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Habrocerus is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae.
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Habroloma is a genus of jewel beetle (Buprestidae).
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The Habu (Trimeresurus flavoviridis) is a large venomous snake of the pit viper family Crotalidae found in Okinawa and others of the Ryukyu Islands.
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A Hack is an elegant type of show horse, usually a Thoroughbred or a Thoroughbred and Anglo-Arab cross. They are between 14 and 15 hands tall, of any solid colour, and with an impeccable disposition of good manners, calm and poise.
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The hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) is an American tree of the nettle-tree family introduced into Britain in 1636 and resembling the elms.
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The Hackney Horse is a British breed of trotting horse developed during the 18th and 19th centuries from the now extinct Norfolk Roadster and the also now extinct Yorkshire Roadster breeds. The Hackney Horse stands between 14 and 15.3 hands high and is any solid colour.
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The Hackney Pony (formerly known as the Wilson Pony) is an English breed of pony developed by Christopher Wilson during the 19th century from a stallion which was a Norfolk Roadster and Yorkshire Trotter cross mated with Fell Pony mares. The Hackney Pony stands 12 to 14 hands high, is black, bay, chestnut or brown coloured and has outstanding trotting abilities, with a highly exaggerated gait.
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The haddock (Gadus oeglefinus) is a marine fish of the cod family found in the north Atlantic. It is easily distinguished from other species of the group by the large black spot on each side beneath the first dorsal fin, the black lateral line, and the position of the first ventral fin, which begins under the second dorsal. It occasionally reaches a length of one meter, but is usually under 70 centimetres long. The females outnumber the males almost two to one, and are of a different size.
The food consists of crustacea, molluscs, echinoderms and worms, and haddock are very fond of the eggs of the herring. On the east coast of Britain, haddock spawn in February, March and April at a moderate distance from the coast, or near if the water is deep; the haddock also spawns on various banks in the North Sea in deeper water. The female sheds upwards of 200,000 eggs which are similar in appearance to those of the cod, but are a little larger. The larval fish are also larger than the cod, and hatch after about two weeks. The female reaches maturity when three years old and about 30 centimetres in length.
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Hadrosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Remains of Hadrosaurus comprising a headless skeleton were discovered in New Jersey in 1858, and were the first dinosaur to be named from North America, and was also the most complete skeleton found to date. The skeleton of Hadrosaurus showed that it was about ten metres long and walked on its hind legs, until then it had been thought all dinosaurs walked on all fours. A later skull discovery showed Hadrosaurus to have had a duck-billed shaped head.
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Haematopus is a genus of wading birds which includes the common oyster- catcher.
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Haematozoa is a name given to the parasitic animals which, under certain conditions, exist in the blood of mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes and many invertebrate animals.
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Haemodoraceae is a family of monocotyledonous plants, mostly natives of sub-tropical countries. They derive their name from the blood-red liquid obtained from the roots of many species. They bear flowers mostly with bell-shaped perianths, downy on the outside.
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Haemosporidia is a suborder of Coccidiomorpha. They are parasites which live in warm-blooded animals and produce various types of malaria.
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The Haflinger is an Austrian breed of mountain pony. The Haflinger is a placid, gentle and good natured pony growing to 14 hands high chestnut coloured with a flaxen mane and tail.
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Hag is the popular name of fish of the genus Myxine. They are of worm-like form and have no eyes or scales. The mouth is formed for suction and is without lips and is furnished with barbells. The hag has horny teeth which it uses to eat into the interior of other fish.
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Haimura (Erythrinus macrodon) is a large fresh-water fish belonging to the Gunther's family of Characinidae. It is abundant in the rivers of Guiana and is popular as a food fish there.
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Hair-grass (Aira) is a genus of grasses belonging to that division of the order in which the spikelets have two or more florets, and the inflorescence is a loose panicle. It is of little use for cattle, which dislike it, but may serve where covert is wanted for game. Aira coespitosa, or tufted hair-grass, the windiestrae of the Scotch, was formerly used as thatch for ricks, and in some places for making mats.
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Hake is a popular name for several marine food fishes related to the cod, particularly Merlucius vulgaris of Europe which has a dark grey back, lighter underneath, and is fairly common around the British Isles, especially off the south-west coast where it feeds upon pilchards and herrings, and the Merlucius albidus of North America. The hake has a head much flattened, and two dorsal and one long anal fin. The European hake is known in some places as king of the herrings, on which it preys.
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Halcyon was an old or poetical name of the kingfisher. It was fabled to lay its eggs in nests that floated on the sea, about the winter solstice, and to have the power of charming the winds and waves during the period of incubation, so that the weather was then calm; whence the term, halcyon days.
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Haliaetus is a genus of birds which includes the British white-tailed erne and the American bald eagle.
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The halibut (Hippoglossus vulgaris) is a large flatfish (Pleuronectidae) found in the north Atlantic. It is usually about two metres in length and some times weighs more than 130 kg. It is distinguished by its long narrow body, both its eyes on the right side of the body, large mouth and dark olive back. It is mainly found in deep water where it feeds on other fishes. It spawns in spring, producing millions of pelagic eggs.
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The Halichondria is a family of sponges of the Demospongia class. They comprise the common sponges of the British coasts. They are found incrusting stones and sea-weed below the tide-mark, and have often elegant forms, but are unfit for any use. One species, Halicondria oculata, is popularly known as the 'mermaid's glove'.
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The Halicoridae is a family of Sirenia found in herds on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
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Haliotis is a genus of gateropodous molluscs commonly called abalone, ear- shell or sea-ear and found adhering to rocks on the sea-shore. They are remarkable for the pearly iridescence of their inner surface.
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Haliplidae is the crawling water beetles family of insects of the order Coleoptera. They are tiny, boat-shaped insects less than five millimetres long, yellowish or reddish brown in colour with black markings and live among aquatic plants in slow moving or stagnant water, though they are not good swimmers, moving their legs as if walking. They feed on vegetable matter.
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Haliplus is a genus eighteen species of crawling water beetles of the family Haliplidae.
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Halistemma is a member of the order of Siphonophora.
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The hallux is the innermost of the five digits which normally compose the hind foot of a vertebrate animal; in a person the hallux is the big or great toe, in a bird it is the hind toe.
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Halobrecta is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae with three British species. They are confined to the seashore where they live under rotting seaweed.
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The Halophytes are a class of plants which inhabit salt marshes, and by combustion yield barilla.
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Haltica is a genus of beetle.
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Halticosaurus was a dinosaur of the Triassic period. A carnivore. it was about five metres long, walked on its hind legs and had short arms with five-fingered hands and a long, large head.
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Halyzia is a genus of ladybird (Coccinellidae).
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Hamamelidaceae is a small family of epiygynous exogenous trees or shrubs, varying in height from two to ten metres. These are the witch-hazels.
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The Hamburgh is a breed of chicken.
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The hammer-oyster is a bivalve shell fish. Malleus vulgaris, found in the Indian Ocean. It resembles the pearl-oyster when young, but becomes more hammer-like as it gets older by the lengthening of its ears.
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The hammerhead is a species of shark.
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The Hampshire Down is a docile, friendly breed of English domestic sheep with a black face and white fleece used for meat production. The breed originated from crossing the Wiltshire Horn and the Berkshire Knot breeds with the Southdown. The Hampshire Down is a fast growing breed that produces lean meat.
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The Hampshire Hog is an old black and white breed of pig. They are of a large size, and admired for their prolificacy, hardy vigour, foraging ability and outstanding carcass qualities.
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The hamster is several genera of rodent animals belonging to the family Cricetidae, super-family Muridae (the mice) and are closely allied to the rats. They are distinguished by being burrowing, stout-bodied, with a short hairy tail, cheek pouches and thick, soft fur. Hamsters eat fruit, vegetables, grain and also other rodents, lizards and small birds. The female will produce several litters in a year, giving birth two to three weeks after conception. Hamsters are used as pets - particularly the easily tamed Golden Hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) which is also used in vivisection laboratories, and also eaten and their fur used as a lining for coats.
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The hand-plant (Cheirostemon platanoides) is a Mexican tree of the family Sterculiaceae. It grows to about ten metres in height and has flowers, the stamen of which looks a bit like a human hand.
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The handmaid (Dysauxes ancilla) is a European moth of the family Ctenuchidae which produces a single generation flying from July to August.
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The Hanoverian is a German breed of dressage and show-jumping horse first developed by George Louis (later King George II of England) in 1735 as a versatile carriage, riding and agricultural horse. The Hanoverian stands about 16.2 hands high, occurs in any solid colour, and has an international reputation for its temperament, strength and stamina.
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Haras is the collective noun for a group of horses.
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Hard-fern is the popular name of Lomaria spicant, a common fern found throughout Britain growing on heaths and glens.
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The hare (Lepus) is a genus of rodent quadrupeds similar to the rabbit, with long ears, long hind legs, a short tail, soft hair and a divided upper lip. The two fore-feet have five and the hinder four toes. They run by a kind of leaping pace. The young hare is called a leveret and are born in litters of between three and six leverets up to four times a year. The young leverets have their eyes open at birth.
The common hare (Lepus timidus) is found throughout Europe and some parts of Asia. It is tawny red on the back and white on the belly, and is about 60 cm long. The mountain hare or varying hare (Lepus variabilis), confined to Northern Europe and the mountainous regions of the south, is smaller than the common hare, and becomes white in winter. The former Lepus cuniculus, now, Oryctolagus cuniculus, is the rabbit, properly so called, distinguished by its smaller size and burrowing habits. The American hare (Lepus Americanus), not much larger than a rabbit, is found in most parts of North America. In North America there are also the polar hare (Lepus glacialis), a variety of the varying hare (Lepus variabilis), but of superior size and purer colour; and the prairie hare (Lepus campestris), one of the species known as jackass hares or Jack-rabbits, from their size and length of limb.
The hare is protected from its enemies mainly by the acuteness of its sight and hearing and its extraordinary swiftness of foot. Its voice is never heard except when seized or wounded, when it utters a sharp loud cry, not very unlike that of a child. Its flesh is rather dry, but is much prized for its peculiar flavour.
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Hare's Ear (Bupleurum) is a plant of the family Umbelliferae.
