|
The gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica) is a large venomous viper that occurs in African rainforests. It has brown and purple markings and hornlike projections on its snout.
 Research Gaboon Viper
Gabrius is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae, formerly classified as a subgenus of Philonthus. There are 13 species in Britain where they live in decaying organic matter and in wet places.
Research Gabrius
Gadfly is a name commonly applied to various insects, a large number of which belong to the great Linnaean genus OEstrus, while others belong to the genus Tabanus. OEstrus bovis or ox gadfly (the Hypoderma bovis of some naturalists) is about 7 lines in length with a yellow thorax, with a black band; white abdomen; fulvous terminal segments and dusky wings. This species attacks the horse also, the female depositing her eggs in the skin of these animals in considerable numbers. In a short time the eggs are matured, and produce a larva or worm, which immediately pierces the skin, raising large lumps or tumours filled with pus, upon which the larva feeds.
Oestrus equi (the Gastrophilus or Gastrus equi of some naturalists) deposits its eggs upon such parts of the skin of horses as are subject to be much licked by the animal, and thus they are conveyed to the stomach, where the heat speedily hatches the larvae, well known under the name of botts.
Oestrus ovis (also called Cephalomyia ovis) deposits its eggs in the nostrils of sheep, where the larva is hatched, and immediately ascends into the frontal sinuses, attaching itself very firmly to the lining membrane by means of two strong hooks situated at its mouth. Other species infest the buffalo, camel, stag, etc. Even rhinoceroses and elephants are said not to be altogether exempt from their attacks.
The characteristics of the genus Tabanus are two enormous eyes, usually of a greenish-yellow colour rayed or spotted with purple, antennas scarcely longer than the head, the last joint with five divisions. These insects suck the blood of horned cattle, horses, and sometimes people. The Tabanus bovinus, or larger gadfly is common in Europe. It is about 25 mm long, brown above and grey below. Its larva live on the ground, and its metamorphosis takes place under the earth but close to the surface.
Research Gadfly
Gadid is a popular name for any marine teleost fish of the family Gadidae, which includes the cod, ling and haddock.
Research Gadid
Gadidae is a family of malacopterous fish including the cod, ling and haddock.
Research Gadidae
The gadwall (Anas strepera) is a greyish-brown, freshwater species of duck. It is common in North America, and rare in Britain. It is not so large as a mallard and has long pointed wings and a vigorous and rapid flight.
Research Gadwall
Gaertnera is a genus of tropical shrubs belonging to the family Loganiaceae.
Research Gaertnera
Gaggle is the collective noun for a group of geese on the ground, rather than in flight.
Research Gaggle
Gaillardia is a genus of the North American plants of the family Compositae. They have ornamental flower heads with yellow or red rays and purple discs.
Research Gaillardia
Gala is a variety of apple that was crossed in New Zealand and released in 1960. Its parents are Kidd's Orange Red and Golden Delicious. It was taken to the USA in 1972 by Stark Brothers Nurseries & Orchards Co. of Louisiana, Missouri. In recent years, buoyed by the success of Gala imports from New Zealand, American growers have become enthusiastic about the variety. It is a relatively early apple that has a snappy zest over a mellow sweetness. Its yellowish, juicy flesh is very firm. The original Galas retained the external colour from the Kidd's side, but some mutations found recently show a complete red colour. Galas are noted for their eating quality out of hand.
Research Gala
Galago is the bushbaby genus of mammals. They are widely distributed throughout Africa and have large naked ears which can be folded so as to lie close to the sides of the head.
Research Galago
The galah (Kakatoe roseicapilla) is an Australian cockatoo. It has grey wings, back, and crest and a pink body.
Research Galah
Galathea is a genus of decapod crustacea containing several common British forms, often called squat lobsters. The body is lobster-like, but is broad and somewhat flattened, the tail being habitually carried in a strongly bent position.
Research Galathea
The Galbulinae are a family of tropical American Fissirostal birds allied to the trogons and kingfishers.
Research Galbulinae
Galeandra is a genus of deciduous, terrestrial, tropical American orchids.
Research Galeandra
Galega is a genus of leguminous plants with white or blue papilionaceous flowers borne in racemes. The leaves are pinnate, and the leaflets entire.
Research Galega
Galeidae is the tope family of small sharks.
Research Galeidae
The Galemys are a genus of mammals of the family Talpidae, order Insectivora, allied to the shrews. They live in burrows at the sides of streams and feed on insects.
Research Galemys
Galeopsis is a genus of plants of the family Labiatae characterized by the equally five-toothed calyx. They are herbaceous plants with square stems usually clothed with sharp bristly hairs, nettle-like leaves on long stalks, and red, white or yellow Labiate flowers.
Research Galeopsis
Galerucella is a genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) that feed on tree leaves.
Research Galerucella
The Galiceno is a Mexican breed of pony developed during the 16th century from horses brought to South America by Hernado Cortes. The Galiceno is thought to have been a cross of the Spanish Galician pony and the Portuguese Garrano pony. The Galiceno has a placid and good natured temperament, stands 14 hands high and occurs in many colours. They are quick and athletic ponies with good stamina and are used for farm work, riding and also as pack animals.
Research Galiceno
The Galician is a now extinct ancient breed of Spanish pony.
Research Galician
The Galician Blond is a breed of cattle.
Research Galician Blond
The galingale or galangal (Cyperus longus) is a European cyperaceous plant with rough-edged leaves, reddish spikelets of flowers, and aromatic roots.
Research Galingale
Galium is a genus of hardy annual and perennial plants belonging to the family Rubiaceae.
