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The saanen is a white or cream coloured breed of domestic goat kept for its milk. They originated in the Saanen valley in Switzerland.
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Sabadilla (Schoenocaulon officinale) is a Mexican liliaceous plant. It bears linear, grass-like leaves and dense racemes of yellowish flowers. Its seeds, which contain the alkaloid veratrine, were formerly used in medicine as an emetic and purgative. Now the seeds are used to prepare insecticide.
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Sabal is a genus of palm trees including the cabbage palmetto (Sabal palmetto).
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Sabella are polychaeta.
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Sabiaceae is a family of trees and shrubs, mostly natives of the northern hemisphere. They usually bear panicles of flowers, each with four or five petals, and four or five stamens inserted at the base or on top of the disc.
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The Sabicu or Savicu (Lysiloma Sabicu) is a leguminous tree native to Cuba. It furnishes an exceedingly heavy and hard wood, with a texture as smooth, close, and firm as ivory almost, and of a rich, warm, red colour. It was much employed for shipbuilding and cabinet-making.
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The sable (Martes zibellina) is a carnivorous type of marten, similar to the pine marten but with longer legs and larger ears. The sable has a luxurious, dense, soft, generally brownish black coat with a paler but indistinct throat bib. The colour of the fur varies greatly according to the locality and the season of the year. The sable has long been hunted for its fur, the darkest and most valuable furs being taken in autumn and winter in the colder parts of Siberia, Russia, and Canada. Sable are solitary animals that live in woodlands where they feed on birds, squirrels, and small rodents.
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The sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) is a large African antelope with long, sabre-like horns and in the male a black coat.
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The Sable Island Pony is a breed of small feral horse from Sable Island, Canada. They are no more than 14 hands high and occur in various dark colours with white markings. They are a hardy breed, short, stocky and with a muscular frame.
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Saccharomyces is a genus of budding fungi which have the capacity for splitting sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid. Species of the genus are used in the fermentation of beer, wine and other alcoholic drinks.
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Saccharum is a genus of tropical and subtropical plants belonging to the family Graminaceae. They have flat or narrow leaves and bear terminal panicles, some times bundle-flowered, sometimes densely spiked. Among the species is the sugar cane.
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Saccopharynx or eurypharnyx is a genus of eels of the family Mursenidae. The best-known species (Saccopharaynx pelecanoides or Eurypharynx pelecanoides) was discovered around 1900. It inhabits the depths of the Atlantic, is of a perfectly black colour, is sometimes 9 feet in length, and but seldom met with. It owes its name to its pouch-like pharynx, which enables it to swallow other fish of large dimensions. The muscular system is but little developed, and the bones are thin and soft.
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The Saddleback pig is a breed of domestic swine characterised by a striking colour marking of a white belt on a black body. The Saddleback originated from the amalgamation of the Essex and Wessex breeds in England. The Wessex Saddleback came from Dorsetshire, England, while the Essex came from Essex. Prior to 1820, both had contributed to the swine of Hampshire which were apparently the ancestors of the American Hampshire breed. The breed was exported to the USA between 1825 and 1829.
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The Safflower of bastard saffron (Carthamus tinctorius) is a large thistle-like plant with orange-coloured flowers of the natural order Compositaa. It is cultivated in China, India, Egypt, and in the south of Europe. An oil is expressed from the seeds, which is used as a lamp-oil. The dried flowers afford two colouring matters (also called safflower), a yellow and a red, the latter (carthamine) being that for which they are most valued. They are chiefly used for dyeing silk, affording various shades of pink, rose, crimson and scarlet. Mixed with finely-powdered talc, safflower forms a common variety of rouge. In some places it is used in lieu of the more expensive saffron, and for adulterating the latter. The oil, in large doses acts as a purgative.
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The Safflower Skipper (Pyrgus fritillarius) is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae found in central Europe and east through to central Asia. It produces two generations that fly from May to August.
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Saffron (Crocus sativus) is a perennial herb of the family Iridaceae with a scaly underground corm and linear leaves with a pale midrib. The short scrape is terminated by a large pale-violet, six-lobed, funnel-shaped flower. The yellow style is tipped with three orange stigmas that extend beyond the perianth. The saffron used in cooking is the dried stigmas.
Saffron was first cultivated on a large scale in England at Saffron Walden by Thomas Smith, secretary of state to Edward VI.
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Sage (Salvia) is a genus of hardy, shrubby, evergreen perennial herbs of the family Labiatae. The 450 or so species of sage bear mostly showy flowers, with a two-lipped calyx, the lower lip bifid, a gaping corolla, and two stamens. They are native to southern Europe, and are largely cultivated as a pot herb, having been used in cooking since at least the time of the Romans. The best known is the Salvia officinalis, or garden sage. This plant is much used in cookery, and is supposed to assist the stomach in digesting fat and luscious foods. Sage-tea is commended as a stomachic and slight stimulant.
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The sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is an American grouse which inhabits the dry plains of the western states, and feeds upon the ' sage brush'. It has a long, pheasant-like tail; the upper surface of the body is mottled, the lower black apart from a white chest. At the sides of the neck in the male are inflatable air-sacs, which are distended during courtship.
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Sage-brush (Artemisia Ludoviciana), is a low irregular shrub of the order Compositae, growing in dry alkaline soils of the North American plains. The name is also given to other American species of Artemisia.
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Sagitta is the arrow-worm genus of Phylum Chaetognatha. The largest species reaches a length of about ten centimetres, the commonest two and a half centimetres in length and has a transparent, glassy body.