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Harebell or Scotch bluebell, (Campanula rotundifolia) is a plant of the family Campanulaceae with a bell shaped blue, and sometimes white flower. The radical leaves are cordate or reniform, the stem-leaves partly ovate or lanceolate. It is a slender plant growing to about twelve centimetres tall.
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The hareld (Harelda glacialis) is the long-tailed duck, an oceanic duck with a short thick bill, a high forehead and two very long feathers in the tail of the male. It inhabits the northern seas and is often found around Orkney and Shetland.
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Haricot Bean is a modern more popular name for French Beans. The name haricot in English, derives from the bean's association with the dish 'haricot', in which the beans were commonly served.
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The harlequin bug (Murgantia histrionica) is a hemipterous insect of the stink bug family (Pentalomidae). It is about one centimetre long, shield- shaped and coloured red and black. The harlequin bug was first introduced into the USA in 1864 in Texas spreading quickly over the entire USA by 1900. The harlequin bug attacks cabbage and other crops, eating their sap causing the plants to wilt and die.
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The Harlequin coral snake (Micrurus fulvius) is a venomous snake of the family Elapidae found in the south-eastern USA and Mexico, preferring dry, open or brushy areas where they prey on reptiles including other snakes. It is a banded red, yellow and black snake growing to about 120 cm long.
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The Harlequin Duck (Clangula histrionica) is a species of duck with white, grey and black plumage found in Arctic regions.
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The harlequin fruit bug (Dindymus versicolor) is an Australian hemipterous insect that attacks fruit trees.
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Harmonia is a genus of six millimetre long ladybird (Coccinellidae).
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The Harnai is a fat tail, mutton/wool type breed of sheep. They are found in parts of Loralai, Quetta, Sibi and Zhob districts in Baluchistan Province. They are medium size with a white body coat with a black or tan spotted head and ears. They have a compact body with a small fat tail, high fibre density.
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The harp seal or saddleback (Phoca groenlandicus) is a gregarious Arctic seal. The adult male is generally light grey with a harp-shaped black band running along the flanks and across the back. The head to just behind the eyes is black. In females both facial and harp markings are usually paler and may be broken into spots. The tail is short and slightly flattened dorso- ventrally. Harp seals spend most of the year at sea, venturing onto sea ice to mate and moult. There are three breeding regions for the harp seal: off Newfoundland, off Jan Mayen Island and in the White Sea. Harp seals eat pelagic crustacea and fish, especially capelins and also herring, cod and other fish which the adults will dive to 200 metres to catch.
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The harp-shell is a genus of molluscs (Harpa) belonging to the gastropoda and to the whelk family. The species are found around Mauritius. The shells are very attractive, but exposure to light causes their colours to fade.
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Harpalus is a genus of over sixty species beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae. They vary greatly in size from 4 to 17 mm in length, but all have a similar body form - long oval or straight-sided, relatively short legs and only moderately long antennae. They live in dry, sandy localities where they hunt prey and also eat the seeds of umbelliferous plants including the strawberry.
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The harpy-eagle (Thrasaetus harpyia) is a large, powerful bird of South America. It has a crooked bill, and strong sharp claws. The harpy- eagle feeds on birds, sloths, racoons, fawns, fish and tortoise eggs.
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The Harrier is a breed of dog intended for hare hunting - hence the name. It is similar to the foxhound, but smaller.
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Hart is the name given to a male deer (a stag) of five or six years or older. The term is also applied to the stag of the red deer species (Cervus elaphus). The very rare white hart was a mystical beast in ancient British Celtic tradition, and was adopted as the badge or emblem of king Richard II.
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Hart's-tongue (Scolopendrium) is a genus of highly ornamental fern with simple, undivided fronds.
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The hartebeest (Alcelaphus) is a south African antelope which measures about 1.5 metres high at the shoulder, has a long head, horns projecting outwards and backwards, black marks on the face and legs, a white mark on the rump and a bushy tail. They are generally found in small herds.
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The harvest-bug (Leptus autumnalis) is a small larval insect of the family Acaridae. It is bright red in colour and about the size of a grain of cayenne pepper. It attacks livestock and humans, burrowing under the skin and so causing red pustules.
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The harvest-mouse (Musmessorius) is the smallest British quadruped. It builds a nest suspended amongst stalks of wheat.
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The harvest-spider (Phalangium longipes) is a British spider with very long legs. It has a peculiar habit of throwing off one or more legs.
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The Hasht Nagri is a fat tailed mutton and wool type breed of sheep. They are found in the Hasht Nagar tract in Pakistan. They are a medium size with a white body coat with the head and face either partially or completely black or tan. They have a compact body with short legs. The hanging fat tail may reach fetlock. In well fed animals, the fat tail may even touch the ground.
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Haustellata is an extensive division of insects in which the mouth is furnished with a haustellum or proboscis adapted for suction. It includes the butterflies and moths, and two winged flies. These insects being contrasted with the Mandibulata, which have jaws acting as cutting organs.
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The Havana Brown or Havana is a hybrid breed of shorthair domestic cat developed during the 1950s with Siamese ancestry. The Havana is gentle, affectionate and has a quiet voice and large ears. They are a lively breed, examining objects with their paws rather than the more usual smelling of them.
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The hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) is a species of grodsbeak. It is one of the largest of the finches. It resembles the Chaffinch in colour, but is distinguished by its enormous beak, larger size, and bill-hook formation of some of its wing feathers. It feeds on all kinds of berries and is found throughout Britain.
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The Hawk-moth is one of the sphinx moths, so called from its hovering motion which resembles that of a hawk.
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Hawkbit (Apargia) is a genus of plants forming a subdivision of the Compositae. the distinguishing marks of the genus are the strap-shaped florets, the unequally imbricated involucre, the tapering form of the fruit, and the one-row feathery pappus.
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Hawkweed (Hieracium) is a genus of composite plants, sub-family Cichoraceae, consisting of numerous species with yellow flowers.
Hawkweed are common weeds in Britain and other parts of Europe. The pappus is brown and brittle, and in many species the leaves, involucres, and stems are hairy.
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Hawthorn (Crataegus Oxyacantha) is a small spiny European tree, belonging to the sub-family Pomaceae of the family Rosaceae, rising sometimes to the height of six metres. The leaves are alternate, obovate and three to five lobed. The flowers are white, sometimes with a reddish tinge, disposed in corymbs and smell rather nice.
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Hay is the stems and leaves of grasses and other plants cut for fodder, dried in the sun, and stored usually in stacks. The time most suitable for mowing grass intended for hay is that in which the saccharine matter is most abundant in the plants, that is when the grass is in full flower. For the operation of mowing, dry weather, and, if possible, that in which sunshine prevails, is chosen (whence the term make hay while the sun shines).
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The hazel is a shrub and sometimes small tree of the genus Corylus, sub-family Corylaceae, family Betulaceae, found in Europe, North Africa, Asia, and North America.. The leaves are roundish-cordate, alternate and shortly petiolate. The bark is reddish-brown and smooth. The plant is monoecious, the male flowers are clustered in pendulous catkins, the female flowers are arranged in erect, short, bud-like spikes with protruding red styles. The fruit is a hard, brown, rounded nut (filbert), enclosed by an irregularly lobed green involucre.
The European hazel (Corylus Avellana) produces the nuts called filberts, and grows best in a tolerably dry soil. It bears male and female flowers, the former composing cylindrical catkins. The hazel-nut oil is little inferior in flavour to that of almonds. Hazel branches form excellent walking-sticks, fishing-rods, etc, and the wood produces good charcoal, often employed by painters.
The American hazel (Corylus. americana) very much resembles the European. The roots are used by cabinet-makers for veneering; and in Italy the chips were formerly sometimes put into turbid wine for the purpose of fining it.
The witch hazel or wych hazel, Hamamelis virginica, is a shrub or small tree of a different natural order, the Hamamelidaceae. It is a native of the United States, and healing properties have long been ascribed to it both by the Indians and the settlers. A liquid prepared from it is said to be useful as an application to wounds, stanching the bleeding and promoting healing, being applied also to bruises, sprains, bleeding piles, in internal bleeding, etc. There arc several officinal preparations of the witch-hazel, especially a fluid extract and a tincture. The former American patent medicine, Pond's Extract, owed its chief properties to the witch-hazel.
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The hazel-grouse (Bonasa sylvestris, also called Tetrastes bonasia, etc),is a species of grouse inhabiting Europe and Asia. It is found in healthy tracts, woods and forests. It feeds on berries, buds, insects and worms.
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The Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is one of the most common moths in the temperate and warmer parts of the Palaearctic, with a single brood flying from June to September.
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Heart's Ease also known as wild pansy, Love-lies-Bleeding, Love-in-Idleness and Bullweed (Viola tricolor) is a British annual wild violet found on hedge banks and waste grounds. The flowers vary in colour and size, but are generally purple, yellow or white and most commonly a combination of the three. The upper petals are generally the most showy and usually purplish in tint. The lowest and broadest petal is usually yellow and has its base elongated into a spur. The Saxons called it Banwort or Banewort. It receives its alternative names of Love-Lies-Bleeding and Love-in-Idleness from the former belief in the plant as a potent love-charm, and is mentioned in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream as such.
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Heath is the common name of many plants of the natural order Ericaceae. Those that belong to the genus Erica have their leaves simple and entire; their flowers oval, cylindrical, or even swelled at the base; the corolla is four-cleft; the stamens eight, terminated by anthers which are usually notched or biaristate at the summit, and the fruit dry, four or eight-celled.
From 400 to 500 species are known, twelve or fifteen of which inhabit Europe, and have small flowers, whilst all the remainder are natives of South Africa. Many of them bear brilliantly coloured flowers. In Britain six species are enumerated, of which Erica tetralix and Erica cinerea are the most common, both with beautiful bell-shaped flowers. Another very common species is the common ling or heather, Calluna vulgaris (Calluna having been made a separate genus from Erica), a low shrub, which often covers exclusively extensive tracts of barren land.
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The Heath Fritillary (Mellicta athalia) is a species of brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) found in Europe and milder parts of Asia as far as Japan. Generally one generation occurs which flies from May to August.