Research Galium
A gall (also known as a gall-nut or nut-gall) is a growth caused on plants of various kinds by parasitic mites (Phytoptidae). The galls of commerce are produced by a species of Cynips (Gall-fly) in the tender shoots of the Quercus infectoria, a species of oak abundant in Asia Minor, Syria, Iraq, etc. They are spherical and tubercular, and vary in magnitude from the size of a pea to that of a hazel-nut. White, green, and blue varieties are recognized, the latter kinds being the best. They are inodorous, but are strongly astringent from the tannin and gallic acid which they contain, and which are their chief products. Gall-nuts were extensively used in dyeing and in the manufacture of ink, and they were also frequently used in medicine. They were chiefly imported from Aleppo, Tripoli, and Smyrna. The Chinese galls, or woo-pei-tsze, differ from the foregoing in that they are really an unusually massive kind of crust or cocoon, such as the aphides form on the surface of a plant; the tissues of the plant are not affected. After the opening of the Japanese ports these were imported in considerable quantities to Britain.
Research Gall
Gall-fly is a name for several hymenopterous insects of the family Cynipidae, which form galls, each species preferring a different plant. The gall is due to an irritating fluid which the insect deposits on the plant along with its egg. The large galls at the base of oak leaves are produced by the Cynips quercus baccarum, a fly of a brown colour, with blade antenna, chestnut-brown legs, and white wings. The small galls on the under surface of oak leaves are due to another species, Cynips quercus folii, those on the stems of oaks to Cynips terminalis.
Research Gall-fly
The gallant soldier or Joey Hooker (Galinsoga parviflora)is a South American plant of the family Compositae widely distributed as a weed, having small daisy-like flowers surrounded by silvery scales.
Research Gallant Soldier
Gallimimus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Gallimimus was about four metres long, walked on its hind legs and had hands that were incapable of grasping. Gallimimus had a long snout with a broad, flat end, large eyes and toothless jaws. It has been suggested that it may have fed on eggs.
Research Gallimimus
Gallinae is the Gallinaceous order of birds. They are characterized by a vaulted upper mandible, the nostrils pierced in a large membranous space at the base of the beak, and covered by a cartilaginous scale. They have three toes in front, and one behind, sometimes articulated high on the tarsus. The claws are stout, short and slightly curved.
Research Gallinae
Gallinule is a name for aquatic birds belonging to the family Rallidae or rails, genera Gallinula and Porphyrio. They are good swimmers, though they are not web-footed, but have the toes furnished with a narrow membrane. The common gallinule, moorhen or water-hen (Gallinula chloropus), is the only British species. It is black, with a red frontal shield.
Research Gallinule
The galliwasp (Diploglossus), is a genus of lizard of the family Anguidae, about 30cm long and stout and plump. It is generally brown in colour and is native to the West Indies and was particularly common in Jamaica during the 19th century.
Research Galliwasp
The Galloway is a Scottish hornless, black, compact, low-set breed of beef cattle.
The Galloway was a former breed of small horse, less than fifteen hands high, originally from Galloway in Scotland.
Research Galloway
Galls (gall-nuts) are a vegetable excrescence produced by the deposit of the egg of an insect in the bark or leaves of a plant.
Research Galls
gallsickness or anaplasmosis is a disease of cattle and sheep, caused by infection with rickettsiae of the genus Anaplasma. It results in anaemia and jaundice.
Research Gallsickness
Galphimia is a genus of tropical American evergreen shrubs.
Research Galphimia
Galtonia is a genus of South African hardy liliaceous plants. They have lanceolate leaves, drooping racemes of waxy white flowers, and a fragrant scent.
Research Galtonia
Gam is the collective noun for a group of whales.
Gam is the collective noun for a group of porpoises.
Gam is the collective noun for a group of dolphins.
Research Gam
Gama grass also known as buffalo-grass (Tripsacum dactyloides) is a tough, tall perennial grass of south-east North America cultivated for fodder.
Research Gama Grass
In botany, a gametangium is an organ or cell in which gametes are produced. The term is especially applied to algae and fungi.
Research Gametamgium
A gamete is one of the two cells which fuse together to commence reproduction.
Research Gamete
A gametocyte is an animal or plant cell that develops into gametes by meiosis.
Research Gametocyte
The gametophore is the part of a plant that bears the reproductive organs.
Research Gametophore
Gammarus is a genus of amphipod Crustacea.
Research Gammarus
In botany, a gamone is a chemical substance secreted by a gamete that attracts another gamete during sexual reproduction.
Research Gamone
Gang is the collective noun for a group of elk.
Research Gang
The gang-gang (Callocephalon fimbriatum) is a small black cockatoo of south- east Australia, the male of which has a scarlet head.
Research Gang-Gang
The Gannet or Solan goose (Sula bassana) is a British sea bird of the family Pelecanidae. It is about one metre long with a wing span of 180 cm and the plumage is dirty white or grey. The bill is straight, and about 15 centimetres long and furnished beneath with a kind of pouch. The gannets are birds of passage, arriving in Great Britain about March and departing in August or September, their movements being partially determined by those of the herring, on which they feed. They migrate to the southward in the winter, and appear on the coast of Portugal. In the breeding season they retire to high rocks on unfrequented islands, such as the Hebrides, Orkneys, St Kilda, Ailsa Graig, and the Bass Rock. The nests are generally formed of sea-weed. The female lays only one egg, though, if it is removed, she will deposit another. The young, which are much darker than the old birds, remain in the nest until nearly their full size, becoming extremely fat. In St Kilda they traditionally formed part of the food of the inhabitants, being taken by men lowered from the top of the cliffs.
