, however, it may be easily distinguished by the heavy mane, commencing at the throat and falling as far as the knees.
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Apalus is a genus of beetle of the family Meloidae.
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Aparallactinae is the 'Mole Vipers' subfamily of reptiles of the typical snakes family, Colubridae, suborder Serpentes (Snakes). The subfamily contains about ten genera and about 45 species native to Africa and the Middle East. All the members are venomous, with the fangs set forward in the jaw, in some species the fangs are hinged and lie flat against the jaw until required to be erected.
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Apatosaurus - also known as Brontosaurus - was a huge, plant-eating dinosaur, of the suborder Sauropoda, that lived in the Late Jurassic period, more than 140 million years ago. The name Brontosaur comes from the Greek bronte, 'thunder' and sauros, 'lizard', and implies that the animal shook the ground when it walked. It was about 21 metres long and weighed up to 30 metric tons. Its body was relatively short and thick, the neck long and slender, the tail large and strong, and the four limbs massive and of nearly equal length. The first brontosaurus skeleton was discovered in 1879 in Colorado by the American palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. It lacked a skull, so Marsh gave it a blunt, small skull found nearby. Scientists confirmed in 1979 that the skull was that of another sauropod, Camarasaurus. The Apatosaurus true skull was found to have a longer snout and longer, finer teeth.
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The Apennine (Appenninica) is a breed of sheep found in the Apennine Mountain, Emilia and Abruzzi Regions of Italy. It is a medium wool breed kept primarily for meat production. It is polled and has semi-lopped ears.
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Apes (Pongidae) are a group of primates closely related to humans, characterised by the absence of a tail and cheek-pouches. As late as 1900 apes were widely considered to be tail-less monkeys.
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Apetalous is a botanical term applied to flowers or flowering-plants which are destitute of petals or corolla.
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Aphaniptera is an order of wingless insects, composed of the different species of fleas.
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Aphanisticus is a genus of tiny jewel beetle (Buprestidae) represented by two British species.
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Aphetohyoidea is a subclass of fish. They have a bony endoskeleton and primitive jaws.
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Aphidecta is a genus of ladybird (Coccinellidae) ranging from three to five millimetres in length, and living con conifer trees where it eats aphids.
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Aphis is a genus of insects (called plant-lice) of the order Hemiptera, the type of the family Aphides. The species are very numerous and destructive. The Aphis rosae lives on the rose; the Aphis fabae on the bean; the Aphis humuli is injurious to the hop, the Aphis granaria to cereals, the Aphis lanigera or woolly aphis equally so to apple-trees. The aphides are furnished with an inflected beak, and feelers longer than the thorax. In the same species some individuals have four erect wings and others are entirely without wings. The feet are of the ambulatory kind, and the abdomen usually ends in two horn-like tubes, from which is ejected the substance called honey-dew, a favourite food of ants. The aphides illustrate parthenogenesis; hermaphrodite forms produced from eggs produce viviparous wingless forms, which again produce others like themselves, and thus multiply during summer, one individual giving rise to millions. Winged sexual forms appear late in autumn, the females of which, being impregnated by the males, produce eggs.
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Aphodius is a genus of small dung beetle of the family Scarabaeidae represented by forty-one British species most of which live and feed on dung. The adults don't dig a burrow for their young, but lay their eggs directly on the dung.
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An apiary is a placefor keeping bees. The apiary should be well sheltered from strong winds, moisture, and the extremes of heat and cold. The hives should face the south or south-east, and should be placed on shelves sixty centimeters above the ground, and about the same distance from each other. As to the form of the hives and the materials of which they should be constructed there are great differences of opinion. The old dome-shaped straw skep is still in general use among the cottagers of Great Britain. Its cheapness and simplicity of construction are in its favour, while it is excellent for warmth and ventilation; but it has the disadvantage that its interior is closed to inspection, and the honey can only be got out by stupefying the bees with the smoke of the common puff-ball or chloroform, or by fumigating with sulphur, which entails the destruction of the swarm. Wooden hives of square box-like form gained general favour among bee-keepers from about 1900 onwards. They usually consist of a large breeding chamber below and two sliding removable boxes called supers above for the abstraction of honey without disturbing the contents of the main chamber. It is of great importance that the apiary should be situated in the neighbourhood of good feeding grounds, such as gardens, clover-fields, or heath-covered hills. When their stores of honey are removed the bees must be fed during the winter and part of spring with syrup or with a solution consisting of 1 kg loaf-sugar to about half a litre of of water. In the early spring slow and continuous feeding will stimulate the queen to deposit her eggs, by which means the colony is rapidly strengthened and throws off early swarms. New swarms may make their appearance as early as May and as late as August, but swarming usually takes place in the intervening months.
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Apion is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) with over 1000 known species, 84 of which occur in Britain. They attack various parts of flowering plants.
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Apios is a genus of leguminous climbing plants, producing edible tubers on underground shoots. An American species (Apios tuberosa) has been used as a substitute for the potato, but its tubers, though numerous, are small.
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Aplacental is a term applied to those mammals in which the young are destitute of a placenta. The aplacental mammals comprise the Monotremata and Marsupialia, the two lowest orders of mammals, including the duck-mole (ornithorhynchus), the porcupine, anteater, kangaroo, etc.
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Aplacophora is an order of the Amphineura class of molluscs.
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Aplocnemus is a genus of beetle of the family Melyridae found chiefly on flowering conifers.
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Aploppas (Bixa orillana) is a small South American tree rising almost ten metres tall, with broad, heart-shaped leaves and pointed, rose-coloured flowers which occur in bunches. The fruit is heart-shaped, three centimetres long, reddish-brown and covered with stiff prickles. Annatto is obtained by pulping the seeds, allowing the pulp to dry naturally and pressing it into cakes.
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Aplopus is a genus of some nineteen species of stick insect found in the Dominican Republic. They are between 120 and 170 mm long, green or brown in colour and the male has burgundy coloured wings which cover about two-thirds of his abdomen. When threatened, the male unfolds his wings.
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In botany apocarpous is a term applied to such fruits as are the produce of a single flower, and are formed of one carpel, or a number of carpels free and separate from each other.
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Apocrita is a sub-order of the order Hymenoptera, in which the junction between the mesosoma and metasoma is clearly marked and often petiolate. The ovipositor of the female either protrudes freely or is retracted or converted into a sting for both defence and paralysing prey. The larvae are legless.
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Apocynaceae is a natural order of dicotyledonous plants, having for its type the genus Apocynum or dog-bane. The species have opposite or sometimes whorled leaves without stipules; the corolla monopetalous, hypogynous, and with the stamens inserted upon it; fruit two-celled. The plants yield a milky juice, which is generally poisonous; several yield caoutchouc, and a few edible fruits. The bark of several species is a powerful febrifuge. To the order belongs the periwinkle (Vinca).
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The Apoda are a subclass of Amphibia. They are limbless (apodous), burrowing animals with a sub-terminal anus and small practically useless eyes covered by opaque skin.
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Apodal Fishes is the name applied to such malacopterous fishes as want ventral fins. They constitute a small natural family, of which the common eel is an example.