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Heather (Calunua) is a low growing evergreen shrub that is common on sandy and acid soil. Heather has tiny, arrow-head shaped leaves pressed against and clasping the stem. Narrow spikes of flowers are borne which are often crowded to form large branched inflorescences. The flowers have four pinkish- purple, petal-like sepals and a deeply lobed corolla, similar to but shorter than the sepals. There are six to eight small bracts below each flower, the upper four resembling sepals.
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The term heavy horse describes draft breeds of horse, adapted for heavy draft and farm work. They are generally large, with a dense skeletal frame, comparatively short legs, a very thick muscular neck, a broad chest and a short wide back. Most, but not all, also have feathering.
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The Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 30 and 35 mm found in the mild regions of the Palaearctic flying from March to May.
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Hedera is the genus of plants to which ivy belongs.
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Hedge-mustard (Sisymbrium officinale) is a cruciferous plant once used as a remedy for catarrh.
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The hedge-warbler (also known as the hedge-sparrow, Accentor modularis) is a bird of the family Sylvidae, common in Britain and the temperate parts of Europe. It feeds on insects, worms and seeds. It grows to about 14 centimetres long and has reddish-brown plumage streaked with dark-brown. Its nest is generally finished early in March. The eggs, four or five in number, are bluish-green. The cuckoo often deposits her egg in its nest.
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The hedgehog is various genera of small prickly carnivorous mammals of the order Insectivora, family Erinaceidae covered with spines in lieu of hair. They are solitary, nocturnal animals living in small thickets and feeding on caterpillars, beetles, slugs, worms, young mice, eggs and fruit. Hedgehogs are fond of raw or roasted flesh, and will devour cockroaches in large numbers when kept in houses.
By means of a special muscle the hedgehog is able to roll itself up into a ball, and in this form can defy most of its enemies. It has a rudimentary tail, elongated nose, short ears, with a cranium comparatively broad. The hind feet have five toes, and strong coarse hair covers some parts of the body. The teeth are numerous. Hedgehogs grow to about 30 centimetres long and can live up to six years. The hedgehog hibernates in winter. The female bears four to eight young at a birth, the young soon becoming covered with prickles. It is found in Britain and in most parts of Europe. Other species are found in Asia and Africa. Hedgehogs are so called on account of their cooked flesh closely resembling that of the hog or pig.
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Hedgepig is the name given to a young hedgehog.
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Hedobia is a genus of beetle of the family Anobiidae, ranging from five to eight millimetres in length and living in dead wood, particularly the thin branches of deciduous trees.
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Heidelberg man (Homo heidelbergensis) was an early type of primitive man occurring in Europe during the middle Palaeolithic age. He is known only from a single fossil lower jaw found at Mauer, near Heidelberg, Germany in 1907.
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Helamys is a genus of rodents allied to the jerboas. They are the jumping- hare or jumping-rat.
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Helianthemum is a genus of herbaceous under-shrubs and shrubby or creeping plants, also known as the rock-rose genus.
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Helicidae is the name by which the land shell-snails are distinguished.
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Helictis is a genus of carnivorous quadrupeds allied to the skunk. They are found in China and Nepal.
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Heliotrope (Heliotropium) is a genus of plants of the family Boraginaceae. The species are herbs or under-shrubs mostly native of the warmer parts of the world and have alternate leaves and small flowers usually disposed in scorpioid cymes.
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Heliotropic is a biological term for plants which turn their stems so as to expose as much leaf surface to the sunlight as possible.
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The Heliozoa are an order of Rhizopoda. The body is radially symmetrical and the pseudopodia are thin and stiff. Reproduction is by fission and sexually by the fusion of gametes.
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Helix is a genus of gastropodous molluscs comprising the land shell-snails.
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Black Hellebore (Helleborus) or Christmas Rose is a genus of plants of the family Ranunculaceae, consisting of perennial low-growing plants with palmate or pedate leathery leaves, yellowish, greenish or white flowers having five conspicuous persistent sepals and eight to ten small tubular petals.
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Helmet-shell is a common name for molluscs of the genus Cassis, gastropods of the family Buccinidae found mainly on tropical shores.
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Helminthology is the study of worms, or helminths.
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Helminths are multi-cellular, often macroscopic worms having both rudimentary organs and organ systems.
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Helochares is a genus of water scavenger beetles of the family Hydrophilidae.
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Heloderma is a genus of two species of poisonous lizards, the only poisonous lizards known in the world currently, of the family Helodermatidae. Heloderma suspectum (the Gila monster) is a species of lizard found in northern Mexico and the south-west USA. They are about 56 cm long and venomous, the salivary glands of the lower jaw being converted into poison sacs. They have a thick, squat body covered with rough yellow, pink and black scales and form burrows under the roots of trees, &c. A related species, the beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum) occurs in western Mexico and southern Guatemala.
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Helodermatidae is the venomous lizards family of reptiles of the super family Varanoidea, suborder Anguinomorpha, order Squamata. The family is represented by a single genus, Heloderma (the Gila Monster and Beaded Lizard), and two species found in North America, mainly Mexico.
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Helophorus is a genus of 31 species of beetles of the family Hydraenidae, twenty species living in Britain. They have a distinctive pronotum with five long grooves separated by swollen ridges.
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Helvella is a genus of large terrestrial fungi belonging to the family of the Ascomycetes. They are characterised by the sporidia being contained in small cases or asci, by the hymenium being even and exposed, and by the pileus having free margins.
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Hemerobiidae are the lace-wing flies, a family of neuropterous insects.
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Hemerocallis is a genus of Liliaceae.
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Hemichordata is a class of sub-Phylum acrania. They are peculiar marine worm-like creatures.
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Hemidesmus is a genus of twining plants of the family Asclepiadaceae, having opposite leaves, and cymes of small greenish flowers. Sarasparilla is derived from them.
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Hemimetabola is the subdivision of the Pterygota class of insects which undergo a slight and incomplete metamorphosis, the larva differing from the perfect insect chiefly in the absence of wings and in size.
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Hemipodius is a genus of rasorial birds allied to the quail.
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Hemiptera is an order of four-winged insects, having a suctorial proboscis, the outer wings, or wing-covers, are either entirely formed of a substance intermediate between the elytra of beetles and the ordinary membranous wings of most insects, or leathery at the base and transparent towards the tips (hemelytra). In one group (the Aphides) all the wings when present are membranous. The true wings are straight and unplaited, Some feed on vegetable and some on animal juices. Those having the upper wings of a uniform substance throughout (whether leathery or transparent) have been constituted into a section, and by some naturalists into an order named Homoptera; those having them partly leathery and partly transparent constitute the section or order Heteroptera. To the Hemiptera belong the plant-lice, boat-fly, cochineal insect, locust, bug, lantern-fly, etc.
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Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a poisonous biennial herb of the family Umbelliferae supposed to be identical with the plant koneion of the Greeks.. It is a tall, erect, branching biennial, with a smooth, shining, hollow stem usually marked with purple spots. It has elegant, much divided leaves which when bruised emit a nauseous odour. The flowers are white in compound umbels of ten or more rays surrounded by a general involucre of three to seven leaflets.
Hemlock is found in Britain and throughout Europe and temperate Asia in waste places, banks, and under walls. It is said to be fatal to cows when they eat it, but that horses, goats, and sheep may feed upon it without danger. In the human subject it causes paralysis, convulsions, and death. The poison administered to Socrates is supposed to have been a decoction of it, though others are of opinion that the potion was obtained from water-hemlock (Cicuta virosa).
Hemlock is a powerful sedative, and is used medicinally. The extract is considered the best preparation. It was formerly used as a substitute for, or as an accompaniment to opium. It has been found very useful in chronic rheumatism and in hooping-cough, in allaying the pain of irritable sores and cancerous ulcers. The virtues of hemlock reside in an alkaline principle termed coma or coniine.
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Hemp is an annual herb of the genus Cannabis, natural order Cannabinaceae with an erect, hairy stem and palmately divided, long-stalked leaves with serrate edges, formerly cultivated for its fibres that are used to make rope. The plant is dioecious: the male flowers are arranged in panicles, are green, resembling those of the hop and produce large quantities of pollen; the female flowers grow in leafy spikes in the leaf axils and are pollinated by the wind. The fruit is a shiny, greyish-green achene.
Hemp is a native of Western and Central Asia, but has long been naturalized in Brazil and tropical Africa, and was extensively cultivated in Italy and many other European countries, particularly Russia and Poland. The Indian variety, often known as Cannabis indica, is the source of the narcotic drug variously known as hashish, bhang, or gunjah or simply cannabis.The oil and leaves of Indian hemp contain tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabinol and cannabidol, which have sedative, analgesic and antispasmodic properties.
The derivatives of hemp (hashish and cannabis being the oil and dried leaves respectively) are widely smoked for their narcotic effects and are also effective in the treatment of many illnesses including multiple- sclerosis, though their use is banned in the UK, where it is an offence to grow, possess or sell hemp without a government license.
The hemp fibre is tough and strong, and peculiarly adapted for weaving into coarse fabrics such as sail-cloth, and for twisting into ropes and cables. Immense quantities were exported from Russia. The finer sorts were used for shirtings, sheetings, etc, which, though coarser than that made from flax, were very much stronger and equally susceptible of being bleached.
The hemp of England was very superior, but the plant dis not pay the farmer, and very little of it was grown. In some of the United States during the 19th century hemp was a crop of considerable importance.
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Hemp-palm (Chamoerops excelsa) is a Chinese and Japanese species of palm. Rope is made from the fibres of its leaves.
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Henbane or stinking-nightshade (Hyoscyamus niger) is a highly poisonous biennial or annual herb of the family Solanaceae. It is a coarse, erect plant with soft, clammy, hairy foliage of a disagreeable odour and pale yellowish-brown flowers streaked with purple veins. Henbane is found in waste ground and loose dry soil. The expressed juice of the leaves and seeds was formerly often used as a sedative, antispasmodic, and narcotic, having in many cases the great advantage over laudanum of not producing constipation. When taken in considerable quantity it proves quickly fatal to man and most animals, particularly to domestic fowls, whence the name.
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Henfish is the young of the whiting-pout (Morrhua lusca).
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Henna (Lawsonia inermis) is a shrub of the family Lythraceae, bearing opposite entire leaves and numerous small white fragrant flowers disposed in terminal panicles. In swampy parts of India, the henna leaves are ground into a paste which is then applied to the skin of the feet in order to harden the skin and reduce rotting which would otherwise occur in the wet conditions, and to offer some defence against leeches.