Research Gannet
The ganoids or Ganoidei are an order of fish. The families of this order are chiefly characterized by angular, rhomboidal, polygonal, or circular scales composed of horny or bony plates covered with a thick plate of glossy enamel-like substance.
The ganoids were most numerous in Paleozoic and early Mesozoic times, but are now represented by seven genera: Lepidosteus, the bony pikes or gar-pikes of the North American fresh-water lakes; Polypterus, represented by a single species occurring in rivers of tropical Africa; Calamoichthys, a similar genus found in Old Calabar; Amia, the fresh-water mud-fish of North America; Acipenser, represented by the sturgeon; Scaphirhynchius, best known by the so-called shovel-nosed sturgeon of the Mississippi basin; and the genus Polyodon or Spatularia, the paddle-fishes of the Mississippi and great rivers of China.
Research Ganoid
The gaper-shell is a lamellibranchiate mollusc common on British coasts. It has a rectangular shell and burrows in sand and mud.
Research Gaper-shell
Gapes is a disease of young domestic fowl, characterized by gaping or gasping for breath and caused by small parasitic worms in the windpipe (gapeworms).
*Gapeworm
The gapeworm (Syngamus trachea)is a parasitic nematode worm of the family Syngamidae, that lives in the trachea of birds and causes gapes in domestic fowl.
Research Gapes
The gar-fish (Lepidosteus, bony pike, sea-pike, gar-pike, sea-needle) is a long and slender sea fish of the genus Belone, about 90cm long. The head projects forward into a very long sharp snout. The sides and belly are of a bright silvery colour and the back is green. They are found in North American lakes and rivers.
Research Gar-Fish
Garcinia is a genus of plants of the family Guttiferae.
Research Garcinia
The Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 18 and 25 mm found chiefly in the lowlands across Europe, Asia and North America flying from April to October in two generations.
Research Garden Carpet
The Garden Chafer (Phyllopertha horticola) is a species of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. They adult beetles eat the leaves of fruit trees and rose bushes, the larvae feed on grass, cereal and clover roots.
Research Garden Chafer
Garden cress (Lepidium sativum)is a pungent-tasting cruciferous plant with white or reddish flowers. It is cultivated for salads and as a garnish.
Research Garden Cress
The Garden Dart (Euxoa nigricans) is a moth of the family Noctuidae found throughout the temperate zone of Europe and Asia flying from July to September.
Research Garden Dart
The garden iris (Iris germanica) or common iris or flag as it is also known is a perennial herb of the family Iridaceae with a thickened rhizome bearing sword-shaped greyish coloured leaves, which sheaf at the base, and a tall, branched stem topped by large blue-violet, sometimes white, coloured fragrant flowers.
Research Garden Iris
The Garden Pebble (Evergestis forficalis) is a moth of the family Pyralidae with a wing span of between 25 and 28 mm found in temperate Europe, Asia and North America in habitats of lush vegetation. Two generations are produced flying from May to September.
Research Garden Pebble
The Garden Rose Tortrix is a moth of the family Tortricidae with a wing span of between 14 and 18 mm found in northern Africa, Europe, Asia Minor and western and central Asia flying from August to November. The caterpillars live during spring and early summer, feeding on various trees and shrubs of the family Rosaceae.
Research Garden Rose Tortrix
The Garden Spider or Cross Spider (Epeira diadema or Araneus diadematius) is a familiar British spider, up to 12 mm long, with the females much larger than the males. The abdomen is patterned with a row of white dots down the centre and transverse white streaks forming a cross pattern.
Research Garden Spider
Garden or Common Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a perennial herb of the family Labiatae, native to the Mediterranean region, but widely cultivated for its medicinal properties and for use in cooking as a flavouring herb.
Garden Thyme has much-branched, square, ascending stems, which are woody below. The leaves are small, opposite, linear to elliptic, almost sessile, evergreen and have inrolled margins and are white-felted below. The flowers are small, white or pink in colour, two-lipped and are arranged in whorls in the upper leaf axils forming dense terminal spikes. Garden Thyme contains an essential oil which in turn contains the antiseptic substance Thymol.
Garden Thyme has a stronger flavour, and contains higher levels of Thymol than the related Breckland Thyme.
Research Garden Thyme
The garden-warbler is a migratory song-bird which visits Britain from the end of April to September. It is about 15cm long, the head and upper surfaces are greenish brown and the underside is brownish white.
Research Garden-warbler
Gardenia is a genus of trees and shrubs of the family Cinchonaceae. They are native to tropical Asia and Africa and have pretty white or yellowish flowers and a powerful fragrance.
Research Gardenia
Gardoquia is a genus of South American evergreen Labiate plants characterised by their long tubular corolla.
Research Gardoquia
The garganey or summer teal (Anas querquedula) is a small migrant duck closely related to the mallard, which visits Britain in the summer from Africa. The male has a reddish brown head with a broad white stripe over each eye. The breast plumage is brown, the remainder greyish.
Research Garganey
Garlic (Allium sativum) is a hardy perennial plant, allied to the onion, of the family Liliaceae with an edible bulb divided into segments. Garlic is indigenous to the south of Europe, forming a favourite condiment amongst several nations. The leaves are grass-like, and differ from those of the common onion in not being fistulous; the stem is about 60 cm high; the flowers are white; and the root is a compound bulb, consisting of several smaller bulbs, commonly denominated cloves, enveloped by a common membrane. It has a strong, penetrating odour, and a pungent acrid taste. Used as a medicine it is stimulant, tonic, and promotes digestion; it has also diuretic and sudorific qualities, and is a good expectorant.
Research Garlic
The Garrano or Minho is a Portuguese breed of bay, brown or chestnut coloured pony standing between 10 and 14 hands high. They are good natured, though lively and quick. They were formerly widely used as pack animals, being strong and surefooted.