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Sagittaria is a genus of marsh plants, belonging to the family Alismaceae. They usually have arrow-shaped leaves with long petioles, and bear white flowers with six-perianth segment, numerous stamens, and numerous one-seeded carpels, the stamens and pistils being borne on different flowers. The only British species is Sagittaria sagittifolia, the common arrowhead which grows in streams and ditches.
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In botany, sagittate is a term applied to the form of leaf shaped like the head of an arrow; triangular, hollowed at the base, with angles at the hinder part.
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The sagoin or sagouin is the native South American name of a genus (Callithrix) of Brazilian monkeys of small size, and remarkably light, active, and graceful in their movements.
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The Saiga (Saiga tartarica) is a clumsy antelope, about the size of a sheep, found on the steppes of Europe and Asia. It has a large inflated nose and yellow, lyre shaped horns. The Saiga was in prehistoric times native to Britain.
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The sailfish is a large tropical and sub-tropical marine fish of the family Istiophoridae distinguished by a long, high dorsal fin, long pelvic fins and a double keel on each side of the tail.
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Sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa) is a plant of the family Leguminosae with pink flowers used as fodder. A native of Central and Southern Europe and part of Asia, it was long cultivated as a fodder plant, and used either green or converted into hay. It was introduced to Britain from France around the middle of the 17th century and used as a substitute for permanent pastures, producing very good hay. Sainfoin grows best on chalky loams and gravelly soils on a calcareous bottom. Being hardy, it will produce crops where clover and rye-grass are grown with difficulty; and under favourable conditions may last from eight to twelve years.
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The Saki Monkeys (Pithecia) are a genus of American monkeys of the family Cebidae, with non-prehensile tails and projecting incisor teeth. They are found mainly in the Amazon valley. They are closely allied to the sapajous but differ from the latter in having non-prehensile tails. They are roughly subdivided into long and short-tailed sakis. They are all forest-dwellers, gregarious, nocturnal, timid, and live chiefly on honey and fruits.
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Sal (Shorea robusta)is one of the most valuable timber trees of India,. It belongs to the natural order Dipteraceae and grows to the height of 100 feet. Extensive forests of it exist in northern India, where it is largely used in carpentry of all kinds, the wood being light brown in colour, hard, and uniform in texture. It yields a whitish, aromatic, transparent resin (sometimes called dammar), used to caulk boats and ships, and also for incense.
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Salad-burnet (Poterium Sanguisorba) is the only British species of plant of the genus Poterium. It grows on dry and most frequently chalky pastures and is valuable as fodder and may also be eaten in salads. It has pinnate leaves and tall stems surmounted by dense heads of small flowers.
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The salamander is a small amphibian of the subclass urodela. The salamanders may be divided into the land salamanders (genus Salamandra} and the water salamanders, efts or newts. The land salamanders have an elongated lizard-like form, four feet, and a long tail. The skin is warty, with many glands secreting a watery fluid, which the animal exudes when alarmed. As this fluid is injurious to small animals the salamanders have the reputation of extreme venomousness, though they are in reality entirely harmless. The best-known species is the Salamandra vulgaris, the common salamander of Europe. It is 6 to 8 inches long, is found in moist places under stones or the roots of trees, near the borders of springs, in deep woods, etc, and passes its life in concealment except at night or during rain. It is sometimes called the spotted salamander, from the bright yellow stripes on its sides.
There are various other species in Europe, Asia, and America. In America the name is often given to the menopome (Menopoma aleganiense). Salamanders feed on worms, slugs, snails, and insects. The old legend that salamanders could live in the midst of fire is, like their venomousness a fiction, although it is possible that the watery secretion of the skin might enable these animals to resist heat with impunity for a longer period than other forms.
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Salangane is a species of swift (Collocalli fuciphaga) common throughout the Eastern Archipelago, and famous as the producers of the 'edible bird's nests.'
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The Salerno is an Italian breed of sports horse, riding horse and cavalry horse. The Salerno stands between 16 and 17 hands high and is mostly bay, black or chestnut in colour. They are among the world's finest jumping horses, winning the 1956 World Show Jumping Championships and a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic games, though now they are quite rare.
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The Salicaceae are a family of apetalous exogens distinguished by a two valved capsule, and numerous seeds tufted with long hairs.
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SALICACEAE
Salicaceae is a natural order of apetalous exogens, distinguished by a two-valved capsule, and numerous seeds tufted with long hairs. The species are trees or shrubs, inhabiting woods in the northern districts of Europe, Asia, and America. Only two genera are included in the order, Salix or willow, and Populus or poplar.
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Salix is a genus of hardy trees and shrubs belonging to the family Salicinaceae. They are distinguished from the poplars by their flowers, the stamens numbering from one to five, and the stigmas two. The species include the weeping willow (Salix babylonica).
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Sallow is a popular name of trees of the willow family. Common Sallow or goat willow (Salix caprea) bears silky catkins in early spring before the leaves appear. It was formerly used in the manufacture of gun-powder charcoal.
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The Sallow Kitten (Furcula furcula) is a puss moth of the family Notodontidae with a wing span of between 27 and 35 mm found in non-polar Europe, Asia and North America flying from May to July.
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The Sallow Moth (Xanthia icteritia) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 27 and 35 mm found in the deciduous-forest belt of the Palaearctic sub region, favouring damp localities rich in Sallow. A single generation is produced each year flying from August until October.