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Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis) or American Liverwort as it is also known is a perennial herb with a short, scaly rhizome. The leaves are trifoliate, liver-shaped and almost leathery. The flowers are usually light-blue and sometimes white or pink in colour.
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Hepialidae is the ghost and swift moths family of insects of the order Lepidoptera.
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Heracleum is a genus of large umbelliferous herbs, the cow-parsnips.
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The herald Moth (Scoliopteryx libatrix) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 40 and 45 mm found throughout the Palaearctic and in North America.
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A herb is a non-woody, soft and leafy plant whose aerial parts do not remain above ground following the growing season.
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Herb-Bennet (Geum urbanum) or Benedict's herb or Avens as it is also known, is an aromatic perennial herb of the family Rosaceae with a thickened rhizome and erect branched stem used as a tonic and astringent. The basal leaves are slaked and odd-pinnate, with two or three pairs of unequal-sized leaflets and a large, lobed, terminal leaflet. The smaller stem leaves are alternate, trifoliate and have paired, leaf-like stipules. The flowers are erect, solitary and terminal with recurved sepals and spreading yellow petals.
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Herb-Paris or true love (Paris polyphylla) is a native British plant bearing yellowish-green, four-petaloid flowers in early summer.
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Herb-Robert (Geranium Robertianum) is a common British annual or biennial herb of the Geranium family with an unpleasant scent and thin, reddish glandular stems that branch stiffly. The leaves are alternate, long-stemmed and are palmately divided into between three and five lobes, which are in turn divided twice over. The flowers are reddish-violet in colour, long-stalked and usually grow in pairs. It is astringent, diuretic and aromatic and is used in medicine externally to treat skin disorders and septic cuts, and internally for diarrhoea, kidney and bladder disorders.
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A plant said to be herbaceous is a perennial plant of which the stem perishes annually, while the roots remain permanent and send forth a new stem in the following season.
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A herbivore is an animal that eats plants.
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The Hercules-beetle (Scaraboeus) is a very large Brazilian lamellicorn beetle. An enormous horn projects from the head, and a smaller one from the thorax. The beetle grows to 12cm long.
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Herd is the collective noun for a group of deer.
Herd is the collective noun for a group of goats.
Herd is the collective noun for a group of cattle.
Herd is the collective noun for a group of antelopes.
Herd is the collective noun for a group of seals.
Herd is the collective noun for a group of swans.
Herd is the collective noun for a group of curlews.
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The Hereford (whiteface) is a red and white, low-set and compact breed of domestic beef cattle.
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An hermaphrodite is an animal in which the characteristics of both sexes are either really or apparently combined, especially an animal having the parts of generation both of male and female, so that reproduction can take place without the union of two individuals. Hermaphrodites are divided into true and spurious, the first exhibiting a real combination of the characteristics of the two sexes; while in the second the combination is only apparent. The animals in which the organs of the two sexes are normally combined in the same individual are confined to the invertebrate division of the animal kingdom, as for example certain groups of the inferior worms, molluscs, barnacles, etc.
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The Hermit-Beetle (Osmoderma eremita) is a beetle of the family Scarabaeidae.
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The Hermit Butterfly (Chazara briseis) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in northern Africa, and southern and central Europe and in Asia.
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Hermit-crab is the popular name of the Paguridae family of decapod crustaceans. They take possession of and occupy cast-off univalve shells of various molluscs, carrying this habitation about with them, and changing it for a larger one as they increase in size.
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Hernandia is a genus of large Indian trees of the family Hernandiaceae. They have alternate entire leaves and flowers arranged in axillary or terminal spikes or corymbs.
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Heron is a popular name for birds of the genus Ardea, constituting with the bitterns the family Ardeidae.
Herons are spread over almost all the world. They are distinguished by having a long bill cleft beneath the eyes, a compressed body, long slender legs naked above the tarsal joint, three toes in front, the two outer united by a membrane, and by moderate wings. The tail is short, rounded, and composed of ten or twelve feathers. The common Heron is about one metre in length.
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Herring is the general name of fishes of the genus Clupea, the most important of which is the Clupea harengus, or common herring. It is of wide distribution in the
North Atlantic, 45 degrees North latitude being about the southern limit. It measures from 10 to 12 inches in length, with blue-green back and brilliant silvery white under parts. It has small teeth in both jaws, and is of an elegant shape, the body being much compressed.
It was once supposed that the herrings migrated in two great shoals every summer from the Polar Seas to the coasts of Britain and France, returning in the winter, but the migration is probably only from a deeper part of the ocean to a shallower. The feeding ground of the herring is probably the mud deposits found in the deeper parts of the sea, and it seems to be a fact that during their visits to the shallower waters of the coast for the purpose of spawning they do not feed, or feed very little.
In summer the herring leaves the deep water where it has passed the winter and spring months, and seeks the coast where it may deposit its ova, and where they may be exposed to the influences of oxygen, heat, and sun-light, which are essential to their development. They are generally followed by multitudes of hakes, dog-fishes, etc, and gulls and other sea-birds hover over the shoals. They swim near the surface, and are therefore easily taken by net.
It was erroneously thought in the 19th and early 20th centuries that so great is the herring's fecundity that enormous number could be taken without reducing their abundance, as many as 68,000 eggs having been counted in the roe of one female. As a result, massive drift nets were used to fish millions of Herring from the sea. However, in the mid-20th century over fishing had almost wiped out the Herring and a suspension of fishing for them was put in place until their numbers returned.
Herrings are traditionally taken throughout the year, but in the greatest quantities in summer. In Scotland the herring fishery was long one of the most important industries.
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Hesperiidae is the 'skippers' family of butterflies.
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The Hessian Fly (Cecidomyia destructor) is a fly of the family Tipulidae, of the order Diptera, the larva of which is very destructive to wheat, barley and rye crops. It is so named from the unfounded belief, formerly prevalent in America, where it is specially destructive, that it was brought over to that country in the baggage of the Hessian mercenaries employed against the Americans in the American War of Independence. The female fly is about 3 mm in length, with a wing expanse of about 7 mm. Its body is brown, with the upper parts, the thorax, and the head of a darker shade, approaching to black. The wings are of a dusky grey, and are surrounded with fringes. The male is somewhat smaller than the female and has longer antennae. The female flies usually lay their eggs on the young plants twice in the year, in May and September, out of which eggs the maggots hatch in from four to fourteen days. These work themselves in between the leaf-sheath and the stem, and fix themselves near the lowest joints, often near the root, and suck the juices of the stem, so that the ear falls down at a sharp angle. These maggots turn to pupae, from which the flies develop in about ten days. It has long been a pest in America and Germany, but did not appear in Britain until the summer of 1886.
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Hetaerius is a genus of small beetles of the family Histeridae. One European species, Hetaerius ferrugineus, is a rust-red colour and lives in the nests of various ants, mostly Formica fusca and Formica sabguinea, where they eat dead and sickly ants.
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Heterhelus is a genus of sap-beetle (Nitidulidae).
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Heterobostrychus is a genus of False Powder-post Beetles (Bostrychidae).
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Heterocercal is a term applied to ganoid and elasmobranchiate fishes, in which the vertebral column runs to a point in the upper lobe of the tail, as in the sharks and sturgeons, causing this lobe to be much larger than the other.
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Heteroceridae is a family of beetles comprised of two genera of the order Coleoptera. The members live together in burrows they excavate in the ground beside water.
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Heterocerus is a genus of beetle of the family Heteroceridae. The genus contains fourteen of the fifteen species which comprise the family.
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Heterodontosaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. It was a tiny dinosaur, about 120 cm long, walking on its hind legs and probably extending its tail behind it to help it balance when running. Heterodontosaurus was a herbivore and had sharp teeth at the front of its mouth followed by fangs and finally broad-ridged cheek teeth.
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Heteropoda is an order of marine molluscs, the most highly organized of the Gastropoda. In this order the foot is compressed into a vertical muscular lamina, serving for a fin, and the gills, when present, are collected into a mass on the hinder part of the back.
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Heteroptera is a section of hemipterous insects comprising those in which the two pairs of wings are of different consistence, the anterior part being horny or leathery, but generally tipped with membrane. They comprise the land and water bugs.
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Heterothops is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae with a large head found living in damp places under leaves and plant debris.
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Heterotricha is an order of Ciliata vera. They are covered in cilia, and have a spiral band of tough cilia leading towards the cytostome.
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Hexactinellida is a class of sponge with a skeleton built of six-rayed spicules made of silica.
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Hexarthrum is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae).
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Hibiscus is an extensive genus of plants, family Malvaceae chiefly natives of tropical climates. They have large showy flowers, borne singularly on stalks towards the ends of the branches, these flowers having an outer calyx of numerous leaves in addition to the true five-lobed persistent calyx.
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Hickory is several species of timber trees of the genus Carya of the family Juglandeae. They are natives to North America. The wood is heavy, strong and tenacious and was used for making carriage-shafts, screws, whip-handles, cogged wheels, etc. The shag-bark (Carya alba) yields the hickory-nut of commerce, and its wood is very valuable. Carya olivoeformis yields the pecan-nut. The pig-nut or brown hickory is the Carya glabra, and the swamp hickory is Carya amara, so called from the bitterness of its nut.
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The High Brown Fritillary (Fabriciana adippe) is a species of brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) with a wing span of about 50 mm.
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The highland is a small, heavy dewlap, wide horned breed of domestic beef cattle.
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The Highland Pony is a Scottish breed of pony which has developed over the years. They are placid and gentle, standing 14 hands high and are dun, grey, bay, brown, chestnut or black in colour. They are versatile ponies, used for riding, as pack animals for carrying deer and stag carcasses.
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Hill is the collective noun for a group of ruffs.
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Hind is the name of a female stag or deer.
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A Hinny is a hybrid, the product of a stallion mating with a she-ass. It is smaller and weaker than the mule.
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The hip or hep is the fruit of the rose, particularly the wild rose. Hips are more popularly referred to as rose-hips, but strictly this is a tautology.