Research Garrano
Garrot is a popular name of ducks of the genus Clangula. They are oceanic ducks with a bill shorter than the head, and are widely distributed over the temperate regions of Europe and America.
Research Garrot
Garrulus is a genus of insessorial birds of the crow family.
Research Garrulus
Garrya is a genus of evergreen shrubs of the family Garryacea (formerly the family Cornaceae) bearing long, drooping catkins in spring.
Research Garrya
Garter snake is a popular name for the non-venomous North American snakes of the genus Thamnophis of the family Colubridae. Typically they are marked with longitudinal stripes which resemble a garter, whence their name. Garter snakes eject a foul secretion from a gland near the anus when attacked or threatened, and are harmless to humans. Garter snakes are aquatic, living near to water and spending a good deal of time in it hunting by scent for insects, earthworms and amphibians (frogs, toads and salamanders).
Research Garter Snake
The Gascon is a beef breed of cow found in the region of Gascony in south-west France and is related to the Blonde d' Aquitaine and the Piedmontese.
Research Gascon
The Gasteropods (Gasteropoda), are a class of molluscs, consisting of animals inhabiting a univalve shell, although some of the group are wholly destitute of a shell. The shell is either a small internal plate, as in slugs; or cone-shaped and spiral, as in the majority; or multivalve, the pieces following each other along the middle line, as in the chitons. No known gasteropod has a bivalve shell. The distinguishing characteristic is the foot, which is broad, muscular, and disc-like, and attached to the ventral surface. The class is divided into two sub-classes, the Branchiata or Branchiogasteropoda, breathing water by gills, and the Pulmonata or Pulmogasteropoda, breathing air by a sort of lung apparatus. The former include whelks and periwinkles, etc; the latter include the ordinary land-snails, slugs, pond-snails, etc.
Research Gasteropod
Gasterosteus is a genus of fish which comprises the sticklebacks.
Research Gasterosteus
Gastrallus is a genus of beetle of the family Anobiidae found on mistletoe.
Research Gastrallus
Gastrolobium is a large genus of leguminous plants occurring in South-western Australia. Several of the species often prove fatal to cattle who eat of their foliage, and they are hence known as poison-plants.
Research Gastrolobium
Gastrophysa is a genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae).
Research Gastrophysa
The gastropods (Gastropoda) are a class of mollusc, consisting of animals generally inhabiting a univalve shell, although some of the group are wholly devoid of a shell. Generally the shell is cone-shaped and spiral. The distinguishing characteristic however, is the foot, which is broad, muscular, disc-like and attached to the ventral surface.
Research Gastropod
The GateKeeper (Pyronia tithonus) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in Britain and Ireland and parts of Europe in thin deciduous forests and more open countryside.
Research GateKeeper
Gaudichaudia is a genus of tropical shrubs belonging to the family Malpighiaceae. They bear yellow flowers, many without petals and are mostly climbing or twining plants.
Research Gaudichaudia
The gaur, gour or seladang (Bos gaurus) is one of the largest of the ox tribe found in the mountain jungles of India and Malaya. It is renowned for its shoulder hide, which even when dried is often more than five centimetres thick, and was used to make shields.
Research Gaur
Gaurotes is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
Research Gaurotes
In ecology, Gause's principle is the principle that similar species cannot co-exist for long in the same ecological niche.
Research Gause's principle
The gavial or gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is the Indian crocodile. It is characterized by narrow, almost cylindrical jaws which form a very long elongated muzzle. It has 120 teeth, of equal length, and the feet are webbed. The gavial eats fish. The name is also applied to the false gharial or Malayan gharial (Tomistoma schlegeli) found in south-east Asia.
Research Gavial
Gavialidae is the gharial family of the order Crocodilia.
Research Gavialidae
The gayal or gyal (Mithan) is a species of ox related to the gaur found wild in the mountains of Northern Burma and Assam, and long domesticated in these countries and in the eastern parts of Bengal. The head is very broad and flat in the upper part, and contracts suddenly towards the nose; the horns are short and slightly curved. The animal has no proper hump, but on the shoulders and fore part of the back there is a sharp ridge. The colour is chiefly a dark brown. Its milk is exceedingly rich, though not abundant.
Research Gayal
The gazelle (Gazella dorcas) is the type of a sub-family of antelopes (the Gazellinae), which includes some 23 species of small, mostly desert-living forms. The gazelle is a light fawn colour upon the back, deepening into dark-brown in a wide band which edges the flanks and forms a line of demarcation between the colour of the upper portions of the body and the pure white of the abdomen. The eye of the gazelle is large, soft, and lustrous. Both sexes are provided with horns, round, black, and lyrated, about 33 cm long. The gazelle is found to the north side of the Atlas Mountains, in Egypt, Ethiopia, Syria, Arabia, and South Iraq.
Research Gazelle
The gean (Prunus Avium) is a wild cherry tree found in Britain. It has fruit which are red when unripe, and a deep purple or black when ripe. The timber can be used for making furniture.
Research Gean
The gebang palm (Corypha gebanga) is a fan-leaved palm of south east Asia. Sago is extracted from its pith and its leaves are used for thatch, hats, baskets and bags. The root is used in medicine and the fibres of the leaf stalks are used for making ropes, nets and cloth.
Research Gebang Palm
The Gecko are a family of nocturnal lizards (Gekotidae) characterized by the general flatness of their form, especially of the head, which is rather triangular. The body is covered on the upper part with numerous round prominences or warts and the feet are rather short with toes nearly equal in length and furnished with flattened suction pads which enable the gecko to run up perpendicular walls. The greatest number feed on insects and their larvae and pupae. Several of the species infest houses, where, although they are perfectly innocuous, their appearance makes them unwelcome tenants. One species is common in North Africa and Southern Europe.