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Apoderus is a genus of large (up to 8 mm long) Snout Beetles (Curculionidae). As with some other species the females construct cradles made from leaves for their brood in which the larvae develop and pupate.
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In zoology, the term apodous refers to a creature without feet or with just rudimentary feet.
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Apoidea is the Bee super-family of insects of the sub-order Apocrita, order Hymenoptera. The mouthparts are transformed into a sucking tube of variable length to reach the nectar at the bottom of trumpet-shaped flowers. Most species are solitary, a few are social. Social species create colonies founded by a female (known as the queen). In solitary species the female excavates a nest and provides food for future larvae.
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The Apollo Butterfly (Parnassius apollo) is an endangered species of butterfly (protected by law in many countries) of the Swallowtail family (Papilionidae). The Apollo is believed to be a relic from the Tertiary period that survived the glacial epoch in Europe. It has one generation a year, and flies from June to September, settling calmly on thistle flowers which makes it easy to catch by hand.
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In botany, apothecium are the receptacle of lichens, consisting of the spore-cases or asci, and of the paraphyses or barren threads.
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The Appaloosa is an American breed of horse developed by the Nez Perces Indians of North-West America from horses imported by the Spanish conquistadors during the 16th century. The Appaloosa stands between 14 and 15 hands high, and is characterised by its spotted markings - a characteristic which formerly provided it with camouflage. The Appaloosa also has good stamina, endurance, speed and athletic prowess. The breed was all but destroyed by the American army during the 19th century, but was recreated in 1938 by a group of breeders using the Indian's techniques.
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The Appenine shrew or Italian shrews (Sorex samniticus) is a species of European shrew found scattered through Italy. It is visually indistinguishable from the Common Shrew, though it tends to be slightly smaller and with a flatter skull, and has upper incisor cusps divided by a rounded notch.
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Apple (Pyrus Malus), is the fruit of a well-known tree of the natural order Rosaceae, or the tree itself. The apple belongs to the temperate regions of the globe, over which it is almost universally spread and cultivated. The tree attains a moderate height, with spreading branches; the leaf is ovate; and the flowers are produced from the wood of the former year, but more generally from very short shoots or spurs from wood of two years' growth. The original of all the varieties of the cultivated apple is the wild crab, which has a small and extremely sour fruit, and is a native of most of the countries of Europe. The apple was probably introduced into Britain by the Romans, and there are now six thousand recorded varieties of English apple, divided into three categories: eating, cooking and cider.
To the facility of multiplying varieties by grafting is to be ascribed the amazing extension of the sorts of apples. Many of the more marked varieties are known by general names, as pippins, codlins, rennets, etc. Apples for the table are characterized by a firm juicy pulp, a sweetish acid flavour, regular form, and beautiful colouring; those for cooking by the property of forming by the aid of heat into a pulpy mass of equal consistency, as also by their large size and keeping properties; apples for cider must have a considerable degree of astringency, with richness of juice. The propagation of apple-trees is accomplished by seeds, cuttings, suckers, layers, budding, or grafting, the last being almost the universal practice. The tree thrives best in a rich deep loam or marshy clay, but will thrive in any soil provided it is not too wet or too dry. The wood of the apple-tree or the common crab is hard, close-grained, and often richly coloured, and is suitable for turning and cabinet work. The fermented juice (verjuice) of the crab is employed in cookery and medicine. Apples are largely imported into Great Britain from the Continent and the United States and Canada. The designation apple, with various modifying words, is applied to a number of fruits having nothing in common with the apple proper, as alligator-apple, love-apple, etc
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The Apple Blossom Weevil (Anthonomus pomorum) is a species of Snout Beetle (Curculionidae) that lives chiefly on apple trees but also pear trees. The larvae eat the young buds damaging the petals so that the flowers do not open.
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The Apple Fruit Moth (Argyresthia conjugella) is a moth of the family Argyresthiidae with a wing span of between 10 and 12 mm found in Europe, Asia and North America in deciduous forests flying from May to July. the caterpillar feeds on the fruit of the apple and rowan trees.
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The Apple Leaf Miner (Lyonetia clerkella) is a moth of the family Lyonetiidae with a wing span of between 7 and 9 mm found in Europe and northern Africa in deciduous forests flying in between one and three generations throughout the year, with the adults of the last generation hibernating from September until April.
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The Apple Leaf Skeletonizer (Eutrmula pariana) is a moth of the family Glyphiptrigidae with a wing span of between 11 and 13 mm found in Europe and Asia flying in two generations during May and the end of summer. The caterpillars feed on the surface of the leaves of various trees of the Rosaceae family, notably apple.
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The Apple Pygmy (Stigmella malella) is a moth of the family Nepticulidae with a wing span of between 4 and 5 mm found in temperate Europe flying in two annual generations from June to August. The caterpillars develop in July and again in autumn on the underside of apple leaves.
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The apricot (Prunus armeniaca) is a species of the plum division of the Rosaceae. It is a native of China, brought to England from Italy in 1652. It is a hardy tree bearing stone fruit closely related to the peach. The leaves are broad and roundish with a pointed apex, finely serrated and petiole, about two centimetres long. The flowers are sessile, white, tinged with a dusky red. The fruit ripens around the end of July, to the middle of August and is a drupe like the plum with a thin, downy outer-skin enclosing the yellow flesh surrounding a woody, large, smooth compressed stone. The oil of the stone is used in cosmetics as a skin softener.
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Apterygota is a subclass of Insecta.
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Aptinus is an endangered genus of bombardier beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae. They are closely related to the genus Brachinus, but are larger, black in colour with yellowish red legs and antennae.
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Aquifoliaceae is a natural order of plants forming the holly tribe. The species consist of trees and shrubs, and the order includes the common holly (Ilex Aquifolium) and the Ilex paraguayensis, or Paraguayan tea-tree.
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The Aquilinoe is a sub-family of the Falconidae family of birds including the eagle and osprey. The beak is stout, convex or slightly angular above, straight at the base and much hooked at the tip. The cere is bristly and the nostrils rounded or oval. The wings are long.
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The Arabi is a breed of sheep found in south-western Iran, southern Iraq and north-eastern Arabia, the Arabi is a meat breed of the Near Easter Fat- Tailed type. The wool is of carpet quality. The breed is usually black, pied, or white with a black head. The males are horned and the females are hornless (polled). The Arabi is the foundation breed of the Wooed Persian of South Africa.
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The Arabian horse (or Arab) is one of the oldest pure breeds of horse in existence, dating back over two thousand years to the Middle East. The Arabian horse stands 15 hands high and is bay, grey or chestnut in colour.
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Aracacha or Arracacha is a genus of umbelliferous plants of Southern and Central America. The root of Aracacha esculenta is divided into several lobes, each of which is about the size of a large carrot. These are boiled like potatoes and largely eaten in South America.
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Aracese is a natural order of monocotyledonous plants, mostly tropical, having the genus Arum as the type. Most of the species have tuberous roots abounding in starch, which forms a wholesome food after the acrid (and even poisonous) juice has been washed out.