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The Hipparion was a fossil genus of the horse family, of the Upper Miocene and Pliocene periods. The members are distinguished by the fact that each foot possesses a single fully-developed toe, bordered by two functionless toes which do not touch the ground, but simply dangle on each side of the central toe. The hipparion was about the size of an ass, one American species being, however, smaller, about the size of a goat.
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Hippoboscidae is a family of dipterous insects, parasitic on birds and quadrupeds. The typical type of the fanily is the genus Hippobosca or horse-fly.
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Hippocampus (the Sea-Horse) is a genus of fish closely allied to the pipe-fish, of singular construction and peculiar habits. The upper parts look rather like a horse's head and neck in miniature. When swimming they maintain a vertical position. They are generally about 15 centimetres to 25 centimetres long and are found mainly in the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
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Hippodamia is the Thirteen Spot Ladybird genus of ladybird (Coccinellidae), so named from the numerous black spots on its red elytra, although colouration varies from red with no spots to black.
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Hippomane are a genus of plants belonging to the Euphorbiaceae.
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Hippopotamidae is the hippopotamus family of animals of the order Artiodactyla.
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Hippopotamus (also known as Behemoth) is the popular name of the two remaining species of herbivorous ungulate mammal of the family Hippopotamidae now only found in Africa, but formally found across Britain, Europe and Asia.
The common Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibious) is a large, semi-aquatic herbivorous mammal found in tropical Africa that spends most of its time in rivers. It has a thick and square head, a very large muzzle, small eyes and ears, thick and heavy body, short legs terminated by four toes, a short tail, two ventral teats, skin about five centimeters thick on the back and sides, and without hair, except at the extremity of the tail. The incisors and canines of the lower jaw are of great strength and size, the canines or tusks being long and curved forward. These tusks sometimes reach the length of 60 cm and more, and weigh upwards of 3 kg. The animal has longe been hunted by the natives partly as food, but also on account of the tusks and teeth, their hardness being superior to that of ivory, and less liable to turn yellow. The hippopotamus has been found of the length of five meters, and stands about 1.5 meters high. It delights in water, living in lakes, rivers, and estuaries, and feeding on water-plants or on the herbage growing near the water. It is an excellent swimmer and diver, and can remain under water a considerable time. The behemoth of Job is considered by commentators to be the hippopotamus, as the description of his size, manners, food, and haunts is not unlike those of the latter animal. Among the ancient Egyptians it was revered as a divinity, as it is among the natives in some localities.
The Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) is smaller, about the size of a domestic pig, and is found only in lowland forests in west Africa. The Pygmy Hippopotamus is more terrestrial than the Common Hippopotamus, but spends a lot of time in swamps. While the Common Hippopotamus is a social animal, the Pygmy Hippopotamus is solitary, feeding at night on aquatic plants, grass, algae and bushes.
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Hippuriphila is a genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae).
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The hirudinea are the leeches. They are an ectoparasitic class of annelids with few true segments but each segment shows numerous annuli. Suckers are present at both ends of the body. They lay eggs in cocoons secreted by the clitellum.
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The hirudo are hirudinea.
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Hirundinidae is the Swallow family of Fissirostal birds. They are characterized by broad beaks, opening almost to the eyes, small, weak feet, and a long, forked tail. The wings are long and powerful, adapted for sustaining a protracted flight in pursuit of winged insects which form their sole source of food. They are migratory birds, spending the summer in temperate climates, but disliking the cold withdraw in winter to equatorial regions.
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The Hispano or Spanish Anglo-Arab is a Spanish breed of fast, agile, courageous horse used for working with bulls, in and out of the bull-ring. The Hispano was developed from a cross of Arab and Andalusian mares with an English Thoroughbred stallion. The Hispano stands between 14.3 and 16 hands high and is bay, grey or chestnut in colour.
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Hispella is a genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae).
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Hister is a genus of beetles of the family Histeridae. They live chiefly in animal excrement where they hunt other insects, but are also to be found in decaying fungi, and on escaping sap.
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Histeridae is a family of beetles, with fifty genera occurring in Britain. The members have a hard body, geniculate antennae with a thick, button-like club, the elytra leaves the last two abdominal tergites exposed, they are able to retract their head underneath the pronotum, and both the larvae and the adults hunt the larvae of other insects in decaying plant and animal matter. They are chiefly found in carrion, dung, rotting fungi and under bark.
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Hive is the collective noun for a group of bees.
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The hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus) is a curious bird found only in the dense undergrowth which fringes the margins of rivers and lagoons around the Amazon. It is pheasant-like, with a long, thin body, a strong, serrated beak, an erectile crest on the head and long claws. The breast-bone is curiously modified, the keel being much reduced, having its anterior portion aborted and its posterior flattened out. Over this flattened region is a thickened patch of skin on which the bird rests. The crop is enormous, and the bird consumes large quantities of leaves and fruit. The young are remarkable in having claws both on the thumb and the index finger, and in using these, together with the bill and feet in scrambling about among the branches.
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Hog is an alternative term for a boar or pig. The term is mainly applied in the USA to domestic pigs.
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The Hog-fish are teleostean fish of the genus Scorpoena, family Scorpaenidae. The best known species is the Scorpoena sorofa, common in the Mediterranean, having the head flattened sideways, armed with spines, and adorned with membranous lobes or filaments. It is of a large size and a red colour.
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The Hog-plum are plants of the genus Spondias, family Anacardiaceae. Some of them yield pleasant fruit. The name Hog-plum comes from the West Indies where the fruit was once fed to pigs (hogs).
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The Hog-rat (Capromys) is a genus of rodent animals of the family Muridae.
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A hogget is a two-year-old sheep.
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Holcus is the soft grass genus of grasses of the family Gramineae. The members are native to Europe, temperate Asia and Africa.
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Holly (Ilex) is a genus of plants of the family Aquifoliaceae, embracing a number of evergreen trees or shrubs. The common holly (Ilex aquifolium) is common in Britain and the Continent of Europe. It is a conical evergreen tree growing to a height of ten metres in Britain. It's leaves are dark- green, shiny and leathery, abundantly armed with prickles on the lower branches but free from them on the higher branches. The flowers are white, appearing in May; the fruit is red, ripening in September, and remaining on the tree all the winter.
A good many varieties are known, distinguished by the shape and colour of the leaves, which are sometimes spotted or edged with yellow, etc. It is excellently adapted for hedges and fences, as it bears clipping. The wood is hard and white, and is employed for turnery work, knife handles, etc. The bark yields a mucilaginous substance, from which birdlime is made.
Among the Romans it was customary to send boughs of holly to friends, with new-year's gifts, as emblematical of good wishes; and it is used to decorate houses at Christmas.
The American holly (Ilex opaca} is widely diffused throughout the United States. It sometimes attains the height of 25 meters, with a trunk one meter in diameter. The Ilex glabra is another species of holly, inhabiting the coast regions of the United States. Its leaves furnished the 'black drink' which used to hold an important place in Indian ceremonies. The mate or Paraguay tea-plant is a species of holly (Ilex Paraguayensis).
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The Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in North Africa, Europe, Palaearctic Asia and North America south as far as New Mexico. The caterpillar lives on various shrubs including holly, ivy and buckthorn.
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Hollyhock is a biennial or perennial herb with tall, erect, leafy stems. It is native to central Europe and China. There are many varieties, with single and double flowers, characterized by the tints of yellow, red, purple, and dark purple approaching to black. It reaches a height of rwo meters or more. Hollyhock is an important plant in medicine providing a dark pigment which is also used in cooking.
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Holm-oak (Quercus Ilex) is a shrub-like tree native to Mediterranean countries with holly-like leaves. In its native countries it attains a considerable size and age, but in Britain it forms an ornamental evergreen bush of from six to nine meters high, seldom becoming single-stemmed.
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Hololepta is a genus of beetles of the family Histeridae. They are black with long, sickle-shaped mandibles and a flattened body. Hololepta plana lives under the bark of deciduous trees, particularly poplar trees.
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Holometabola is the subdivision of the Pterygota class of insects which undergo a pronounced and complete metamorphosis, typified by butterflies.
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Holothuria is the typical type of an order of Echinoderms, the Holothurioidea or sea-cucumbers. This order is destitute of the calcareous plates typical of the class, but has a leathery integument open at both ends, and pierced by orifices through which suctorial feet or ambulacra protrude. They have the mouth surrounded by tentacula; a long convoluted alimentary canal; respiratory organs near the anus, and generally in the form of two branching arborescent tubes (forming the respiratory tree) into which the water is admitted; and the organs of both sexes in each individual. They are capable of extending themselves to several times the length they have in a state of repose, and of extraordinary reproduction of parts, even of vital organs. The young undergo a metamorphosis during development. They abound in the Asiatic seas, the beche-de-mer or trepang being a member of the family.
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The holothuroidea are the sea cucumbers order of Echinoderms. The body is elongated and appears worm-like. Skeletal plates are minute and imbedded in the fleshy body wall. There are no spines. The mouth is at one end of the body, the anus at the other. Feeding is carried out by tube feet near the mouth.
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Holotricha are an order of ciliata vera. They are covered in alike cilia.
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The Holstein is a German breed of horse originating prior to the 13th century and used as a warhorse during the Middle Ages and also as an agricultural horse. the modern Holstein is lighter, and is used more for competition riding, dressage and show jumping. The Holstein stands between 16 and 17 hands high and is any solid colour.
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Holy Grass (Hierochloe) is an odoriferous genus of grass belonging to the Phalarideae.
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The Holy Spirit Plant (Peristeria elata) is an orchidaceous plant of Central America, also known as the dove-plant, from the resemblance of the united stamens and pistil of the flower to a dove hovering with expanded wings, somewhat like the conventional dove seen in artistic representations of the Holy Ghost. It has a spike of almost globose, sweet-scented flowers of a creamy white, dotted with lilac on the base of the lip.
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Homalocephale was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. It was about three metres long, walked on its hind legs standing about 130 cm tall and had a flat head with a thickened roof to the skull covered with pits and bony knobs. Broad hip bones, loosely attached to the vertebrae suggest that Homalocephale may have given birth to live young, rather than to eggs.
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Homalopsinae is a subfamily of reptiles of the family Colubridae (the Typical Snakes) of the sub-order Serpentes (Snakes). The subfamily contains eleven genera and about 35 species found in India through the far East to northern Australia. The members are aquatic, found in fresh water, brackish water and in the sea. All the members are opisthoglyphic with well-formed, grooved venom fangs at the rear of the upper jaw.