Research Gecko
Geissomeria is a genus of tropical evergreen shrubs belonging to the family Acanthaceae. They bear spikes of scarlet, velvety flowers.
Research Geissomeria
Geissorhiza is a genus of Cape bulbous plants belonging to the family Irisaceae. They occur in many colours, usually very bright.
Research Geissorhiza
The gelada (Theropithecus) is a dark, shaggy-maned baboon found in Ethiopia of the family Cercopithedcidae remarkable for the heavy mane which hangs over the shoulders, and which only grows when the animal is adult. It was originally called Gelada Ruppelii, in honour of Dr. Ruppell, its discoverer.
Research Gelada
The Gelderland is a Dutch breed of versatile farm and riding horse developed around the end of the 19th century from a myriad of other breeds. The Gelderland stands between 15.2 and 16.2 hands high and is mostly chestnut in colour, but can also be bay, grey or black in colour with white markings.
Research Gelderland
A gelding is a castrated male adult horse.
Research Gelding
Gelsemium is a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Loganiaceae, the best-known, Gelsenium nitidum or Carolina jasmine, being an evergreen climbing shrub of the Southern States of America, with twigs producing a milky juice, opposite lance-shaped shining leaves, and sweet-scented yellow flowers. The root has valuable medicinal properties, formerly being used for controlling certain forms of nervous irritability.
Research Gelsemium
The gemma is a small asexual reproductive structure in liverworts, mosses, etc., that becomes detached from the parent and develops into a new individual.
Research Gemma
In zoology, gemmation is a mode of reproduction among certain animals of low type, which consists in the production of a bud or buds, generally from the exterior, but sometimes from the interior, of the body of the animal, which buds are developed into independent beings that may or may not remain attached to the parent organism. This mode of reproduction is seen in the sea-mats, the fresh-water polyp, etc.
Research Gemmation
The gemsbok (Oryx gazella) is a large powerful member of the antelope family inhabiting the plains of South Africa. Herds of ten or more gemsbok are still seen in south-western Africa, their sandy-grey flanks nearly invisible against the desert and brushland habitat. Both sexes have sharply pointed horns that extend up to about 1.2 m. The gemsbok stands more than 122 centimetres high and has a horse like posture and gallop. The horns are lowered parallel to the ground and the animals lunge with great accuracy when holding off lions and other predators. They are also swift runners that can outpace a horse or a pack of African hunting dogs. Gemsbok can survive dry seasons, eating melons and plant bulbs. Their long horns and striking facial markings have made them prized hunting trophies.
Research Gemsbok
Genecology is the study of the gene frequency of a species in relation to its population distribution within a particular environment.
Research Genecology
In natural history, a generic name is the denomination which comprehends all the species of a genus: thus Canis is the generic name of animals of the dog kind; Felis, of the cat kind; Gervus, of the deer kind.
Research Generic Name
Genes are hereditary information material arranged in a single row along the length of each chromosome.
Research Genes
The genet or genette (Genetta) is a small digitigrade carnivorous mammal, allied to the civet, of the family Viverridae. It differs from the civet in its smaller size, more elongated body, and shorter limbs, as well as in the absence of a pouch for storing the secretion. The tail is long, and the fur short and soft, and usually spotted. The teeth are compressed and sharply pointed. The common genette is found in France and Spain and Africa, other species are all African. Genets were once used in Constantinople (Istanbul) to catch rats.
Research Genet
Genipap is the fruit of the Genipa americana tree, of the family Rubiaceae. It is about the size of an orange and has a pleasant vinous flavour.
Research Genipap
Genista is a genus of leguminous plants consisting of about 100 species, one of which is the Planta genista, the Plante genet, from which the Plantagenets took their name. The Genista tinctoria, or dyer's broom, so called, as it was formerly much employed by dyers, who obtained a good fixed yellow or orange colour from it, is frequent in England and the Lowlands of Scotland.
Research Genista
Gentiana is a genus of bitter herbaceous plants of the family Gentianaceae, which have opposite, often strongly ribbed leaves, and blue, yellow or red, often showy flowers. The calyx consists of four or five valvate segments, and the corolla is four or five parted. The fruit is a two-valved, one celled, many-seeded capsule.
Research Gentiana
The Gentile di Puglia (Apulian Merino, Merino di Puglia, Improved Apulian, Italian Merino, Merino d' Italia, Merina Gentile) is a fine woolled breed of sheep from southern Italy. Development of this breed began in the 15th century but the primary improvement was from the 18th century onward. The breed was developed from Spanish Merino crossed with the local breeds. Saxony and Rambouillet breed was introduced during the 19th century.
Research Gentile di Puglia
In scientific classification, a genus is an assemblage of species possessing certain characteristics in common by which they are distinguished from others.
Research Genus
Geocarpy is the Botanical term for the ripening of fruits below ground, as occurs in the peanut.
Research Geocarpy
Geodromicus is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae of between five and six millimetres length.
Research Geodromicus
Geoffrey's Cat (Leopardus or Oncifelas geoffroyi) is a South American wild cat (Felidae) named after the natutalist Geoffrey St Hilaire, and resembling a Eurpoean or American domestic cat in appearance and habits. The Geoffrey's Cat is generally pale brown or tan in colour and covered with small, uniformly sized and shaped black spots. The Geoffrey's Cat is found in a range of habitats, always with good ground cover, such as scrub, woodlands, open bush in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Uruguay, where they typically eat small mammals, birds, lizards, rodents and fish.