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Arachis is a genus of leguminous plants much cultivated in warm climates, and esteemed a valuable article of food. The most remarkable feature of the genus is that when the flower falls the stalk supporting the small undeveloped fruit lengthens, and bending towards the ground pushes the fruit into the ground, when it begins to enlarge and ripen. The pod of Arachis hypogoea (popularly called ground nut, earth nut, or peanut) is of a pale yellow colour, and contains two seeds the size of a hazel-nut, in flavour sweet as almonds, and yielding when pressed an excellent oil.
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Arachnida is a class of arthropods. They are the spiders, scorpions, king- crabs and mites. They have the body divided into a number of segments or somites, some of which have always articulated appendages (limbs, etc). There is often a pair of nervous ganglia in each somite, although in some forms (as spiders) the nervous system becomes modified and concentrated. They are oviparous and somewhat resemble insects, but they have a united head and thorax, and do not undergo a metamorphosis similar to insects. They respire by tracheae, or by pulmonary sacs, or by the skin.
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Aralia is a genus of plants with small flowers arranged in umbels and succulent berries, the type of the natural order Araliacese, which is nearly related to the Umbelliferse, but the species are of a more shrubby habit. They are natives chiefly of tropical or subtropical countries, and in Britain are represented by the ivy; ginseng belongs to the order. From the pith of one species, Aralia papyrifera is obtained Chinese rice paper.
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Araneida is the spider order of Arachnida. Spinnerets are present in the abdomen for spinning the web.
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Araneus is a genus of spider including the Garden Spider and the superficially similar, larger species Araneus quadratus which has four large white spots arranged in a square and a white anterior stripe.
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Araniella is a genus of spider. Araniella curcubitina is a common British species with a lime-green coloured abdomen patterned with yellow bands.
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Arapaima is a genus of South American fresh-water fishes, of the order Physostomi, family Osteogiossidae, one species of which (Aeapaima gigas) grows to the length of five meters, and forms a valuable article of food in Brazil and Guiana. It is covered with large bony scales, and has a bare and bony head.
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The origin of the Arapawa sheep is not certain but they have been on the New Zealand island of Arapawa for at least 135 years. They are considered a rare and endangered breed. There are many theories on the origin of the sheep. One theory implies that they are Middle Eastern breed introduced by the whalers. Another theory suggests that they originated from Australian Merinos. The most intriguing theory is that the sheep landed on the Arapawa island from a Spanish galleon as far back as the 1500s. According to the Maori legend on the island, the Spanish galleon sailed into a bay 400 years ago and befriended the people. But when the Spaniards stole the Maori Women, the men turned upon them and burned the ship. The ancestors of the Arapawa sheep escaped the wreck and swam ashore. The sheep are prehistoric looking wild sheep with fine black wool and white points. They are also horned.
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The araroba (Andira Araroba) is a large, smooth Brazilian tree with a yellowish wood from which goa powder is obtained.
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The Araucana is an old Chilean breed of hardy chicken domesticated by the Arauca Indians of Chile. The Araucana is bred both with and without a tail and with ear tufts but is most remarkable for laying eggs of varying colours, which has given rise to it being nicknamed the Easter Egg Layer.
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Araucaria is a genus of Coniferae with evergreen leaves, of a singularly geometric habit of growth, belonging to the southern hemisphere. The species are large trees with pretty large, stiff, flattened, and generally imbricated leaves, verticillate spreading branches, and bearing large cones, each scale having a single large seed. The species best known in Britain is Araucaria imbricdta (popularly known as the Chili pine or puzzle-monkey), which is quite hardy. It is a native of the mountains of southern Chili, where it forms vast forests and yields a hard durable wood. Its seeds are eaten when roasted. The Moreton Bay pine of New South Wales (Araucaria Cunninghamii) supplies a valuable timber used in house and boat building, in making furniture, and in other carpenter work. A species, Araucaria excelsa, or Norfolk Island pine abounds in several of the South Sea Islands, where it attains a height of 67 metres with a circumference of 9 meters, and is described as one of the most beautiful of trees. Its foliage is light and graceful, and quite unlike that of Araucaria imbricata, having nothing of of its stiff formality. Its timber is of some value, being white, tough, and close-grained.
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Arbor Vitae is the name of several coniferous trees of the genus Thuja, allied to the cypress, with flattened branchlets, and small imbricated or scale-like leaves. The common Arbor Vitae (Thuja occidentdlis) is a native of North America, where it grows to the height of about 14 metres. The young twigs have an agreeable balsamic smell. The Chinese Arbor Vitae (Thuja orientalis), common in Britain, yields a resin which was formerly thought to have medicinal virtues.
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Arbutus is a genus of plants belonging to the Ericaceae, or heath order, and comprising a number of small trees and shrubs, natives chiefly of Europe and North America. Arbutus Unedo abounds near the lakes of Killarney, where its fine foliage adds charms to the scenery. The bright red or yellow berries, somewhat like the strawberry, have an unpleasant taste and narcotic properties. The Corsicans make wine from them. The trailing arbutus or may-flower of North America, a plant with fragrant and beautiful blossoms, is Epigaea repens, of the same natural order.
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Archaeopteryx was the first bird. It appeared on earth during the Jurassic period. It was about 35cm long and unlike modern birds had teeth.
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The Archer's Dart (Agrotis vestigialis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae found in Europe in sandy substrate biotopes flying from July to August.
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The archerfish is a surface-living fish of the family Toxotidae, such as the genus Toxotes, native to South-East Asia and Australia. The archerfish grows to about 25 centimetres and is able to shoot down insects up to 1.5 metres above the water by spitting a jet of water from its mouth. The soft, and even the spiny portion of their dorsal fins are so covered with scales as to be scarcely distinguishable from the rest of the body.
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The Archiannelida are a class of Phylum annelida.
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The Arctic fox or polar fox (Alopex lagopus) is a carnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, found in Arctic and alpine regions. The Arctic fox is greyish-brown in colour, turning white in the winter. It has a shorter muzzle and shorter ears than the red fox, and a very thick coat. The
Arctic fox eats voles, lemmings, birds and eggs during the summer, surviving on carrion and shellfish at the coast during the winter.
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Ardeidae is the Herons family of birds of the order Grallae. They are characterized by a strong, elongated bill; long legs; four toes, three of which are more or less united at the base, the hind one long, resting on the ground.
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The Ardenner is the oldest Belgian breed of chicken. The Ardenner is a hardy breed, slender and elegant in shape and very active needing plenty of space to run about, originally bred for its egg laying abilities - 170 eggs laid in one year being recorded.
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The Ardennes Horse is several breeds of heavy horse originating from the Ardennes region of France bordering Belgium, and can be traced back to the Roman conquest of Gaul. The Ardennes Horse stands between 14 and 16 hands high, is roam, bay, iron grey or chestnut in colour with a strong body, thickset shoulders and a short head. They were used by the French military during the Napoleonic Wars and today are used for both draught work (pulling vehicles, such as carts) and meat.
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Areca is a genus of tall palms with pinnated leaves, and a drupe-like fruit enclosed in a fibrous rind.
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The arenicola are polychaeta.