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Sallow-thorn (Hippophae), is a genus of plants of the natural order Elaeagnaceae. Hippophae rhamnoides, a spiny shrub with dioecious leaves and small orange-coloured berries, growing on cliffs near the sea, is the only species found wild in Great Britain.
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The salmon (Salmo salar) is a fish of the Salmonidae family. Salmon are hatched in fresh water, and make for the sea, where most of their food is found, usually in their third year. When first hatched the infant salmon are known by the name of 'alevin'. They soon attain the 'parr' stage, being then olive-brown in colour with dark transverse bands and red spots. When two years old the silvery 'smelt' stage is attained.
Teeth are present in the upper and lower jaws, palate, and vomer or roof of the mouth; the edges of the tongue are also toothed or notched. The food consists of animal matter, and must vary with the change of habitat from salt to fresh water, and vice versa.
Salmon generally re-enter the river to spawn for the first time when some three and a half years old during the autumn months, when they are known as 'Grilse'. On the way up-stream the fish feed scarcely at all, and so lose much in condition. Often the journey is arduous, necessitating the leaping of falls and other obstacles. At this time the fish lose their silvery tint, and the males are known as 'red fish', the females as 'black fish'. Savage fights may take place between the males, and their jaws undergo a strange modification, often assuming a hooked or beak-like form. Having reached the gravely shallows suitable for spawning, trough-shaped depressions known as 'redds' are excavated by the fish with their tails, and in these the hen- fish deposit their eggs, loosely covering them with silt. It is at this period that many eggs become fertilised by trout, which seize the opportunity to do so when the cock salmon is otherwise engaged repulsing rivals of his own species. It is doubtful if salmon spawn more than three or four times, as the procedure is very exhaustive, and an interval of some years may elapse between successive spawnings. The salmon generally attains a length of from 3 to 4 feet, and an average weight of from 12 to 30 lbs, but these limits of size and weight are frequently exceeded and in the River Tay in Scotland the salmon attains a weight of over eighty pounds.
After spawning the salmon, both male and female, return to the sea under the name of spent-fish, foul-fish, or kelts, the females being further distinguished as shedders or bag-gits. In from 70 to 150 days the young fish emerges from the egg, and in its embryo state it is not unlike a tadpole, being on the average about one and a quarter inches in length. About 50 days later it assumes the appearance of a fish and now approaches the definite or parr stage of its existence, beginning to be marked by transverse bars of dark colour. It usually continues in the shallows of its native stream for two years after hatching, and during this period it attains a length of 8 inches. When the season of its migration arrives, generally between March and June, the fins have become darker and the fish has assumed a silvery hue. It is now known as a smolt or salmon fry. The smolts now congregate into shoals and proceed leisurely seaward. On reaching the estuary they remain in its brackish water for a short time and then make for the open sea.
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Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped Gram-negative bacteria that inhabit the intestine and cause disease (salmonellosis) in humans and animals. They are aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, and most are motile.
Salmonellae can exist for long periods outside their host, and may be found, for example, in sewage and surface water. Humans may become infected by consuming contaminated water or food, especially animal products, such as eggs, meat, and milk, or vegetables that have been fertilized with contaminated manure. The bacteria can also be transmitted from human or animal carriers by unhygienic food preparation. Various species of Salmonella cause gastroenteritis and septicaemia; typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever are caused by Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi, respectively.
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Salmonidae is the Salmon family of bony fish belonging to the subdivision Malacopteri of that order. The Salmonidse are abdominal Malacopteri, in that their ventral fins are placed backwards on the belly.The body is long and covered with scales, but the head is naked and has no barbel. Most characteristic is the second dorsal fin which is small, fleshy and without rays. Pyloric appendages of the stomach are generally numerous and rarely absent. The air-bladder is large and simple. The ova fall into the cavity of the abdomen before exclusion.The family includes the Salmon and the trout, the char, the grayling, the smelt, the vendace, white-fish of America, etc. Salmonidae are inhabitants of the sea or fresh-water, or both.
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Salpa is a genus of tunicates, whose members are transparent, pelagic, and occur in great numbers in some seas. There is a well marked alternation of generations, an asexual nurse form giving rise to a chain of small asexual forms, which eventually break off and swim away. Each then produces a single egg, which develops into an embryo, this being temporarily attached to the mother by a placenta. Ultimately the embryo grows into the asexual nurse form, and the life-history commences again.
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Salpingus is a genus of beetle of the family Pythidae. They live under the bark of conifers and feed on bark beetles.
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Salsify or salsafy (Tragopogon porrifolius) is a purple-flowered composite plant allied to the endive and dandelion whose root has an oyster-like flavour and is used as a culinary vegetable. It is also known as the oyster plant. vegetable oyster and purple goat's beard. The leaves are narrow and long; the flowers are solitary and terminal.
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Salsilla is a name of several amaryllidaceous plants producing edible tubers, and belonging to the genus Bomarea, or to the closely -allied genus Alstroemeria. One species (Bomarea or Alstroemaria edulis) is cultivated in the West Indies, its roots being eaten like the potato; it is diaphoretic and diuretic. Other species, such as Bomarea Salsilla, are natives of the Peruvian Andes, and are pretty twining plants with showy flowers.
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Salsola or saltwort is a genus of plants which belongs to the natural order Chenopodiaceae, and comprises about forty species of mostly hardy herbs, shrubs, or sub-shrubs, of variable habit, mainly natives of saline districts in temperate regions. The ashes of Salsola Kali, the prickly saltwort, a British plant, and of Salsola Soda, a south European and North American species, were formerly much used in the production of an impure carbonate of soda, known as barilla.