The Geoffrey's Cat is widely hunted for its fur, but is also domesticated and kept as a pet by native peoples of South America. They generally live to an age of about fourteen years, but can live for up to twenty years. The Geoffrey's Cat, like many other cats, is typically a nocturnal hunter, loves trees and swimming.
Research Geoffrey's Cat
Geometridae is the inchworms and loopers family of moths.
Research Geometridae
Geophilus is a genus of millipedes.
Research Geophilus
A geophyte is a perennial plant that propagates by means of buds below the soil surface.
Research Geophyte
Georgia Bark (Pinchneya pubens), is a small tree of the Southern United States closely resembling the cinchona or Peruvian bark, and belonging to the natural order Cinchonaceae. It has pretty large white flowers, with longitudinal stripes of rose-colour, disposed in beautiful clusters at the extremities of the branches; each flower is accompanied with a floral leaf, bordered with rose-colour near the upper margin; the corolla is tubular; the stamens five, with a single style;
and the capsule contains two cells and numerous seeds. The wood is soft and unfit for use in the arts. The inner bark is extremely bitter, and is employed with success in intermittent fevers.
Research Georgia Bark
Geostiba is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae, with a single British species.
Research Geostiba
geotaxis is the movement of an organism in response to the stimulus of gravity.
Research Geotaxis
Geotropic is a biological term describing plants whose roots grow downwards into the soil in response to gravity.
Research Geotropic
In botany, the term geotropism refers to a disposition or tendency to turn towards the earth.
Research Geotropism
Geotrupidae are a family of burrowing lamellicorn beetles. They inhabit temperate climates, and are useful in removing decaying matter. When alarmed they feign death.
Research Geotrupidae
Geraniaceae is a family of exogenous plants the distinguishing character of which is to have a fruit composed of five capsules or cases, connected with as many flat styles, consolidated around a long conical beak.
Research Geraniaceae
The Geranium (Crane's Bill) is an herbaceous plant of the family Geraniaceae, akin to the Wood Sorrel and Balsam. It takes its alternative name of Crane's Bill from the fancied resemblance of the fruit to the beak of a crane. They have usually palmately divided leaves and regular flowers with ten stamens and five carpels. Some thirteen species are wild in Britain, of which the Geranium robertianum or herb-robert is the most common. An American species, Geranium maculatum, from its astringency called 'alum-root,' is used medicinally as a gargle and otherwise. The so-called geraniums of our gardens belong to the genus Petargonium. Cultivation has produced many varieties, which from their beauty are great favourites.
Research Geranium
Geranosaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. A few remains of
Geranosaurus were discovered at the start of the 20th century and from these limited finds it appears that Geranosaurus was a small dinosaur, about 120 cm long, that stood on its hind legs and had short arms. The jaws were equipped with sharp front teeth, behind them a pair of fangs and behind those ridged cheek teeth.
Research Geranosaurus
Gerbillus is a genus of small burrowing rodents (the gerbils) of the family Muridae (mice). They have a long tail, which is tufted at the end. There are several, species, found in the sandy parts of Africa and Asia. The Egyptian gerbil (Gerbillus oegyptiacus), inhabiting Egypt around the pyramids, is the typical type. It is about the size of a mouse and of a clear yellow colour.
Research Gerbillus
The Gerenuk (Litocranius walleri) is a long-necked mammal of the antelope family related to the gazelles. Gerenuk are reddish-brown in colour with a dark band running along the back, have a long neck and live in east Africa where they feed upon leaves and soft young tree shoots.
Research Gerenuk
The German cockroach or Croton bug (Blattella germanica) is a small cockroach. It is a common household pest.
Research German Cockroach
There are various breeds of German Pointer: long-haired, short-haired and wire-haired but they are all German in origin and closely related gundogs. The German Pointers stand about 62 cm tall and are responsive to training.
Research German Pointer
The German Yellow is a breed of cattle.
Research German Yellow
Germander is a popular name for herbs of the genus Teucrium.
Research Germander
Germination is the sprouting of seeds into plants. It takes place after the seeds have been shed, when ripening changes continue. The process begins with the uptake of water by the seed. The embryonic root, or radicle, is normally the first organ to emerge, followed by the embryonic shoot, or plumule. Food reserves, either within the endosperm or from the cotyledons, are broken down to nourish the rapidly growing seedling.
Germination is considered to have ended with the production of the first true leaves.
Research Germination
Gervas (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) is a small shrub of the family Verbenaceae. It is native to the West Indies and warm parts of America. Its leaves were used to make Brazilian tea and to adulterate tea in Britain in the 19th century.
Research Gervas
Gestation is the period which elapses between the impregnation of any mammal and the birth of the offspring.
Gestation varies from 25 days in the case of the mouse to 620 days for an elephant, with the normal human gestation lasting 270 days (9 months).
Research Gestation
Geum is a genus of hardy herbaceous perennials, belonging to the family Rosaceae, chiefly natives of the northern hemisphere.
Research Geum
The Ghost Moth (Hepialus humuli) is a moth of the family Hepialidae with a wing span of between 40 and 70 mm found in temperate Europe, Asia Minor and western Asia in grassy meadows flying in June or July.
Research Ghost Moth
The ghost-moth is a nocturnal lepidopterous insect (Hepialus humuli), so called from the male being of a white colour, and from its habit of hovering with a pendulum-like motion in the twilight over one spot where the female is concealed.
Research Ghost-moth
The Giant Clam (Chama gigas) is a marine bivalve with the largest known shell (approximately one metre across). They are found in the Indian Ocean.