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Arge is a genus of sawflies of the family Argidae. Arge ochropus (also known as
Arge rosae) is a species of sawfly that feeds on and is injurous to rose bushes. There are usually two generations, the first appearing in May and the second flying from July to August.
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Argemone is a small genus of ornamental American plants of the poppy order. From the seeds of Argemone mexicana is obtained an oil very useful to painters. The handsomest species is Argemone grandi flora, which has large flowers of a pure white colour.
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Argidae is a sawfly family of insects of the super-family Tenthredinoidea, sub-order Symphyta, order Hymenoptera.
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The Argus Pheasant (Argusianus argus) is a bird of the family Phasianidae found in the jungles of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. The Argus pheasant is named after the 100-eyed Greek mythological creature Argus, because of the many eye-like iridescent spots on the inner wing feathers of the male. Although the bird is not much larger than a large chicken when divested of its plumage, the total length, including the tail feathers, is more than 1.5 m. The tail consists of twelve feathers, of which the two middle ones are very long. The plumage of both sexes is simple and dull in colour except for the male's beautiful inner wing feathers. In both sexes the bill is nearly as long as the rest of the head, and the sides of the head and neck have almost no feathers. The Argus Pheasant lives in jungles of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo.
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The argus-flounder is a species of flounder found in American seas.
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Arhopalus is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) which are active at night.
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Aridius is a genus of Mould Beetle (Lathridiidae) notable for the thick ribs on their elytra.
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The Ariegeois, also known as the Cheval de Merens is an ancient breed of French pony. Always black in colour they originated in the mountainous region along the eastern Pyrenees. They have an easy going nature and are used for hacking.
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Aril or aririus, in some plants, as in the nutmeg, is an extra covering of the seed, outside of the true seed-coats, proceeding from the placenta, partially investing the seed, and falling off spontaneously. It is either succulent or cartilaginous, coloured, elastic, rough, or knotted. In the nutmeg it is known as mace.
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Aristolochiaceae is the birthworts (genus Aristolochia) family of plants. They are rhizoomatous perennials or climbers with alternate leaves. The flowers are tubular, often S-shaped, and in some species smell of rotten meat. The fruit is a slightly fleshy capsule.
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The Arizona Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana pyromelana) is a subspecies of the Utah Mountain Kingsnake found in Chihuahua and Sonora in Mexico where they grow to 107 cm in length and are distinguished by more than forty narrow white rings encircling the body. The head is black in colour with a white or pale yellow coloured snout with dark mottling. Chihuahuas are sprightly dogs, energetic, leaping rapidly about and inquisitive with fine hearing.
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The Arkansas Black is an American variety of apple. It is crisp with a dark skin and yellow flesh. It is not very juicy but has an aromatic flavour and keeps very well.
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The armadillo (genus Dasypus), is an edentate mammal peculiar to South America, consisting of various species, belonging to a family intermediate between the sloths and ant-eaters. They are covered with a hard bony shell, divided into belts, composed of small separate plates like a coat of mail, flexible everywhere except on the forehead, shoulders, and haunches, where it is not movable. The belts are connected by a membrane, which enables the animal to roll itself up like a hedgehog. These animals burrow in the earth, where they lie during the daytime, seldom going abroad except at night. They are of different sizes; the largest, Dasypus gigas, being about one metre in length without the tail, and the smallest only 25 cm. They subsist chiefly on fruits and roots, sometimes on insects and flesh. They are inoffensive, and their flesh is esteemed good food. There is a genus of isopodous Crustacea called Armadillo, consisting of animals allied to the wood-lice, capable of rolling themselves into a ball.
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Armeria (Thrift) also known as sea-pink is a genus of perennial plants of the family Plumbaginaceae. They are native to Europe, Asia, North America and Chile and form cushion-like tufts on the rocks of sea-shores and high in the mountains. Armeria has very slender, stiff leaves growing in bundles from the woody branches of the rootstock. The flowers are funnel-shaped, rosy and massed in half-round heads at the summit of a hairy scape.
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Army is the collective noun for a group of frogs.
Army is the collective noun for a group of ants,
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The Army Worm is the very destructive larva of the moth Heliophila or Leucania unipuncta, so called from its habit of marching in compact bodies of enormous number, devouring almost every green thing it meets. It is about 30 mm long, greenish in colour, with black stripes, and is found in various parts of the world, but is particularly destructive in North America. The larva of Sciara militaris, a European two-winged fly, is also called army worm.
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Arnica is a genus of plants of the natural order Compositae, consisting of some twelve species, one of which is found in Central Europe, Arnica montana (leopard's bane or mountain tobacco), but is not a native of Britain. It has a perennial root, a stem about 60 cm high, bearing on the summit flowers of a bright-yellow colour. In every part of the plant there is an acrid resin and a volatile oil, and in the flowers an acrid bitter principle called arnicin. The root contains also a considerable quantity of tannin. A tincture of it is employed as an external application to wounds and bruises.
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Arpedium is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae, found in damp moss in bogs.
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The Arran Brown (Erebia ligea) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in northern Europe and Japan.
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Array is the collective noun for a group of hedgehogs.
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Arrhenatherum is a genus of oat-like grasses, of which Arrhenatherum elatius, sometimes called French rye-grass, is a valuable fodder plant.
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Arrowgrass (Triglochin palustris and Triglochin maritima) are plants of the family Juncaginaceae. The former species is common in marshes and pools and the latter grows in saltwater marshes in Britain.
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The arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia) also known as Wapatoo and Is-ze-kn, is a water plant of the family Alismaceae widely distributed throughout Europe, northern Asia and North America. The stem is swollen at the base and throws out creeping stolons or runners, which produce globose winter tubers one centimetres in diameter, composed almost entirely of starch. The leaves are borne on triangular stalks that vary in length with the depth of the water in which the plant is growing. The leaves don't lie on the surface of the water, but stand above it. The leaves are large, glossy and shaped like an arrowhead. The flower stem rises directly from the root and bears several rings of buds and blossoms, three in each whorl. Each flower is composed of three outer sepals and three large petals which are white in colour with a purple base. The root of the arrowhead has long been eaten by the Chinese, Japanese and North American Indians.
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Arrowroot (Maranta arundinaceae) also known as Araruta, is a herbaceous perennial of the family Marantaceae, native to the West Indies and Central America. It has a creeping rhizome with upward-curving, fleshy, cylindrical tubers covered with large, thin scales that leave rings of scars. The flowering stem reaches a height of two metres and bears creamy flowers at the ends of the slender branches that terminate the long peduncles. They grow in pairs. The numerous, ovate, glabrous leaves are from five to 25 centimetres long with long sheaths often enveloping the stem. A starch is extracted from the rhizomes and used in cooking and in herbal medicine for treating scorpion and spider stings.
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Artemisia is a genus of plants of numerous species, of the natural order Compositse, comprising mugwort, southern wood, and wormwood. Certain alpine species are the flavouring ingredient in absinthe.
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Arthropoda is one of the two primary divisions (Anarthropoda being the other) into which modern naturalists have divided the sub-kingdom Annulosa, having the body composed of a series of segments, some always being provided with articulated appendages. The division comprises Crustaceans, Spiders, Scorpions, Centipedes, and Insects.