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Hominidae is a family of primates which includes the genus Homo (man).
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Homocercal is a term applied in the case of fishes which have tails with rays diverging symmetrically from the backbone, as opposed to heterocercal.
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In physiology, homologous means corresponding in type of structure; thus, the human arm, the foreleg of a horse, the wing of a bird, and the swimming-paddle of a dolphin or whale, being all composed essentially of the same structural elements, are said to be homologous, though they are adapted for quite different functions.
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The Honduran Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis) is an American species of Milk snake occurring in Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica and first described in 1978 and reaching about 108 cm in length. The Honduran Milk Snake often occurs in a brilliant orange colour with black and yellow bands, leading to its alternative name of the 'Tangerine Milk Snake'.
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The honey-ant (Myrmecocyctus mexicnus) is a Mexican ant. They live in communities in subterranean galleries and in summer some secrete a kind of honey from their abdomen.
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Honey-eater is a name given to a number of insessorial birds forming the family Meliphagidae, of the tribe Tenuirostres. They form a large group, feeding mainly on honey and the nectar of flowers. These birds are found in Australia and surrounding islands. They have long curved sharp bills, with a tongue terminating in a pencil of delicate filaments.
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The honey-guide is a South African cuckoo of the genus Indicator, which by its cries and motions directs people to the nests of wild honey bees.
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The Honey-locust, sweet)locust, or black locust (Gleditschia triacanthos) is an American forest tree belonging to the family Leguminosae. The leaves are pinnated, divided into small leaflets and the foliage has a light and elegant appearance. The flowers are greenish, and are succeeded by long, often twisted pods, containing large brown seeds, enveloped in a sweet pulp. This tree is especially remarkable for its formidable thorns, on which account it has been recommended for hedges. The Gleditschia monosperma, a tree resembling the last in general appearance, grows in swamps in Illinois and south-westward. The wood is inferior in quality.
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Honeysuckle or Woodbine is the Lonicera genus of Linnaeus of the family Caprifoliaceae. It is a twining shrub with distinct leaves and red berries found in Britain. The honeysuckle family is represented in North America by nine different species. Australian honeysuckle is a name given to Banksia australis and other species of the Protea family, from their flowers being filled with a sweet liquid.
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The Honeysuckle Moth (Ypsolopha dentella) is a moth of the family Plutellidae with a wing span of between 18 and 22 mm found in Europe and western Asia in damp deciduous forests and urban parks with honeysuckle, which the caterpillar feeds on. The adult moths fly from June to August.
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The hooded crow, Royston crow, or grey-backed crow (Corvus cornix) is a British bird somewhat larger than the rook. Its head, wings, and tail are black, but less bright than in the rook; the rest of the body is a dull smoke-gray. Its food is similar to that of the carrion crow, and it builds a similar nest. Indeed, the distinctness of the species Corvus corone and Corvus cornix has been called in question, as they interbreed freely together, and the young of the same nest present more or less resemblance to the one or the other parent. The hooded crow is less common in England than in Scotland and Ireland.
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The hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) is a species of seal, the male of which has a movable, inflatable muscular bag stretching from the muzzle to behind the eyes. The prevailing colour is black.
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Hooded tern is a popular name for the Euoropean little tern (Sterna minuta).
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A hoof is the horny casing of the foot of a ruminant, horse, swine or similar animals. Hooves may be regarded as homologues of the toe-nails of other animals. They are composed of epithelium cells, agglutinated and dried, and of intercellular substance and cell contents. Chemically they consist of keratin.
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Hoofed is the term applied to animals with hooves.
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The Hoop-ash (Celtis frassifolia), is an American tree of the order Urfcicaceae, found in the forests of Ohio and in the Western States. It is a fine tree, attains a height of 25 meters, and is employed for charcoal. Its fruit is round, and in size about the same as a pea.
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The hoopoe (Upupa) is a bird about 30cm long with a fine crest of pale cinnamon-red feathers tipped with black. The upper surface is on the whole an ashy-brown colour while the wings are black, the coverts having white bars; the throat and breast a pale fawn colour, the abdomen white, with black streaks and dashes. It is a ground feeder eating mainly insects. It nests in cavities of trees or walls, and its eggs vary from four to seven. The hoopoe utters a loud double or treble hoop, whence its name.
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Hooves is the plural of hoof.
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The hop (Humulus Lupulus) is a native British and European plant of the hemp family Cannabiaceae, natural order Urticaceae. The root is perennial giving out several herbaceous, rough, twining stems with large lobed leaves. The the fertile flowers are green; the fruit is a catkin and the catkins are added to beer to give it its aromatic and bitter flavour. The young shoots are sometimes boiled and eaten like asparagus; the fibres of the old stems make good cords and were formerly used. The use of the hop catkins depends upon a peculiar bitter substance which they contain, called lupulin, which is a yellow powder, containing a bitter principle and a volatile oil. The lupulin constitutes from 10 to 12 per cent by weight of the catkin, and the bitter principle forms from 8 to 12 per cent of the lupulin. Having tonic, stomachic, and narcotic properties hops were often used medicinally. Pillows stuffed with hops are used to induce sleep.
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Hop-clover (Trifolium procumbens) is a plant of the family Leguminosae, distinguished from other species of clover by its bunch of yellow flowers which wither to brown.
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Hoplia is a genus of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. They have a short and generally flat-topped body that is covered with coloured or metallic scales. They also have strong legs used for burrowing.
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Hops is a popular term for the dried flowers or catkins of the hop plant.
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Horehound (Marrubium) is a genus of labiate plants, with whitish, downy leaves and stem; flowers small, nearly white, in crowded whorls, possessing an aromatic smell and bitter flavour. It is a popular remedy for coughs and colds, usually as an infusion. It is a native of Britain and Europe generally.
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The hormiphora is a member of the Sub-Phylum Ctenophora family.
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The Horn of Plenty or Black Trumpet (Craterellus cornucopioides) is a mushroom of the order Cantharellales found growing among leaf litter of the oak and beech. It is dried and cooked in stews.
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Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus) is a small bushy tree of the natural order Cupuliferae common in Britain, and often used in hedges, as it stands cutting and in age becomes very stiff. The wood is white, tough, and hard, and is used in turnery, and formerly for cogs of wheels, etc. The inner bark yields a yellow dye. The American hornbeam (Carpinus americana) is a small tree sparingly diffused over the whole of the United States. The wood is finegrained, tenacious, and very compact.
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The Hornbills (Bucerotidoe) are a remarkable group of birds found in southern Asia and Africa. They are akin to the Toucans and Kingfishers. The hornbills are remarkable for the size of their bill and a horny protuberance which surmounts the bill.The rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) is almost the size of a turkey, of a black colour, except on the lower part of the belly and tip of the tail, which are white. It has a sharp-pointed, slightly-curved bill, about 25 cm long, and furnished at the base of the upper mandible with an immense appendage in the form of an inverted horn. The skeleton though bulky is very light, being permeated with air to an unusual degree. During incubation the female is plastered up in the hollow of a tree and fed by the male through a small aperture left for the purpose. The hornbills are of arboreal habit, and feed on fruits; but in captivity they take small reptiles, and the Abyssinian species even attacks snakes.
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The Horned Dung Beetle (Copris lunaris) is a large dung beetle of the family Scarabaeidae characterised by a long sharp horn on its head. They are found chiefly under fresh cow dung.
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The horned grebe or Slavonian grebe (Podiceps auritus) is a dumpy, compact, small diving bird of the order Podicipediformes, family Podicipedidae. In the summer its plumage is mainly a brick-red colour with a black face with golden-yellow ear tufts and plumes. In winter the plumage is more black and white with red eyes.
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The horned-screamer (Palamedea cornuta) is a South American grallatorial bird having a long, slender, movable horn projecting from its forehead. It has a loud and shrill voice.
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Horned-toad is a popular name for the Phrynosoma genus of lizards. They are found in America and look rather like toads and are covered with spine-like scales.
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The hornet is an insect of the genus Vespa, much larger and stronger than the ordinary wasp. Hornets are voracious, feeding on fruit and honey and preying on other insects. The nest is formed in hollow-trees and walls. The hornet sting is very painful and usually causes considerable swelling.
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The Hornet Moth (Sesia apiformis) is a diurnal moth of the clearwing family (Sesiidae) with a wing span of between 30 and 40 mm found in warmer parts of Europe, Asia, Siberia and North America flying from May to August. The caterpillar bores into the roots of poplars and lives for two years.
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The horse (Equus caballus) is a hoofed, odd toed grass eating mammal of the family Equidae subdivision Perissodactyla (odd-toed); characterized by an undivided hoof formed by the third toe and its enlarged horny nail, a simple stomach, a mane on the neck, and by six incisor teeth in each jaw, seven molars on either side of both jaws, and by two small canine teeth in the upper jaw of the male, rarely in the female.
There are a number of varieties of horse, popularly known as breeds. The adult male horse is called a stallion, the adult female a mare. A stallion used for breeding is known as a stud. A castrated stallion is popularly called a gelding. A young horse is called a foal, with a male foal being called a colt and a female foal being called a filly.
Horses are among the best adapted of the 'flight' mammals. They have very large eyes capable of seeing in two directions at once, ears which can rotate through 180 degrees and judge distance to a perceived sound, and can reach a speed of 30 mph from a standing still position in less than one second. The horse has a very large heart and enormous lungs powering very large rear leg muscles which allow it to run very fast to escape danger. The horse's long head allows it to graze and see over the top of the grass at the same time, keeping watch for approaching danger. The horse's tail is used as a rudder to help with stearing when running fast, and also as a fly-whisk to whip away flies and other irritations.
When bored or agitated, horses' paw the ground with their rear leags. Stallions fight with their front legs and also bite, trying to ham string their opponent. When a horse wants to harm an opponent, or person, they use their front legs. The rear legs may be used to brush away irritations, and while powerful and dangerous are not used with the intention of causing real harm. War horses, used by mounted soldiers in the Mediaeval period, were trained to attack the enemy and would bite the face off foot soldiers who got close.