Research Giant Clam
The Giant Garter Snake (Thamnophis gigas) is a large species of Garter snake growing to 120 cm in length distinguished by a weak mid-dorsal striping which is usually pale yellow in colour and irregular, and very dark spotting arranged in a Checkered pattern.
Research Giant Garter Snake
Gibberellins are a group of organic compounds that stimulate plant growth. First isolated from the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi, over 30 gibberellins are now known. They stimulate the growth of leaves, stems, flowers, and fruit and break the dormancy of seeds and tubers.
Research Gibberellins
Gibbium is a genus of Spider Beetle (Ptinidae).
Research Gibbium
A gibbon is a type of small ape of the genus Hylobates, particularly the species Hylobates lar which inhabits the islands of the Indian Archipelago. It is noticeable by the extraordinary length of its arms and its slender form.
Research Gibbon
The gibel (Cyprinus gibelio) is a fish of the carp genus. It is also called the Prussian Carp. The gibel rarely weighs more than 250 gm.
Research Gibel
The Gidran Arabian is a Hungarian breed of cavalry horse now used as a competition horse, though its difficult nature makes it unsuitable for inexperienced riders. The Gidran Arabian stands between 16 and 17 hands high and is mostly chestnut in colour with a distinctive Arabian appearance. The breed was extensively used and lost during the Great War.
Research Gidran Arabian
Gills are the respiratory organs of aquatic animals. They are specialized thin-walled regions of the body surface through which dissolved oxygen is taken into the blood and carbon dioxide released into the water. The gills of fish lie in gill slits on each side of the gullet. The gills of molluscs and fanworms have hair-like cilia that trap food particles in the water flowing over the gills. The external gills of amphibian larvae are feathery structures projecting from the body wall.
Research Gills
The gilthead (Chrysophrys aurata) is an acanthopterygious fish of the Sparidae or sea-bream family common in the Mediterranean. It has strong grinding teeth which it uses to crush the shells of the molluscs on which it feeds. It has a yellow band which extends from eye to eye, and typically weighs nine kg.
Research Gilthead
Ginger is various species of perennial plant of the genus Zingiber, family Zingiberaceae found in south east Asia, the West Indies, South America and Africa of which Jamaican ginger is the most prized.
Research Ginger
Ginger Gold is an American variety of apple. It apparently owes its life to Hurricane Camille, which roared through Virginia in 1969. It destroyed much of the orchard of Clyde and Ginger Harvey near Arrington, south of Charlottesville in the Virginia Piedmont. Several years later they found a tree that had grown from a seed that had apparently been washed into the orchard from elsewhere, perhaps during the hurricane, and was nothing like what had been planted there before. A nursery budded the first trees in the early 1980s, and horticulturists concluded the Harveys had a unique variety on their hands. They sold some of the apples locally and called the variety by Mrs. Harvey's first name. Its yellow appearance derives from its probable Golden Delicious parentage. Pippin is thought to be one of the other varieties in its genetics. Ginger Gold matures about six weeks before Golden Delicious and has a spicy sweet flavour. Its texture is firm and white, and it stores well under refrigeration.
Research Ginger Gold
The gingerbread plum (Parinarium macrophyllum) is a small tree native to Guinea, bearing racemes of white flowers, followed by rather large grey fruits.
Research Gingerbread Plum
The gingko are coniferous trees of the genus Salisburia belonging to the yew family and which are native to China and Japan.
Research Gingko
The ginkgo is a tree related to the conifers and native to China and Japan.
Research Ginkgo
Ginseng (Panax schinseng) is a plant of Northern Asia of the family Araliaceae. It is herbaceous and grows to about 30cm tall. Its root has long been regarded by the Chinese as a source of sexual potency.
Research Ginseng
Gipsywort (Lycopus europaeus) is a perennial herb of the family Labiatae with a creeping rhizome and a stiffly erect, unbranched, square stem. The numerous leaves are opposite, lanceolate to elliptic, short-stalked and deeply toothed. The lower leaves are pinnately divided. The flowers are small, white and arranged in dense whorls in the axils of the upper pairs of leaves. Gipsywort resembles mint, but may be distinguished by its lack of smell, lobed lower leaves and tight whorls of whitish flowers.
Research Gipsywort
The giraffe (formerly known as the camelopard) is the tallest mammal, reaching a height of over four meters, and found only in Africa south of the Sahara. A member of the family Giraffidae, suborder Ruminantia of the order Artiodactyla, there are two distinct species of giraffe, the common or blotched giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) and the reticulated or Somali giraffe (Giraffa reticulata). The giraffe has a short body, but very long neck and legs. The head is furnished with short horns covered with skin and short tufts of hair. There may be one pair of horns or two pairs, one shorter pair behind the longer front horns, and often between the front pair a central swelling on the forehead which may be as long as the horns. The markings of a giraffe varies from each animal, being unique with no two giraffes identical. A group of giraffes is known as a 'tower'.
Research Giraffe
 More pictures of Giraffe
The Girdle of Venus is an animal of the Ctenophora found in the Mediterranean.
Research Girdle of Venus
The gizzard is the thick-walled part of a bird's stomach, in which hard food is broken up by muscular action and contact with grit and small stones.
Research Gizzard
Glacier crowfoot (Ranunculus glacialis) is a nearly hairless perennial European plant, with prostrate or ascending, simple or branched stems. The basal leaves are fleshy, three-lobed, each lobe being stalked and further divided into rectangular or elliptical lobes. The stem leaves are similar but smaller and stalkless. The flowers have five sepals covered in red-brown hairs, and five white petals.
Research Glacier Crowfoot
Gladiolus are a genus of plants of the Iris family, having a bulbous root with a reticulated covering. They are natives of Europe and north Africa, but especially South Africa. The leaves are ensiform and the flowers brilliantly coloured.