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Saltasaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Saltasaurus was a large, armoured sauropod, about twelve metres long with tiny bony plates closely packed in the skin covering the whole body and larger ridged bony plates. Remains of Saltasaurus were first discovered in the 1970's in South America.
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Saltcote Pippin is an English species of apple which was raised in Sussex and first recorded in 1918. The tree bears large, handsome fruits that have a rich aromatic taste and are firm and juicy. They store until March.
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The Saltern Ear (Amphipoea fucosa) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 30 and 35 mm found throughout the Palaearctic flying from July to August.
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Saltopus was a dinosaur of the Triassic period. Saltopus was a small animal, about 60 centimetres long, that walked on its hind legs and thought to have been a carnivore feeding on small animals and lizards.
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The Saluki is a black and tan, white, gold or tricolour breed of dog resembling the greyhound and having fringes of long hair on the ears, legs and thighs. It originates from Egypt and south west Asia and is also known as the Gazelle Hound, being originally bred to hunt gazelle. When the breed was first shown in Britain they were described as Persian Greyhounds. They are a loyal breed but require considerable exercise and need to be supervised off the leash as they retain their hunting instincts.
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Salvadora is a genus of plants, forming the typical type of the natural order Salvadoraceae. They are monopetalous dicotyledons, allied to Oleaceae and Jasminaceae. They have stems with slightly swollen joints, opposite entire leaves, and loose branching panicles of small flowers. Salvadora persica is supposed to be the mustard-tree of Scripture, which has very small seeds, and grows into a tree. Its fruit is succulent, and tastes like garden cress. The bark of the root is acrid.
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Salvinia is a genus of floating heterosporous ferns. The spores form on the underside of the leaves and drop to the pond bed when the old plants die, giving rise to fresh plants in the spring.
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Samara is a name given in botany to an indehiscent fruit, producing a
wing from its back or end; such as the fruit of the maple, ash, etc.
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The Sambur or Sambar (Cervus unicolor) is a species of deer found throughout India and Sri Lanka, and replaced by closely related forms in Burma and the Malay region. It is a large and powerful animal, standing about 1.5 metres high, characterised by its uniform dark brown colour and the three-pronged antlers, in which the brow tine forms an acute angle with the beam.
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The samoyed is a Siberian breed of dog.
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Samphire (Crithmum) is a genus of perennial plants of the family Umbelliferae. The common samphire (rock-plant) has umbels of yellow flowers and makes an excellent pickle.
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Samydaceae is a family of tropical trees and shrubs bearing racemes or panicles of regular, inconspicuous flowers.
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The San Bernardino Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata parvinrubra) is a species of King Snake growing to about 102 centimetres long and found in foothills and moist woodlands in southern California where it basks in the open encouraging attacks from nesting birds so as to follow them back to their nests to eat the nestlings.
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The San Diego Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata pulchra) is a subspecies of Mountain Kingsnake found in southern California where it feeds on rodents, small snakes and lizards.
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The San Fratello is an Italian breed of horse raised almost exclusively in wooded areas of Messina and on the northern slopes of the Ebrodi mountains where they live in a semi-wild state being left to forage for their own food. They stand between 15 and 16 hands high and are bay, black or dark brown in colour. The San Fratello is a tough and hardy breed with a good temperament, resistant to most equine diseases and economical to keep.
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The San Pedro Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata agalmae) is a subspecies of the Mountain Kingsnake found in California and parts of Mexico. The San Pedro Mountain Kingsnake has a stripy appearance of equal red, black and white coloured bands and grows to about 76 centimetres in length.
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The sand dollar is a flat, dish-like sea urchin that lives on the sandy bottoms of the sea off the coast of North America.
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The sand-crab or racing-crab is the Ocypoda genus of crabs, which live in holes in the sand along the sea-shores of warm countries. Ocypoda cursor inhabits the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean, and is remarkable for the rapidity of its motions.
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A sand-crack is a fissure or perpendicular crack occurring in the hoof of a horse, the effect of which, if neglected, is to lame the horse. It is often due to bad grooming.
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The sand-eel or sand-launce (Ammodytidae) is a genus of small, long-bodied bony fish related to the cod family found burrowing in the sand on the coasts of the northern hemisphere. They are characterised by an elongated body which is covered with minute scales; the absence of pelvic fins; the posterior position of the anus; the great width of the gill openings; the elongated dorsal fin, which occupies almost the entire length of the back and is continuous; and the protrusion of the lower jaw, which is considerably longer than the upper.
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Sand-flies are the Simulium genus of flies found in various countries, the bite of which may give rise to painful swellings. They are included in the family Tipulidae, which also includes the well-known 'daddy long-legs', or crane-flies.
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The sand-grouse (Pterocles) is a genus of rasorial or scratching birds, belonging to the family Pteroclidae, and differing in several respects from the common grouse, belonging to the family Tetraonidae. They are natives chiefly of the warm parts of Asia and Africa, and are most abundant in arid sandy plains. The legs are longer than in other grouse, and the tail and wings are pointed. Pallas's sand-grouse differs from these in having feathered tarsi and united toes. It has been made the type of the genus Syrrhaptes, and is a native of the sandy plains of Central Asia, where it occurs in vast numbers. Much interest was excited in 1863, and again in 1888, by vast flocks of these birds invading Europe. They crossed the North Sea, and were found in considerable numbers throughout Britain and the Faroe Isles, and even bred in Britain in one or two cases.