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Arthrozoa is a name sometimes given to all articulated animals, including the arthropoda and worms.
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The artichoke (Cyndra Scolymus) is a well-known plant of the naturak order Compositse, somewhat resembling a thistle, with large divided prickly leaves. The erect flower-stem terminates in a large round head of numerous imbricated oval spiny scales which surround the flowers. The fleshy bases of the scales with the large receptacle are the parts that are eaten. Artichokes were introduced into England early in the sixteenth century. The Jerusalem artichoke (a corruption of the Italian girasole, a sunflower), or Helianthus tuberosus, is a species of sunflower, whose roots are used like potatoes.
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Articulata is the third great section of the animal kingdom according to the arrangement of Cuvier, including all the invertebrates with the external skeleton forming a series of rings articulated together and enveloping the body, distinct respiratory organs, and an internal ganglionated nervous system along the middle line of the body. They are divided into five classes, viz. Crustacea, Arachnida, Insecta, Myriapoda, and Annelida. The first four classes are now commonly placed together under the name of Arthropoda, and the whole are sometimes called Arthrozoa.
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Artiodactyla is an order of Eutheria. They are even toed ungulates: cattle and sheep; pigs, deer and camels. They are specialised to deal with large quantities of vegetable food. The cheek teeth are adapted for grinding. The stomach is complex.
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Artocarpacese is a natural order of plants, the bread-fruit order, by some botanists ranked as a sub-order of the Urticaceae or nettles. They are trees or shrubs, with a milky juice, which in some species hardens into caoutchouc, and in the cow-tree (Brosimum Galactodendron) is a milk as good as that obtained from the cow. Many of the plants produce an edible fruit, of which the best known is the bread-fruit (Artocarpus).
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Arum is a genus of plants of the natural order Aracese. Arum maculatum (the common wake-robin, or lords-and-ladies) is abundant in woods and hedges in England and Ireland. It has acrid properties, but its corm yields a starch, which is known by the name of Portland sago or arrow-root. At one time this was prepared to a considerable extent in Portland Island. All the species of this genus develop much heat during flowering.
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Arundo is a genus of grasses now usually limited to the Arundo Donax and the species which most nearly agree with it, commonly called reeds. Arundo Donax is a native of the south of Europe, Egypt, and the East. It is one of the largest grasses in cultivation, and attains a height of about three metres. Its canes or stems were formerly used for fishing rods, etc.
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Arvicola is a genus of rodent animals of the suborder Muridse or Mice. Arvicola amphibia is the water-vole (or water-rat), and Arvicola agrestis is the field-vole or short-tailed field-mouse.
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Asaphidion is a genus of small (four to six millimetres in length) beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae. They live mostly under stones on sandy ground near water.
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Asarabacca (Asarum europeaum) is a creeping evergreen perennial of the family Aristolochiaceae found in Europe. It has short stems, usually with just two kidney- shaped, dark glossy green leaves, their stalks much longer than their blades. Solitary, brownish, tubular flowers are borne at the end of branches between April and May. Both the leaves and root were formerly used as an emetic. It entered into the composition of medicated snuffs recommended in cases of headache.
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Ascaris lumbricoides are nematode worms ranging from 20-45 centimetres long and are five mm in diameter in the adult form, the female being larger than the male. They cause the disease ascariasis which is caught by ingesting water or food contaminated with faeces containing Ascaris ova or from fingers contaminated with polluted soil.
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Ascidia (named from the Greek, askos, a wine-skin) is a name given to the Sea-squirts or main section of the Tunicata, a class of animals of low grade, resembling a double-necked bottle, of a leathery or gristly nature, found at low-water mark on the sea-beach, and dredged from deep water attached to stones, shells, and fixed objects. One of the prominent openings admits the food and the water required in respiration, the other is the excretory aperture. A single ganglion represents the nervous system, placed between the two apertures. Male and female reproductive organs exist in each ascidian. They pass through peculiar phases of development, the young ascidian appearing like a tadpole-body. They may be single or simple, social or compound. In social ascidians the peduncles of a number of individuals are united into a common tubular stem, with a partial common circulation of blood. In these animals early evolutionists saw a link between the Mollusca and the Vertebrata.
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Asclepiadacese is an order of gamopetalous exogenous plants, the distinguishing characteristic of which is that the anthers adhere to the five stigmatic processes, the whole sexual apparatus forming a single mass. The members of this order are shrubs, or sometimes herbaceous plants, occasionally climbing, almost always with a milky juice. Many of them are employed as purgatives, diaphoretics, tonics, and febrifuges, and others as articles of food. Asclepias (Swallow-Wort) is the typical genus.
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Ascomycetes is a large group of fungi, so called from their spores being contained in asci or sacs.
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Asemum is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae). The larvae develop in damaged conifers, and sometimes adult beetles emerge from timber already used in construction.
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Asexual is a term applied to reproduction by a single parent.
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Ash (Fraxinus) is, a genus of deciduous trees belonging to the natural order Oleaceae, having imperfect flowers and a seed-vessel prolonged into a thin wing at the apex (called a samara). There are a good many species, chiefly indigenous to Europe and North America. The common ash {Fraximus excelsior), indigenous to Britain, has a smooth bark, and grows tall and rather slender. The branches are flattened; the leaves have five pairs of pinnae, terminated by an odd one, dark-green in colour; lanceolate, with serrated edges. The flowers are produced in loose spikes from the sides of the branches. and are succeeded by flat seeds which ripen in autumn. It is one of the most useful of British trees on account of the excellence of its hard, tough, elastic wood and the rapidity of its growth. There are many varieties of it, as the weeping-ash, the curled-leaved ash, the entire-leaved ash, etc. The flowering or manna ash (Fraximus Ornus), by some placed in a distinct genus (Ornus), is a native of the south of Europe and Palestine. It yields the substance called manna, which is obtained by making incisions in the bark, when the juice exudes and hardens. Among American species are the white ash (Fraximus americana), with lighter bark and leaves; the red or black ash (Fraximus pubescens), with a brown bark; the black ash (Fraximus sambucifolia), the blue ash, the green ash, etc. They are all valuable trees. The mountain-ash or rowan belongs to a different order.
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The Ash Bud Moth (Prays fraxinella) is a moth of the family Plutellidae with a wing span of between 14 and 18 mm found in Europe and Asia flying from June to September in two generations.
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The Ashy-Grey Slug (Limax cinereoniger) is the largest British slug, growing to twenty-five centimetres long, found under logs. It is ash-grey in colour with a yellowish keel running along the back from the mantle to the tail.
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Asiphonata or Asiphonida is an order of lamellibranchiate, bivalve molluscs, destitute of the siphon or tube through which, in the Siphonata, the water that enters the gills is passed outwards. It includes the oysters, the scallop-shells, the pearl-oyster, the mussels, and in general the most useful and valuable molluscs.
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The asoka (Jonesia. Asoca) is an Indian tree of the natural order Leguminosae, having a lovely flower, showing orange, scarlet, and bright yellow tints. The asoka is sacred to the god Siva, and is often mentioned in Indian literature.