Research Gladiolus
The Glanville Fritillary (Melitaea cinxia) is a species of brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) found in Morocco and across Europe. Two generations occur in a year, the first flying from May to July and the second from August to September.
Research Glanville Fritillary
The Glass Snake is a lizard of the genus Ophiosaurus which resembles a snake in form and reaches a length of one meter. The joints of the tail are not connected by caudal muscles and so the tail is very brittle and joints break off when the animal is even slightly irritated.
Research Glass Snake
Glasswort are plants of the genus Salicornia, family Chenopodiaceae. They are succulent marine herbs growing abundantly on the coasts of southern Europe and north Africa. When burnt their ashes yield soda which was once used in making glass, hence the name glasswort.
Research Glasswort
Glaucus is a genus of small nudibranch molluscs, the species of which are found floating at the surface of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The body bears three pairs of lateral lobes, which are fringed with papillae and is slender and elongated.
Research Glaucus
Gleam is the collective noun for a group of herring.
Research Gleam
Gleditschia is a genus of plants of the family Leguminosae to which the honey-locust belongs.
Research Gleditschia
The Glen of Imaal Terrier is an Irish breed of dog that originates from County Wicklow where it was used to hunt badgers and as a fighting dog. The breed is a tough and hardy one with a brave nature that likes people but is less keen on other dogs.
Research Glen of Imaal Terrier
Gliridae is the dormice family of rodents belonging to the suborder Myomorpha. They are the only rodents without a caecum. They have four upper and lower cheek teeth which are low crowned with transverse ridges.
Research Gliridae
Glischrochilus is a genus of sap-beetle (Nitidulidae).
Research Glischrochilus
Globe-fish is a popular name applied to several fish of the genera Diodon and Tetraodon of the order Plectognathi, on account of their ability to assume a globular form by swallowing air or water which inflates a ventral sac and inflates the whole animal like a balloon.
Research Globe-fish
The globe-flower (Trollius europaeus) is a European plant of the family Ranunculaceae. It is found in mountainous regions and has five-lobed, deeply serrated leaves and round pale-yellow blossoms the sepals of which are large and conspicuous while the petals are very small.
Research Globe-flower
Globigerina is one of the Foraminifera, a microscopic animal having a many- celled shell found fossilised in the chalk and tertiary formations and alive in the seas where shells of the abundant dead animals form vast calcareous deposits of mud known as globigerina ooze.
Research Globigerina
Globularia is a genus of south European plants of the family Selaginaceae. The flowers are mostly borne in heads and are usually blue or white.
Research Globularia
Gloriosa is a genus of tuberous-rooted climbing herbs of the family Liliaceae, so named from their splendid flowers. They have branched stems and flowers mostly of a pretty red and yellow colour, with six long lanceolate undulated segments, which are entirely reflexed.
Research Gloriosa
Glossodia is a genus of terrestrial orchids, native to Australia and bearing blue flowers on an erect scape.
Research Glossodia
The Gloucester Old Spot is a hardy breed of pig, white with a few black markings, that originally lived off windfalls in orchards in the Severn valley.
Research Gloucester Old Spot
Glow-worm is a popular name for beetles of the family Lampyridae. The name
glow-worm is only really applicable to the female, which is without wings, resembling a caterpillar, and emits a shining green light from the extremity of the abdomen. The male is winged, and flies about in the evening when it is attracted by the light of the female.
Research Glow-worm
Gloxinia is a genus of plants of the family Gesneraceae, distinguished by the corolla approaching to bell-shaped, the upper lip shortest and two- lobed, the lower three-lobed, with the middle lobe largest, and also by the summit of the style being rounded and hollowed. The species are native to tropical America and were introduced into Britain in the 19th century.
Research Gloxinia
The glutton (Gulo arcticus) (Wolverene, Wolverine) is a carnivorous quadruped, about the size of a large badger, and intermediate between the bear family and the weasels. It inhabits northern Europe and America.
Research Glutton
Glycyrrhiza is a genus of hardy leguminous plants with pinnate leaves and flowers in racemes. Liquorice is derived from Glycyrrhiza glabra.
Research Glycyrrhiza
Gmelina is a genus of plants of the family Verbenaceae found in Asia. All the species form either shrubs or trees, some providing valuable timber.
Research Gmelina
Gnaphalium is a genus of widely-spread composite plants which have their foliage usually covered with a white woolly down, and their flower-heads of the everlasting kind.
Research Gnaphalium
Gnat is a popular name for several species of insects of the genus Culex.
Research Gnat
Gnathoncus is a genus of small beetles of the family Histeridae. They live in birds' nests and poultry-sheds.
Research Gnathoncus
Gnathostomata is a branch of the Sub-Phylum Craniata group of animals. The mouth is bounded by jaws which are formed from the mandibular visceral arch.
Research Gnathostomata
Gnatocerus is a genus of darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) about four millimetres long. Both the adult and larvae live on cereals and cereal products.
Research Gnatocerus
Gnidia is a genus of small tropical African shrubs, with evergreen foliage, of the family Thymelaceae.
Research Gnidia
Gnorimus is a genus of beetle the family Scarabaeidae.
Research Gnorimus
The gnu (wildebeeste) is an antelope found in Africa. Both sexes have horns projecting slightly outwards and downwards, then forming an abrupt upward bend. They have bristly black hair about the face and muzzle, a white stiff mane, and horse-like tail. They reach a length of about 270cm and a height at the shoulder of about 120cm.
Research Gnu
Gnypeta is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae, similar in appearance and habits to Tachyusa, but with shorter legs.
Research Gnypeta
|
Abbreviations
Nature