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The sand-hopper (Talitrus locusta) is a species of small insect-like crustaceans of the order Amphipoda, common along most sea-shores, where they can be seen leaping about in large numbers after the receeding tide.
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The sand-lizard (Lacerta ayilis) is a lizard found on sandy heaths in Great Britain. It is about 7 inches long, variable in colour, but generally sandy-brown on the upper parts, with darker blotches interspersed, and having black rounded spots with a yellow or white centre on the sides.
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The sand-martin or bank-martin (Hirundo or Cotile riparia) is a bird included in the family of swallows, a summer visitant to Britain, where it is common in most localities. It is the smallest British member of its family, and is so named from its habits of nest-building in holes dug in the high banks of rivers, in the sides of sand or gravel pits, and in similar situations. The colour of the sand-martin is a soft brown on the head and upper parts, and white below, with a dark brown band on the chest.
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The sand-screw (Sulcator arenarius) is a species of Crustacea, nearly allied to the sand-hoppers and so named from the tortuous manner in which it excavates its burrows in the sand.
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The Sand-star (Ophiura) is a genus of starfishes belonging to the order Ophiuroidea. In the sand-stars the arms or rays are mere appendages to the body, and not definite parts, and the viscera or organs of the body do not extend into the rays, but are confined to the central body-piece or 'disc'. The ambulacral system of vessels is not well developed, and does not subserve locomotion to the same extent as in the Asteroidea.
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Sand-wasp is a name of hymenopterous insects of the genus Ammophila, belonging to a group which, from their peculiar habits, are termed Fossores or diggers. The sand-wasp inhabits sunny banks in sandy situations, running among grass, etc, with great activity, and continually vibrating its antennae and wings. The female is armed with a sting.
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Sandal-Wood is a tree of the genus Santalum, natural order Santalaceae, native to the East Indies and the Malayan and Polynesian islands, and remarkable for its fragrance.Its wood is used as a perfume, and is manufactured into glove-boxes and other light articles. It is largely used as incense in the worship of Brahmans and Buddhists. There are several species which furnish sandal-wood, the common being Santalum album. Some trees of other genera are called false sandal-wood.
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The Sandalwood Pony is a breed of Indonesian pony from the islands of Sumba and Sumbawa. They stand up to 13 hands high, are quiet and make excellent children's ponies, and occur in various colours. They have a short, muscular neck, deep chest, sloping shoulders, a long straight back and a sloping croup. They are quick and agile ponies, often used for racing.
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The Sandarach-Tree (Callitris quadrivalvis), is a large coniferous tree with straggling branches, yielding the resin known as sandarach or juniper resin. It is a native of Morocco, Algeria, and Northern Africa generally. The timber is fragrant, hard, and durable, and is largely used in the construction of mosques and other buildings, as well as for cabinet work.
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The Sandbox tree is an American tree of the genus Hura. It is a large branching tree with glossy leaves and large, furrowed, round fruits about the size of an orange. When the seed-vessels bursts they make a remarkably loud retort.
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The Sanderling (Calidris arenaria) is a wading bird averaging from 6 to 8 inches in length, which breeds in the Arctic regions, and in winter migrates southwards. It feeds on small marine animals, and chiefly inhabits the sandy tracts of the sea-beach and the estuaries of rivers. The flesh is nutritious and said to be pleasant to the taste.
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Sandpiper is a popular name applied to a number of small grallatorial or wading birds, belonging to the family Charadriidae. These birds inhabit the shores of the sea and the estuaries and banks of rivers, and grope in the soft mud for the worms, small molluscs, insects, etc, upon which they feed. They migrate southwards in winter in flocks, and appear to moult twice a year, the summer plumage differing from the winter dress. The voice is shrill and unmusical; and they are able both to run and to fly with rapidity.
The common sandpiper (Totanus hypoleucus), also known as the summer snipe, is about twenty centimeters long, and has olive-brown upper parts, a white chin, ash-coloured breast, and white under parts. The common sandpiper is to be found about streams in the wilder parts of Scotland where it nests in hollows beside streams.
The green sandpiper (Totanus ochropus), on the contrary, leaves Britain for the north in summer. The little sandpiper or little stint (Tringa minuta), an Indian and South African bird, is occasionally seen in Britain. The purple sandpiper (Tringa maritima), is a native of Greenland, Spitzbergen, etc, and is also a summer visitant. The dunlin, knot, greenshank, and redshank are also known as sandpipers. Sandpipers of various species are abundant in North America, and in winter in the West Indies.
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Sandwort (Arenaria) is a genus of plants of the family Caryophyllaceae, comprising low herbs with usually awl-shaped leaves and small white flowers.
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Sanguinaria is a genus of hardy plants belonging to the family Papaveraceae. There is only one species, the common blood-root.
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Sanguisorbidae is a group of plants forming a subdivision of the family Rosaceae. They have flowers without petals, and generally with few stamens. The genera Poterium, Sanguisorba and Alchernilla belong to this group.
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Sanicle (Sanicula europaea) is a perennial herb of the family Umbelliferae native to Britain and Europe, with a thick, brown, fibrous rhizome and a basal rosette of deeply palmately lobed, long-stalked, glossy and toothed leaves. The flowering stems are erect, branched at the top, with a few small, usually sessile leaves. The flowers are small, white or pale pink in colour and arranged in a terminal rounded umbel made up of several secondary, few-flowered umbels. The fruit is an avoid double achene covered with hooked bristles.