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The Asp, or Aspic (Naja, or Vipera haje) is a species of viper found in Egypt, resembling the cobra da capello or spectacle-serpent of the East Indies, and having a very venomous bite. When approached or disturbed it elevates its head and body, swells out its neck, and appears to stand erect to attack the aggressor. Hence the ancient Egyptians believed that the asps were guardians of the spots they inhabited, and the figure of this Asp, from ancient reptile was adopted as Egyptian monument. an emblem of the protecting genius of the world. The balancing motions made by it in the endeavour to maintain the erect attitude have led to the employment of the asp as a dancing Serpent by the African jugglers. The deaf adder that stoppeth her ear of Psalm LVIII. 4, 5 is translated asp in the margin, and seems to have been this species. Cleopatra is said to have committed suicide by means of an asp's bite, but the incident is generally associated with the Cerastes or horned viper, not with the haje. The name asp is also given to a viper (Vipera aspis) common on the continent of Europe.
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Originally, aspalathus was a popular name for the Middle Eastern camel-thorn (Alhagi camelorum), or similar fragrant shrubs. Now, the name is used to describe the evergreen thorny leguminous shrubs of the African genus
Aspalathus.
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Asparagus (Asparagus officindlis) is a plant of the order Liliaceae, the young shoots of which, cut as they are emerging from the ground, are a favourite culinary vegetable. In Greece, and especially in the southern steppes of Russia and Poland, it is found in profusion; and its edible qualities were esteemed by the ancients. It grows wild in some parts of England, but does not attain nearly to the size of the cultivated plant. It is usually raised from seed; and the plants should remain three years in the ground before they are cut; after which, for several years, they will continue to afford a regular annual supply. The beds are protected by straw or litter in winter. Its diuretic properties are ascribed to the presence of a crystalline substance found also in the potato, lettuce, etc.
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The Aspen or trembling poplar (Populus tremula) is a species of small deciduous tree of the family Salicaceae, native to Europe, north Africa and north Asia. It is a beautiful tree of rapid growth and extremely hardy, with smooth bark which is yellow at first, turning a blackish colour later. The leaves are alternate, almost circular and have bluntly toothed or wavy edges and strong, sideways-flattened petioles and are attached to footstalks so long and slender as to be shaken by the slightest wind. Aspen is dioecious with separate male and female flowers arranged in catkins. The wood is light, porous, soft, and of a white colour, useful for various purposes.
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Asphodel (Asphodelus) is a genus of plants of the order Liliaceae, consisting of perennials, with fasciculated fleshy roots, flowers arranged in racemes, six stamens inserted at the base of the perianth, a sessile almost spherical ovary with two cells, each containing two ovules; fruit a capsule with three cells, in each of which there are, as a rule, two seeds. Two species are cultivated in Britain as garden flowers, the yellow asphodel (Asphodelus luteus) and the white asphodel (Asphodelus albus). The Asphodelus ramosus, which attains a height of 1.5 meters, is cultivated in Algeria and elsewhere, its tubercles yielding a very pure alcohol, and the residue, together with the stalks and leaves, being used in making pasteboard and paper. The asphodel was a favourite plant among the ancients, who were in the habit of planting it round their tombs.
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Aspidiphoridae is a family of beetles of the order Coleoptera.
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Aspidiphorus is a genus of beetle of the family Aspidiphoridae, often occurring on slime moulds with beetles of the genus Sphindus.
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Aspidistra is a genus of plants of the lily family, comprising three or four species, natives of China and Japan, being plants with large smooth rectangular lanceolate leaves, rising from an underground rhizome, and with campanulate flowers of a dull purplish or brownish colour.
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Aspidium is a genus of ferns of the natural order Polypodiaceae, comprising the shield-fern and male-fern.
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Asplenium is a genus of ferns, of the natural order Polypodiaceae. Nine species are found in Britain, among them the well-known Maiden-hair and Wall-rue.
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The ass or donkey (Equus asinus) is a species of the horse genus, supposed by Darwin to have sprung from the wild variety {Asinus toeniopus) found in Abyssinia; by some writers to be a descendant of the onager or wild ass, inhabiting the mountainous deserts of Tartary, etc; and by others to have descended from the kiang or djiggetai (Asinus hemionus) of southwestern Asia. Both in colour and size the ass is exceedingly variable, ranging from dark grey and reddish brown to white, and from the size of a Newfoundland dog in North India to that of a good-sized horse. In the south-western countries of Asia and in Egypt, in some districts of Southern Europe, as in Spain, and in Kentucky and Peru, great attention has been paid to selection and interbreeding, with a result no less remarkable than in the case of the horse. Thus in Syria there appear to be four distinct breeds: a light and graceful animal used by ladies, an Arab breed reserved for the saddle, an ass of heavier build in use for ploughing and draft purposes, and the large Damascus breed. The efforts made to raise the deteriorated British breed during the 19th century were only partially successful.
The male ass is mature at two years of age, the female still earlier. The she-ass carries her young for eleven months. The teeth of the young ass follow the same order of appearance and renewal as those of the horse. The life of the ass does not usually exceed thirty years. It is in general much healthier than the horse, and is maintained in this condition by a smaller quantity and coarser quality of food; it is superior to the horse in its ability to carry heavy burdens over the most precipitous roads, and is in no respect its inferior in intelligence, despite the reputation for stupidity which it has borne from very ancient times. The ass has a keen sense of humour and mischief, and domestic ass delight in throwing riders into rivers and thorn bushes, and also tripping over the unwary.
The skin is used as parchment to cover drums, etc, and in the East is made into shagreen. The hybrid offspring of the horse and the female ass is the hinny, that of the ass and the mare is the mule; but the latter is by far the larger and more useful animal. Asses' milk, long celebrated for its sanative qualities, more closely resembles that of a woman than any other. It is very similar in taste, and throws up an equally fluid cream, which is not convertible into butter.
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The assai-palm (Euterpe oleracea) is a native of tropical South America, only about ten centimetres in diameter and 20 metres high, with a crown of leaves, beneath which a small fruit grows on branched horizontal spadices. The pulp of the fruit mixed with water is used as a beverage.
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The Assateague is an American breed of feral pony found on the island of
Assateague off the coast of Virginia. They occur in many colours, but often pinto, and stand 12 hands high.
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The Assendelfter or Assendelft Fowl is a Dutch breed of chicken originating from northern Holland. The Assendelfter is a slender bird bred for egg laying, producing smallish eggs are rarely going broody.
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Aster is a genus of plants of the natural order Compositae, comprehending several hundred species, mostly natives of North America, although others are widely distributed. Many are cultivated as ornamental plants. One, Aster Tripolium, is native in Britain, and is found in salt marshes, having a pretty purple flower. Asters generally flower late in the season, and some are hence called Michaelmas or Christmas Daisies. The China Aster (Aster or Callistephus sinensis) is a very showy annual, of which there are many varieties.
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Asterias is an asteroidea.
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Asteroidea is a class of Phylum Echinodermata. These are the starfishes. The animals have tubular feet contained in a groove along the under surface of each of the 'arms', these feet can be retracted.