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Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) is a tall deciduous tree of the family Hippocastanaceae native to south-eastern Europe, and introduced into Britain in the middle of the 16th century. The large, sticky brown buds open into large palmate leaves with five to seven leaflets. The flowers are yellowish white and are clustered in dense, erect panicles. The fruit is a green spiny capsule containing one or more hard brown seeds known as 'conkers'.
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The horse-radish tree (Moringa pterygosperma) is an Indian tree having pinnate leaves and long three-valved pod-like capsules, from which an oil called ben-oil is obtained. The fresh root has a pungent odour and warm taste, much like that of a horse-radish.
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The Horse-fly (Hippobosca) is a winged insect of the family Hippoboscidae which is parasitic on the horse.
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Horse-radish (Cochlearia armoracia or Armoracia rusticana) is a cruciferous plant native to Russia, and found in the temperate parts of Europe in moist locations. The root is cylindrical, whitish in colour and forms a popular condiment. It is a pungent tasting and smelling root, excellent with roast beef. The large, stalked leaves are rectangular to ovate in shape and glossy dark green in colour with indented margins.
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Horse-tail is a popular name for plants of the genus Equisetum of the family Equisetaceae. The cuticle abounds in siliceous cells, a property which allows the horse-tail to be used for polishing wood.
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Horseradish (Cochlearia Armoracia) is a Cruciferae native to south east Europe. The root is used in cookery as a condiment of beef, and has been since the Middle Ages. It was known as Red Cole in England in the 16th century.
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The Houdan is a breed of chicken.
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A hound is a name generally given to hunting dogs, but restricted by scientific writers to such dogs as hunt by scent, a definition which excludes the greyhound. There are several varieties including the bloodhound, staghound, foxhound, harrier and beagle. Hounds are distinguished not only by their fineness of scent, but by docility and sagacity. Of the rough-haired and smooth-haired varieties the former manifest the greatest affection for people.
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The House Longhorn (Hylotrupes bajulus) is a longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae). Its larvae can virtually destroy structural timbers.
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The House Spider (Tegenaria domestica) is a large, long-legged British spider with a body about ten millimetres long, often found in the bath.
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The Houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum) is a succulent perennial herb of the family Crassulaceae. It grows on old walls and roofs. The stem reaches about 20 cm in length in older plants and has a dense basal rosette of fleshy obovate to rectangular, sharp-tipped, bluish-green or often reddish coloured leaves that persist for several years. The stem bears a few purplish flowers arranged in terminal cymes, each flower having twelve or fifteen petals. The leaves were applied by the common people to bruises and old ulcers.
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Hover is the collective noun for a group of trout.
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Howgate Wonder is an English species of apple bearing one of the largest cooking apples which also stores well and cooks to a smooth yellow puree. The tree is regular cropping and very hardy.
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The Howler Monkey (Mycetes) is a genus of South American monkey characterized by a remarkable loudness of voice, which is due to the presence of a large chamber within the hyoid bone and the enlargement of the ventricles of the larynx. They are prehensile-tailed, large and heavy of body with a high pyramidal head flattened on the summit.
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Hoya is a genus of Asclepiadaceae common in tropical Asia.
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The Huachuca Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana woodini) is a subspecies of the Utah Mountain Kingsnake found only in the Huachuca mountains of Arizona and Mexico. The Huachuca Mountain Kingsnake is similar in appearance to the Arizona Mountain Kingsnake but has less than forty narrow white rings encircling the body.
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The huanaco is a grey faced species of wild llama.
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The Hucul is an ancient native breed of Pony from the Carpathian Mountains in Poland. They grow to between 12 and 13 hands high, are bay, black, chestnut or dun in colour, docile and willing, and with strong feet that rarely require shoeing.
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Huia-bird is a Maori name for New Zealand's starlings,, Heteralocha acutirostris or Neomorpha Gouldii, comprising a single species of birds, occupying a very limited space in a few densely-wooded mountain ranges. The plumage is a very dark green, appearing to be black in some lights, the tip of the tail white. The most striking peculiarity about this bird is that the male has a stout, straight beak; the female a long, slender, curved bill.
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A human is an animal of the genus homo.
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Humming-bird is the popular name for the Trochilidae family of minute and beautiful birds, so called from the sound of their wings in flight. The beak is slender, generally long, sometimes straight and sometimes curved. The tongue is long and filiform. They feed by hovering by a plant and use their tongue to catch insects.
In size humming-birds vary from that of a wren to that of a humble-bee. They never light to take food, but feed while on the wing, hovering before a flower, supported by a rapid vibratory movement of the wings which produces the humming noise. These beautiful birds are peculiar to America, and almost exclusively tropical. One species, the ruby-throated humming-bird (Trochilus colubris) is pretty common in the north-east of the United States. The only note of the humming-bird is a single chirp, not louder than that of a cricket. It is very fearless and irascible, two males scarcely ever meeting without a contest. Among the more remarkable of these birds is the tufted-necked humming-bird (Ornismya ornata) of Guiana and Northern Brazil. In this species the crest, outer tail-feathers, and neck-plumea are reddish chestnut, the latter tipped with green, the throat and upper part of the breast are emerald green, the back bronze green.
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The Hummingbird Hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum) is a moth of the family Sphingidae with a wing span of between 40 and 50 mm found in warmer parts of the Palaearctic and recently North America flying from August to Autumn.
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The Hungarian Glider (Neptis rivularis) is a species of butterfly of the brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae) family, found across Europe from France eastwards to Japan in woodland margins and damp localities where it feeds on Spiraea. There is one generation a year, and the butterflies fly from May until August.
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The Hungarian Vizsla is a Hungarian breed of gundog introduced to the west during the 1930s when emigres left Hungary taking their dogs with them. The Vizsla is an even-tempered and affectionate breed that settles well into a home environment.
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The Huon Pine is a tree of the Yew family found in Tasmania and yielding a useful timber.
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Hura is a genus of tropical American plants of the family Euphorbiaceae. Hura crepitans, the sandbox tree, is remarkable for the loud report with which its seed-vessel bursts. It is a large branching tree with glossy poplar-like leaves, inconspicuous dioecious flowers, and large, furrowed, roundish fruits of the size of an orange.
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Husk is the collective noun for a group of hares.
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Hyacinth is a genus of liliaceous bulbous plants including about thirty species, amongst which the garden hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) is celebrated for the immense varieties which culture has produced from it. It is a native of the Levant, and was first cultivated as a garden flower by the Dutch about the beginning of the 16th century.
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Hyaenidae is a family of mammals consisting of the hyenas and the aardwolf.
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The hyalonema is a member of the hexactinellida class.
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A hybrid is the product of a femal animal or plant which has been impregnated by a male of a different but nearly allied species or genus. Uncertainty prevails respecting the productive crossing of species, but it seems to be established that while the crossing of different genera may result in offspring, that of different orders will not.
Hybrids are obtained amongst fishes from different Species of carp; amongst birds, from the goldfinch and canary, the swan and the goose, etc; amongst mammals, from the horse and the zebra, the horse and the ass, the produce of the last two being the mule proper; from the lion and tiger, the dog and wolf, the dog and fox, the goat and ibex.
Instances of hybrids between animals of different genera have been furnished by the union of the goat and the antelope, and of the stag and the cow. It used formerly to be considered that the propagative power of hybrids was either absolutely null, or that they propagated only with an individual of the pure breed; but the experiments of Charles Darwin and other 10th century researches showed that although infertility to some degree generally attends sexual intercourse between different species, yet in such intercourse every degree of difference from absolute sterility up to complete fertility is found. The results hitherto obtained may be summarized as follows: The crossing of species of different families is in almost every case infertile; allied species are capable of producing offspring, and this capability is in indefinite ratio to the degree of their likeness; hybrids are frequently fertile with their parents, but more rarely among themselves; there is no fixed relation between the degree of fertility manifested by the parent species when crossed and that which is manifested by their hybrid progeny.
In many cases two pure species can be crossed with unusual facility, while the resulting hybrids are remarkably sterile; and, on the other hand, there are species which can only be crossed with extreme difficulty, though the hybrids when produced are very fertile.
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Hydaticus is a genus of predacious diving beetles of the family Dytiscidae represented by two species in Britain. They live primarily in stagnant water with plenty of mud.
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Hydatina is a Phylum Rotifera.
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Hydnobius is a genus of beetles of the family Leiodidae. Four species occur in Britain, but are rare.
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Hydnum is a genus of fungi containing both terrestrial and parasitic species. They are characterised by the hymenium, or fructifying surface, being spread over awl-shaped prickles or tubercles, which are distinct at the base. They have fleshy bodies, which in several species are edible, and in none poisonous.
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The hydra is of the order Hydrida.
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Hydraena is a genus of beetles of the family Hydraenidae with ten species found in Britain. They are small, narrow beetles whose extremely long maxillary palps are considerably longer than their antennae which have a small, three-jointed club. They live in flowing water, under stones, in moss, under wood, on aquatic plants and sometimes in stagnant water.
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Hydraenidae is a family of five genera of beetles ranging from one to seven millimetres in length, and living in or near water.
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Hydrangea is a genus of shrubs or herbs of the family Saxifragaceae, containing about eighty species native to Asia and America. The British garden hydrangea (Hydrangea hortensis) was introduced from China in 1790 by Sir J. Banks. It is a favourite plant for the beauty and size of its flowers.
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Hydrida is an order of Hydrozoa. They are solitary hydroid freshwater forms which reproduce by budding and sexual reproduction.
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Hydrobius is a genus of water scavenger beetles of the family Hydrophilidae.
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Hydrocharidaceae is a natural order of mono-cotyledonous floating and creeping plants, inhabiting ditches, rivers, and lakes in various parts of the world. The genus Anacharis belongs to it.
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Hydromys is a genus of Australian water-rats peculiar to that continent and Tasmania and New Guinea. The single species, Hydromyschrysogaster is blackish above and golden below, and reaches a length of about sixty centimetres.
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Hydronomus is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) that live near stagnant water, pools and ditches.
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Hydrophiidae is the 'Sea Snakes' family of reptiles of the sub-order Serpentes (Snakes). The family is comprised of two sub-families, sixteen genera and about 56 species native to the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. Most of the members are highly adapted to a marine existence with laterally compressed bodies and rudder-like tails which help them swim. The eyes are relatively small and the nostrils are valved, being kept closed while swimming. Sea Snakes have adapted to living in salt water and have a gland which extracts excess salt from the blood system, and passes it to the tongue for expulsion when the tongue is extended. The members have short proteroglyphic venom fangs at the front of the upper jaw. Sea Snakes feed largely on fish, particularly eels.