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The Santa Cruz Garter Snake (Thamnophis atratus) is a species of Garter snake found along the central coast of California, USA. The Santa Cruz Garter Snake is black or dark grey, with a pale green ventrolateral region and a yellow throat and vertebral stripe.
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The Santa Gertrudis is a deep red coloured, horned breed of domestic beef cattle.
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Santalaceae is a natural order of apetalous exogenous plants. They are shrubs or herbs, with opposite or alternate exstipulate leaves, and a one-celled ovary with dry or fleshy albumen. In the form of weeds the genera are found in Europe and North America; in Australia, the East Indies, and the Pacific Islands they exist as large shrubs or small trees. Santalum, sandal-wood, is the chief genus.
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Sap is the juice or fluid which circulates in all plants, being as indispensable to vegetable life as the blood to animal life. It is the first product of the digestion of plant food, and contains the elements of vegetable growth in a dissolved condition. The absorption of nutriment from the soil is effected by the minute root-hairs and papillas, the absorbed nutriment being mainly composed of carbon dioxide and nitrogenous compounds dissolved in water. This ascending, or as it is termed crude sap, is transmitted through the long cells in the vascular tissue of the stem and branches to the leaves, passing from cell to cell by the process known as endosmose.
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Sap-sucker is the popular American name of several small woodpeckers.
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Sapajou is the name generally given to a group of South American prehensile-tailed monkeys, including fifteen or sixteen species, whose characteristics it is exceedingly difficult properly to define. Among the species may be named the Cebus fatuellus, or horned sapajou (also called horned capucin); the Cebus monachus and Cebus capucinus, often called the capucin. One of the most common species is the weeper (Cebus apella). They are small in size, playful in disposition, leading a gregarious life, and feeding chiefly on fruits and insects.
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Saperda is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) represented by three British species found on shrubs and felled wood, the larvae developing in deciduous wood.
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Saphanus is a genus of rare longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
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Sapindaceae is a natural order of poly-petalous dicotyledons. It consists of trees or shrubs with erect or climbing stems, inhabitants of most parts of the tropics, more especially of South America and India. The leaves are usually alternate, simple or compound, and the flowers often irregular. The fruit of the Sapindus saponaria is used for washing linen.
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Sapodilla is a tree of the genus Achras, the Achras Sapota of the natural order Sapotaceae, found in the West Indies. The fruit resembles a bergamot pear in shape and size. It is often called naseberry, and is much prized as an article of food. The bark of the sapodilla is used in medicine as an astringent, and the seeds as a diuretic.
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Sapotaceae is a natural order of plants belonging to the polycarpous group of mono-petalous exogens. It consists of trees and shrubs which frequently abound in a milky juice, which may be used for alimentary purposes. They have alternate undivided leaves, small solitary or clustered axillary flowers, and a baccate or drupaceous fruit. They are chiefly natives of India, Africa, and America. Some produce eatable fruits, as the sapodilla plum, marmalade apple, star apple, etc. One of the most important species is the Isonandra Gutta, which produces the gutta percha of commerce.
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Saprinus is a genus of beetles of the family Histeridae.
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Saprolegnia is a genus of fungi which grow on dead and living animals and plants in water, and form the characteristic feature of the salmon disease.
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Saprophytes are plants, fungi and micro organisms, mainly bacteria and fungi, that feed by absorbing dead organic matter. Some saprophytes, certain fungi in particular, are ready to absorb decaying matter of almost any kind, but others are very fastidious in this respect, many being associated with the decaying remains of particular plants and animals only. For instance, certain agarics occur only on mouldering pine-needles, one species of fungus grows only on cow-dung, another only on that of mice, while various mosses are equally fastidious.
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Sapucaia Nuts are the seed of the Lecythis Ollaria and the Lecythis Zapucajo, trees which are found in the virgin forests of Brazil. The fruit is shaped like an urn, is as large as a child's head, and opens by a lid which falls off when ripe. Each fruit incloses several seeds or nuts of a very agreeable flavour.
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Sapygoidea is a super-family of insects of the sub-order Apocrita, order Hymenoptera. They are similar in appearance to wasps, and were formerly grouped with the wasps, but the members do not show longitudinal folding of the wings. The larvae are parasitic on solitary bees.
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In botany, the sarcocarp is the fleshy part of certain fruits, also known as the mesocarp. It is that part of fleshy fruits which is usually eaten, as in the peach, plum, etc.
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The sarcomastigophora (Amoeboflagellates) are a group of Protozoans.
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The sardine are several small fish of the herring family.
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The sardinian, or Sardinian Anglo-Arab, is a Sardinian breed of sports horse developed during the 15th century. The Sardinian is a good riding and jumping horse, stands 15.2 hands high and is bay or brown in colour.
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The Sardinian Pony is an ancient breed of pony developed from early Barb and Arabian horses. The Sardinian Pony stands 12 to 13 hands high, occurs in brown, bay, black or liver chestnut colours and are used for riding, light draft and light farm work.
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Sarraceniaceae is a natural order of poly-petalous exogens which consists of herbaceous perennial plants, remarkable for their pitcher-like leaves. There are three genera (Sarracenia,Darlingtonia,and Heliamphora) the species of which are inhabitants of northern or tropical America. The pitcher-like leaves of Sarracenia are capable of holding water, and the older leaves are usually full.