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Astragalus is a genus of papilionaceous plants, herbaceous or shrubby, and often spiny. Astragalus gummifer yields gum tragacanth.
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Astrocaryum is a genus of tropical American palms, species of which yield oil and valuable fibre. Tucum oil and tucum thread are obtained from Astrocaryum vulgare.
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The Asturian is an ancient breed of endangered Spanish pony from northern Spain, similar to the now extinct Galician pony. The Asturian stands between 11 and 12 hands high, is brown or black in colour and has a placid and good natured temperament.
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In biology, atavism is the tendency to reproduce the ancestral type in animals or plants which have become considerably modified by breeding or cultivation; the reversion of a descendant to some peculiarity of a more or less remote ancestor.
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Atheta is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae. Atheta is the most numerous European beetle genus, with 137 species in Britain alone. They range from one to five millimetres in length.
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Atholus is a genus of beetles of the family Histeridae. They are very similar to the genus Hister, but have two and not three striae in the anterior corner of the pronotum.
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Athous is a genus of click beetle (Elateridae).
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The Atlantic Central American Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum polyzona) is a species of Milk snake distinguished by white scales around the nostrils on a black coloured snout, and found in tropical rainforests.
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The Atlantic Cownose Ray (Rhinoptera bonasus) is a fish of the family Rhinopteridae with wide and falcate pectoral fins about 210 cm wide from edge to edge, a bulbous head with a concave leading edge resembling a cow's nose, a single dorsal fin present at the base of the tail which is long and whipl-ike. The dorsum is generally a mid to dark brown colour, the ventrum pale with dusky pectoral fin tips. Atlantic cownosed rays are to be found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Mauritania, Senegal, and Guinea to the western Atlantic Ocean from New England to Brazil, where they swim singulary or in schools using their pectoral fins to stir-up the sediment and find ,olluscs and crustaceans to eat.
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The Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) is one of the largest of the Lepidoptera with a wing span of about 235 mm. The Atlas Moth is found in south India and on the islands of south-east Asia including Indonesia. The caterpillars feed mainly on plants of the family Simaroubaceae and Salicaceae.
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Atomaria is a genus of tiny beetles of the family Cryptophagidae.
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Atrecus is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae. They live beneath the bark or in the powdered wood of old rotten trees.
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Attagenus is a genus of beetle of the carpet beetle family (Dermestidae). The larvae of the genus do severe damage to furs and carpets.
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Attalea is a genus of American palms, comprising the piassava palm, which produces coquilla-nuts.
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Attercop is an old name for a poison spider. The word specifically refers to a poisonous spider, and not simply a spider, as the two parts are old Anglo-Saxon, 'atter' meaning poison and 'cop' meaning spider.
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Auchenia is a former genus of animals to which the llama, alpaca, guanaco and vicuna were all thought to belong, they are now known to be separate, though related animals.
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Aucuba is a genus of plants of the order Cornaceae, one species of which, Aucuba japomoa, a laurel-like shrub with spotted leaves, a native of Japan and China, is now common in ornamental grounds in Europe. The flowers are dioecious and inconspicuous. For a long time only the female plant was cultivated, but during the 19th century the male was introduced, and the fruit, which consists of beautiful coral-red berries, was subsequently developed, and added greatly to the attractiveness of the plant. Aucuba himalaica, also brought to Europe, is less hardy.
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Auk is a name of certain swimming birds, of the family Alcidae, including the great auk, the little auk, the puffin, etc. The genus Alca, or auks proper, contains only two species, the great auk (Alca impennis) and the razor-bill (Alca torda). The great auk or gair-fowl, a bird about one metre in length, used to be plentiful in northerly regions, and also visited the British shores, but has become extinct. Some seventy skins, about as many eggs, with bones representing perhaps a hundred individuals, are preserved in various museums. Though the largest species of the family, the wings were only fifteen centimeters from the carpal joint to the tip, totally useless for flight, but employed as fins in swimming, especially under water. The tail was about seven centimeters long; the beak was high, short, and compressed; the head, neck, and upper parts were blackish; a large spot under each eye, and most of the under parts white. Its legs were placed so far back as to cause it to sit nearly upright. The razor-bill is about 38 cm in length, and its wings are sufficiently developed to be used for flight. It is found in numbers on some parts of the British shores, as the Isle of Man.
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Auleutes is a genus of tiny Snout Beetles (Curculionidae).
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Aurantiaceae is the orange tribe, a natural order of plants, polypetalous dicotyledons, with leaves containing a fragrant essential oil in transparent dots, and a superior pulpy fruit, originally natives of India; examples comprise the orange, lemon, lime, citron, and shaddock.
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An auricle is a heart chamber which receives blood.
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Auricula is a garden flower derived from the yellow Primula Auricula, found native in the Swiss Alps, and sometimes called bear's-ear from the shape of its leaves. It has for centuries been an object of cultivation by florists, who have succeeded in raising from seed a great number of beautiful varieties. Its leaves are obovate, entire or serrated, and fleshy, varying, however, in form in the numerous varieties. The flowers are borne on an erect umbel and central scape with involucre. The original colours of the corolla are yellow, purple, and variegated, and there is a mealy covering on the surface.
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The aurochs was a species of wild bull or buffalo, the urus of Caesar, bison of Pliny, the European bison, Bos or Bonassus Bison of modern naturalists. This animal was once abundant in Europe, but by 1900 it was extinct in the wild except for a few herds in the forests of Lithuania afforded the protection of the Emperor of Russia, and shortly afterwards it became extinct.
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The Australian Illawarra Shorthorn is a breed of cattle.
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The Australian Pony is an Australian breed of pony which evolved from imported Indonesian Timor ponies cross-bred with imported Welsh Mountain ponies, Hackney Ponies and other breeds. The Australian Pony is a placid and well-behaved pony standing about 12 to 14 hands high, usually grey in colour.
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The Australian Stock Horse or Waler is an Australian breed of horse standing 14.2 to 16.2 hands high and first imported during the 18th century from the South African Cape. They were originally used as ranch horses and as cavalry mounts, many being used by the Allies during the Great War. The Australian Stock Horse is usually bay in colour, similar in appearance to the Thoroughbred but with more bone.
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The Australorp is an Australian breed of chicken bred for both eating and egg laying. The Australorp is a medium-heavy, attractive breed, serene and friendly, tolerant of each other and not keen on flying.
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Autalia is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae, with four British species, found in decomposing plant material, fungi, compost, dung and carrion.
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Autophagi are birds which feed themselves as soon as hatched.
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Autotomy, or self-mutilation, is a defence mechanism employed by some animals, especially insects. Typically the animal will quickly shed a captured leg allowing the animal to escape a prey.
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Autotrophism is a type of nutrition in which organisms synthesize the organic materials they require from inorganic sources. Chief sources of carbon and nitrogen are carbon dioxide and nitrates, respectively. All green plants are autotrophic and use light as a source of energy for the synthesis, i.e. they are photoautotrophic. Some bacteria are also photoautotrophic; others are chemoautotrophic, using energy derived from chemical processes.