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Hydrophiidae is a sub-family of ovoviviparous reptiles of the Sea Snake family (Hydrophiidae) containing fifteen genera and some fifty-one species found mainly in coastal areas and estuaries. Members have their nostrils set high back on the snout.
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Hydrophilidae is the water scavenger family of beetles. They are mostly round or oval bodied and have a three to five jointed club on the antennae.
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Hydrophilus is a genus of water scavenger beetles of the family Hydrophilidae. They are among the largest of the beetles, measuring up to 50 mm long. Hydrophilus piceus is known as the Great Silver Water-beetle and occurs in Britain, though its becoming very rare. The larvae are predacious, but the adults herbivorous, and the beetles are found in pools with plenty of vegetation.
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Hydroporus is a genus of predacious diving beetles of the family Dytiscidae with 29 species living in Britain.
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Hydrosmecta is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae.
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Hydrothassa is a genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) that live in damp localities often on buttercups and similar plants.
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Hydrous is a genus of large water scavenger beetles of the family Hydrophilidae.
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Hydrozoa is a class of animals of the sub-kingdom Coelenterata, in which the walls of the body inclose a simple undivided cavity which acts both as a body cavity and a digestive cavity. The body is essentially composed of two layers, an outer layer or ectoderm and an inner or entoderm. Reproductive organs are developed as external processes of the body-wall, but reproduction also takes place by fission.
The Hydrozoa are all aquatic and almost all marine. The fresh-water hydra is a very good type of the class. The body is quite soft, and when fully contracted appears like a particle of matter resting on the surface of a plant or stone; but when expanded it shows a long slender body of a bright green or light-brown colour. One end of the body develops into a number of long slender tentacles, within which, near their bases, the mouth of the animal is found. This is the distal or free-growing end.
The other and more slowly growing end is known as the proximal, and ends in a kind of disc or foot by which the hydra attaches itself to objects. The body is hollow from one end to the other. It is mainly found in semi-stagnant waters, where, hanging from its foot-disc, with its long tentacles expanded, it seizes on the small crustaceans or other suitable prey which comes in contact with it. Its tentacles have a stinging power which soon paralyses its prey. Under favourable conditions one or more hydras are usually found attached to the parent form. Such are produced by a process of budding from the parent. Each of these ultimately separates from the parent stem and becomes an independent hydra.
The Hydrozoa were divided by Professor Nicholson into six sub-classes: the Hydroida, the Siphonophora, the Lucernarida, the Graptolitoidea, the Hydrocorallinse, and the Stromatoporoidea.
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The Hyena is an African carnivore, of the family Hyaenidae. It has a large head and neck, long, well-developed forelegs, and powerful jaws and premolars adapted for crushing bones. Each foot has four toes with non-retractable claws, well suited for running on the open plains where hyenas feed on hoofed animals. Of the three hyena species, the best known is the spotted, or laughing, hyena (Crocuta crocuta) , the only member of its genus. Ranging south of the Sahara, it is the largest and most robust of the hyenas, with a length of 1.8 m and a height of 90 centimetres at the shoulder. Adults are brown-grey with dark brown or black spots. Named for their cry, which has been compared to hysterical human laughter, they also emit a striking howl that rises in pitch. Spotted hyenas were long thought to be only scavengers (warring African tribes abandoned their dead to the animal). Recently, hyenas have been found to be among the chief predators of herbivores, especially zebra and wildebeest.
The hyenas attack in packs at night, ripping open the flanks of their prey and carrying off the carcasses. Hyenas associate in clans cantered around communal dens occupied by batches of young at varying stages of growth. Females conceive throughout the year, giving birth after 110 days to one or two cubs, which dig their own tunnels. Pair bonding is not evident; the female, larger than the male, selects her mating partners. The female sexual organs have an external resemblance to the male's, a phenomenon probably related to scent identification, which plays a large part when clan members encounter one another.
A clan may consist of ten or twelve females, twenty cubs, and a number of males on the fringe; hyenas are very territorial. Little is known about the genus Hyaena , which comprises the striped hyena, Hyaena Hyaena , and the brown hyena, Hyena brunnea. Both bear manes of coarse, erectile hair and are smaller and far less aggressive than the spotted hyena. The striped hyena, grey-tan with vertical stripes, ranges from East Africa north into Asia. It is largely a scavenger, often eating vulture-picked bones. The brown hyena, found in southern Africa, is dark brown with a grey head and striped legs. It feeds mainly on fish and crabs.
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Hygronoma is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae, capable of walking on water due to the special hairs on their tarsi.
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Hygrotus is a genus of predacious diving beetles of the family Dytiscidae which lives in stagnant water.
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Hylaeosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period, remains of which were first discovered in the early 19th century at Tilgate Forest, Sussex, England.
Hylaeosaurus was about six metres long, walked on all fours and had armour with spines that stuck out upwards and also sideways along the back and tail.
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Hylastes is a genus of beetle of the family Scolytidae that breed beneath the bark of various coniferous trees.
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Hylecoetus is a genus of beetle of the family Lymexylidae ranging from six to eighteen millimetres long, the males black in colour and the females usually, but not always, light brown. The larvae bore tunnels in felled wood and then eat the fungi which grow in them.
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Hylesinus is a genus of beetle of the family Scolytidae, that live mainly on ash trees.
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Hylis is a genus of false click beetle (Eucnemidae).
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Hylurgus is a genus of beetle of the family Scolytidae that breed in pine bark.
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The hymenoptera is an extensive order of insects which includes the bees, wasps and ants. Most of the members have two pairs of membranous naked wings, and all members show a marked division of the body into head, thorax and abdomen. The order is divided into two sub-orders, distinguished by the manner in which the thorax is joined to the abdomen. The mouth parts are provided with biting jaws and a suctorial organ. The head is freely movable, and besides the lateral compound eyes there are usually three ocelli on the top of the head. The Hymenoptera undergo complete metamorphosis. Females have the extremity of the abdomen furnished either with an ovipositor, forming a boring organ (terebra), or a sting (aculeus).
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Hypacrosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Hypacrosaurus was a large, duck-billed dinosaur about nine metres long that walked on all fours, with a short, high skull with a rounded crest on top. Hypacrosaurus was a herbivore and had dozens of strong teeth which were replaced when they wore away.
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Hypebaeus is a genus of tiny beetle of the family Malachiidae.
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Hypera (formerly known as Phytonomus) is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) represented by fifteen British species. The larvae pupate in a transparent cocoon attached to the leaves or stem of their food plant.
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Hypericaceae or hypericinae is a natural order of plants, of which the genus Hypericum or St John's wort is the typical type. They are herbs, shrubs, or (rarely) trees, with simple, opposite (rarely whorled) leaves. They have terminal or axillary, solitary, cymose or paniculate flowers, usually yellow or white. These plants are much spread; they abound in resinous juice, and many of them possess medicinal properties.
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Hypermastigina are an order of Zoomastigina. They are small flagellates with numerous flagella. They live in the gut of insects. Hypermastigina in the gut of termites assist in the digestion of wood.
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Hyphydrus is a genus of predacious diving beetles of the family Dytiscidae living in chiefly stagnant water. One species, Hyphydrus ovatus, is found in Britain.
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Hypnoidus is a genus of small click beetle (Elateridae), about six millimetres in length, with a thickset, domed body.
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Hypnum is one of the largest genera of mosses, including above ninety species, natives of Britain. Many of the species are very large and ornamental.
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Hypocaccus is a genus of small beetles of the family Histeridae.
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Hypomedon is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae.
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Hypotricha is an order of ciliata vera. They are flattened ciliates with large stiff ciliates on the lower surface which act similarly to legs.
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Hypselosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Hypselosaurus was about 12 metres long, walked on all-fours and had a long neck and tail. Eggs have been found with the bones of Hypselosaurus and these eggs were about 30 cm long and 25 cm across.
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Hypsilophodon was a small dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Hypsilophodon was about two metres long, walked on its long hind legs, each furnished with four toes, and had short arms each furnished with five fingers. Hypsilophodon was a herbivore and had short chopping teeth at the back of the mouth and no teeth at the front, but possibly a bony beak. The first remains of a Hypsilophodon were found in 1849 and was first thought to be the remains of a young Iguanodon, but in the middle of the 20th century it was identified as a distinct species of dinosaur.
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The Hyracoidea or Hyrax as they are commonly known, are an order of Eutheria. They are small rabbit-like creatures. Also called rock hyrax or cony, they are found in Africa and parts of the Middle East. Some species are tree dwellers, while others live on the ground; they feed on vegetation. They are about 50 centimetres in length. The head is thick and pointed, with short, rounded ears and a short neck. The body is squat, with short thin legs and a rudimentary tail. The feet, which are equipped with soft, elastic pads for climbing, have hoof like claws; each forefoot has four toes, and each hind foot has three. The inner toe on each foot is much reduced in size.
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The hyrax is a genus of pachydermatous mammalia, intermediate in their character between the rhinoceros and the tapir. It is the only genus of the order Hyracoidea, characterized by having no canine teeth, but long curved incisors. The front feet have four toes, and the hind feet three. The Cape hyrax was called by the colonists of South Africa the Rock-badger or Rock--rabbit.
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Hyssop (Hyssopus) is a genus of small aromatic perennial herbs of the family Labiatae. They are native to Europe and Asia. The leaves were once used as a medicinal herb tea for pulmonary or catarrhal disorders. The aromatic oil extracted from the leaves is sometimes used in liqueurs.
The common hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) is a perennial shrubby plant rising to a height of 60 cm, a native of Siberia and the mountainous parts of Austria, but common in English gardens. It flowers from June to September. The leaves have an agreeable aromatic odour, and a slightly bitter and somewhat warm taste. It was once esteemed as a medicine, but has now fallen into disuse. The hyssop of Scripture (the symbol of spiritual purification from sin) is generally identified with the caper (Capparis spinosa).
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Hystirco Morpha is the porcupine-like suborder of the order Rodentia.
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