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Sarsaparilla is the rhizome of several plants of the genus Smilax. Smilax medica supplies the sarza of Vera Cruz. Smilax siphilitica, or Smilax papyracea, yields the Lisbon or Brazilian sort. Smilax officinalis belongs to Central America, although it yields the kind known.as Jamaica sarsaparilla. Hemidesmns indicus (an asclepiadaceous climber) yields the East Indian sort. Sarsaparilla is valued in medicine on account of ita mucilaginous and demulcent qualities.
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Sarsia (named after the 19th century Norwegian naturalist Sars), are a genus of coelenterate animals, belonging to the Medusidae or jelly-fishes, and perhaps more properly regarded as the floating reproductive buds or gono-phores of fixed zoophytes.
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The Sasin (Antilope cervicapra) is the common Indian antelope, remarkable for its swiftness and beauty. It is abundant in the open dry plains of India, in flocks of from ten to sixty females to a single male. It is greyish brown or black on the upper parts of the body, with white abdomen and breast, and a white circle round the eyes, and stands about two and a half feet high at the shoulder.
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The Sassaby (Damalis lunatus) is an antelope found in South Africa, living gregariously in herds numbering from six to ten individuals. The body-colour is a reddish-brown, the limbs being of dark hue, whilst a blackish stripe marks the forehead and middle of the face.
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Sassafras is a genus of hardy deciduous trees of the family Laurinaceae represented by the single species Sassafras officinale, an American tree whose fruits yield oil and the root of which was used in medicine. The taste of sassafras is sharp, acrid and aromatic and it is used for flavouring purposes, and in medicine as a stimulant.
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The Satellite Moth (Eupsilia transversa) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 32 and 42 mm found throughout almost all the Palaearctic sub region particularly in deciduous forests and forest-steppes and flies from September to May, hibernating through the winter.
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The Satin Beauty (Deileptenia ribeata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 30 and 40 mm found in Europe and Asia in spruce and mixed forests flying in July and August.
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The Satin Lutestring (Tetheella fluctuosa) is a moth of the family Thyatiridae with a wing pan of between 35 and 40 mm confined to temperate Europe where it flies from June to August.
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The satin-bird (Ptilonorhynchus holosericeus) is an Australian bird so called from the glossy dark-purple plumage of the male. It is one of the bower-birds.
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Saturniidae is the emperor moths family of insects of the order Lepidoptera. The members are large moths, often with a wingspan exceeding 50 mm, with broad wings, usually with an eye-spot in the centre. They are mainly night-fliers. The caterpillars are stout, varicoloured, and have a body invested with tubercles and coarse bristles. Of the 1200 species of hawmoth, most are topical with only about ten species occurring in Europe.
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Satyr's beard (Hydnum erinaceum) is an edible fungus occasionally found in the clefts of old oaks. It has tan-coloured prickles measuring roughly ten centimetres in length.
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Satyridae is the satyrs and wood nymphs family of butterflies.
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Sauria is the dragon lizards sub-order of the Squamata order of reptiles.
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Sauroid Fishes are fishes, chiefly fossil, that combine in their structure certain characters of reptiles. The existing sauroid fishes consist of several species, the best known being the bony pikes and sturgeons.
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Saurolophus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. It was a duck-billed dinosaur, about twelve metres long, that walked on its hind legs and had a pointed crest running backwards atop a large head. Saurolophus was a herbivore and devoid of front teeth.
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Sauropoda is an infraorder of dinosaurs of the suborder Sauropodomorpha that includes all of the large, long-necked herbivores - the sauropods.
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Sauropsida is Huxley's name for the second of his three primary sections of vertebrates, comprising birds and reptiles. The animals of this section are characterized by the absence of gills, by having the skull jointed to the vertebral column by a single occipital condyle, the lower jaw composed of several pieces, and united to the skull by means of a special (quadrate) bone, and by possessing nucleated red blood corpuscles, as well as by certain embryonic characters.
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Saurornithoides was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Saurornithoides was a small, agile, carnivore about two metres in length that walked on its hind legs. The first remains of Saurornithoides were discovered in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in 1923.
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The saury pike or skipper (Scombresox) is a genus of bony sea fishes of the family Scomberesocidae, and order Pharyngognathi, closely allied to the gar-pike. They have a greatly elongated body covered with minute scales. The jaws are prolonged into a long sharp beak. They are known as skippers from their habit of leaping out of the water and skimming along its surface so as to avoid predators.
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A savannah is an extensive tropical grassland.
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The common savin (Juniperus Sabina) is a dwarf procumbent shrub of the Juniper genus. It emits a disagreeable odour when bruised, the tops of the twigs sometimes being used in pharmaceutical oils as diuretics.
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Savory is the common name for plants ot the genus Satureia,of the order Labiatae, herbs and undershrubs used in cookery as a seasoning, particularly the Summer Savory (Satureja hortensis).
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Savoy is a variety of cabbage in which the leaves are crimped or curled all over.
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Saw-fish are rays belonging to the genus Pristis. Pristis antiquorum is a species of the Atlantic and Mediterranean with a very long snout produced into a flat lamina with edges furnished with strong teeth, like a saw. The saw-fish reaches a length of from 12 to 18 feet.
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Saw-fly is a name given to the Tenthredinidae family of hymenopterous Insects of the super-family Tenthredinoidea, sub-order Symphyta. The ovipostor is placed at the end of the abdomen, and consists of two flat horny plates, furnished on the inner side with very elaborate teeth, while the outer side is strengthened by a supporting plate. These plates slide backwards and forwards in sheaths, and literally saws whose function is to bore a hole in twigs or leaves, at the bottom of which the egg is deposited.