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The Autumnal Moth (Epirrita autumnata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 25 and 35 mm found in central and northern Europe and the colder parts of Asia to the Far East flying from September to November.
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Auxin is a hormone that promotes stem and root growth in plants. Auxins influence many aspects of plant growth and development, including cell enlargement, inhibition of development of axillary buds, tropisms, and the initiation of roots. Synthetic auxins are used in rooting powders for cuttings, and in some weed killers, where high auxin concentrations cause such rapid growth that the plants die. They are also used to prevent premature fruit drop in orchards. The most common naturally occurring auxin is known as indoleacetic acid, or IAA. It is produced in the shoot apex and transported to other parts of the plant.
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The Auxois is a rare breed of French heavy horse descended from the Burgundian-horse of the Middle Ages. The Auxois stands 15 to 16 hands high, and occurs in bay, roam and sometimes chestnut colours. The Auxois is lightly feathered, has enormous pulling capacity and is used for draught work.
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Ava-ava, also known as Arva, Kava, or Yava (Micropiper methysticum), is a plant of the natural order Piperacese (the pepper family), so called by the inhabitants of Polynesia, who make an intoxicating drink out of it. Its leaves are chewed with betel in South-eastern Asia.
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Avaceratops was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous Period. The remains of an
Avaceratops were first discovered in 1981 in Montana, USA and were named in 1986 after the wife of the man who found the bones. Avaceratops was a herbivore, about 2.5 metres long, with a short bony frill over the neck, a single short horn on the snout, and walked on all fours. As only one specimen has been discovered, it is impossible to say what size the species really was, the specimen might have been of a juvenile.
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The Avelignese is an Italian breed of good-natured, placid pony. They stand about 14 hands high, are chestnut coloured with a flaxen mane and tail.
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The Aves are the bird class of Craniates. They are similar to the reptiles, but are warm-blooded vertebrates (like the mammals) and have become adapted to flying, although some of the 8700 species cannot fly. Birds have light, hollow bones, a four-chambered heart (as do the mammals), the fore limbs are modified to form wings (a characteristic shared with the bats), and uniquely the body is covered with feathers which are moulted and replaced each year. Unlike mammals birds lay calcareous eggs, the number varying with the species from one to twenty or more. The Aves class is a very large class of animals and is subdivided into two subclasses, the Archaeornithes containing the most primitive birds which are closely related to the reptiles, and the Neornithes containing the more advanced birds. The Neornithes are again divided into four major divisions: the Odontognathae, or toothed birds; the Ichthyornithes which are all fossil forms with vertebrae like those of fish; the Impennes containing the penguins; and the
Neognathae which a more specialized modern type of palatal structure. These divisions are further subdivided into orders, sub-orders and families.
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Avifauna is a collective term for the birds of any region.
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Avimimus was a small, bird-like dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Remains of Avimimus were discovered in 1981 in the USSR. Avimimus was a herbivore, about 1 to 1.5 metres long, lightly-built with bird-like legs.
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The avocado-pear also known as the avocado, alligator pear or subaltern's butter (Persea gratissima) is an evergreen tree of the family Lauraceae. It has a brownish or puplish pear-shaped berry, weighing around one to two pounds, and filled with an oily, green pulp similar in texture to butter. It is a native tree of tropical America and the West Indies.
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Avocet (Avoset) is the popular name for long-legged, web-footed shorebirds of the genus Recurvirostra, family Recurvirostridae order Charadriiformes. They are characterized by a long, slender, up-curved bill and frequent marshes where they search shallow water with their sensitive beaks for crustaceans, snails, and similar prey. There are four species of the genus: one found in Eurasia and Africa, one in North America, one in Australia, and one in South America. Avocets build simple nests on the ground in marshy places and usually lay four olive or buff coloured eggs, thickly spotted with dark brown.
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The Awassi (also known as the Ivesti, Arab Sheep, Baladi, Deiri, Shami, Gezirieh, Syrian Sheep) is a nomadic sheep breed created through centuries of natural and selective breeding to become the highest milk producing breed in the Middle East. The breed is of the Near Eastern Fat-tailed type. The average ewe has single lactations over 300 litres per 210 day lactation and it is not uncommon for outstanding females to have 210 day lactations above 750 litres. The breed is calm around people, easy to work with and easily milked. When machine milked, they can be milked in 4-6 minutes. The breed also has the advantage of natural hardiness and grazing ability. The breed is well suited to a grazing production system as well as a confinement operation. The Awassi has a brown face and legs with the fleece varying in colour from brown to white. Individuals can also be found with black, white, grey or spotted faces. The males are horned and the females are usually polled. The fleece is mostly carpet type with a varying degree of hair.
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In botany, the axil is the angle between the upper surface of a branch or leafstalk and the stem from which it grows.
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Axinopalpis is a genus of rare longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
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Axinotarsus is a genus of beetle of the family Malachiidae, one of the three species found in Britain, Axinotarsus pulicarius occurs only in south-east England.
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The axis (Cervus axis) is a species of Indian deer, also known as the Spotted Hog-deer, of a rich fawn colour, nearly black along the back, with white spots, and under parts white. The axis breeds freely in many parks in Europe.
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Axolotl are salamanders of the genus Amblystoma found in North America. The Axolotl is a stoutly-built lizard-like animal, about 25 cm long, dark grey in colour with black spots. The tail is flattened and has a semi-transparent membranous fin. The head is flat and broad and has three feathery gills on each side. The Axolotl retain many larval characteristics, but can develop into full adults in certain conditions. In Mexico they were eaten as a delicacy by the native Indians.
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The Aye-Aye (Chiromys madagascariensis) is a Madagascan species of Lemur about the size of a domestic cat, distinguished by hving front teeth adapted for gnawing, like those of a rodent.
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The Aylesbury is a breed of duck.
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The Ayrshire is a fleshy bodied red or brown coloured breed of domestic dairy cattle found throughout the temperate regions of the world.
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Azalea is a genus of plants of the natural order Ericaceae, or heaths, remarkable for the beauty and fragrance of their flowers, and distinguished from the rhododendrons chiefly by the flowers having five stamens instead of ten. Many beautiful rhododendrons with deciduous leaves are known under the name of azalea in gardens. The azaleas are common in North America, and two species of these, Azalea viscosa and Aazalea nudiflora, are well known in Britain. An Asiatic species, Azalea pontica, famous for the stupefying effect which its honey is said to have produced on Xenophon's army, is also common in British gardens and shrubberies; and another, Azalea indica, is a brilliant greenhouse plant.
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Azemiophinae is the 'Fea Vipers' sub-family of reptiles of the family Viperidae, sub-order Serpentes (Snakes). The family consists of a single genus.
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The Azteca is a Mexican breed of horse developed in 1972 from a mix of Andalusian, Quarter Horse and Criollo horses. The Azteca stands between 14.3 and 15.2 hands high and occurs in various whole colours. They are used for riding and also for light draft and light farm work.
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The azurine or blue roach (Leuciscus coeruleus) is a freshwater fish of the same genus as the roach, chub, and minnow, found in some parts of Europe, but rare in Britain.
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