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The Saw-toothed Grain Beetle (Oryzaephilus surinamensis) is a beetle of the family Cucujidae, with a tooth-edged pronotum, often found in grain.
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Saxicava is a genus of marine lamellibranchiate molluscs (Lamellibranchiata), remarkable for excavating burrows in rock to serve as their habitations.
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The Saxifragaceae are a family of herbaceous plants with five sepals, five petals and ten stamens. They are generally mountain plants.
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Saxifrage (Saxifraga) is a genus of usually hardy herbaceous plants belonging to the family Saxifragaceae. The species are mostly inhabitants of alpine and subalpine regions of the colder and temperate parts of the northern zone. Most of them are true rock plants, with tufted foliage and panicles of white, yellow, or red flowers; and many are well known as ornamental plants in our gardens such as Saxifraga umbrosa, London Pride or none-so-pretty; Saxifraga granulata, white or granulated meadow saxifrage; Saxifraga hypnoides, mossy saxifrage or ladies' cushion; Saxifraga crassifolia, or thick-leaved saxifrage; Saxifraga sarmentosa, or Chinese saxifrage. The genus is a large one, containing upwards of 150 species, of which at least twelve are natives of Britain.
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The Scabbard-Fish (Lepidopus caudatus)is a beautiful fish found in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic, so called because in shape it bears some resemblance to the sheath of a sword. It is of a bright silvery whiteness, with a single dorsal fin running along the back.
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Scabious (Scabiosa) is a genus of hardy herbaceous plants belonging to the family Dipsaceae. They bear terminal heads of white, rosy, purple, or yellowish flowers. The primrose scabious (Sacabious succisa) is a common British plant, growing on heaths, pastures and hedge banks. It bears purplish- blue flowers.
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The Scad, or Horse-Mackerel Trachurus trachurus) is a genus of teleostean fishes included in the family Scornberidae or mackerels, and found around the coasts of Britain. It appears in large shoals, and the flesh, although coarse, is esteemed and was formerly eaten salted during the winter months.
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The Scald-fish (Rhombus Arnoglossus) is a marine flatfish allied to the turbot, sole, and flounder. It is not uncommon on the British coasts.
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Scale-fern is a popular name for a fern of the genus Ceterach (Ceterach officindrum), so named from the imbricated tawny scales at the back of the fronds. To this plant was formerly attributed a marvellous influence over the liver and spleen. It is a British species, and was once said to be used as a bait for fish on the coast of Wales.
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Scale-insect is a name given to various insects of the Coccus family injurious to plants.
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Scale-moss is a popular name given to the Jungermannias, plants resembling moss, and belonging to the order Hepaticae. They grow on the trunks of trees, in damp earth, and in similar places, and are so called from the small scale-like leaves.
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In nature, scales are the imbricated plates on the exterior of certain animals, as the pangolins or scaly anteaters, snakes and other reptiles, and especially fishes. The scales of the latter are developed beneath the true epiderm, and consist of alternate layers of membrane, of horny matter, and occasionally of phosphate of lime. Fishes are sometimes classed, in accordance with the structure of their scales, into Ctenoid, Ganoid, Cycloid, and Placoid.
The term scale is applied also in botany to a small rudimentary or metamorphosed leaf, scale-like in form and often in arrangement, constituting the covering of the leaf-buds of the deciduous trees in cold climates, the involucrum of the Com-positae, the bracts of catkins, etc.
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The Scallop Shell (Rheumaptera undulata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 25 and 30 mm found locally in the temperate zone of Europe, in Asia and the Far East flying from May to August.
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The Scalloped Hazel (Odontepera bidentata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 32 and 40 mm found in Europe and Asia in deciduous forests, peat-bogs, heaths and shrubby biotopes flying from May to June.
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The Scalloped Hook-tip (Falcari lacertinaria) is a moth of the family Drepanidae with a wing span of between 27 and 35 metres found in northern and central Europe and across Asia. Two generations are produced flying from April to August, the second generation being larger and paler in colour.
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The Scalloped Oak (Crocallis elinguaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 32 and 42 mm found throughout the Palaearctic except the polar regions, flying from May to August.
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Scammony is a plant of the genus Convolvulus, the Convolvulus Scammonia, which grows abundantly in Syria and Asia Minor. It resembles the common bindweed (Convolvulus arrensis), but is larger, and has a stout tap-root, from which the drug scammony is extracted. This is the inspissated sap of the root, of a blackish grey colour, a nauseous smell, and a bitter and acrid taste. It was used in medicine as a drastic purge, and usually administered in combination with other purgatives in doses of three or four grains.
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Scandentia is the tree shrew order of Insectivora containing just one family, Tupaiidae. They are arboreal shrews found only in India and Malaysia. They resemble squirrels in external appearance, but have the typically long muzzle of the shrews and possess a complete auditory bullae and zygomatic arches. Their orbits are large, and behind the orbit is a well-developed and complete postorbital process. They feed on insects and fruit.
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Scandix is a small genus of plants of the natural order Umbelliferae. It is composed of annual herbs with striated stems, bipinnate leaves, the leaflets divided into linear lobes, and small umbels of white flowers which are succeeded by slender long-beaked fruits.Scandix Pecten-Vencris (needle chervil, shepherd's needle or Venus's comb) is found in Britain.
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Scansores is the Climbers order of birds. The members have various forms of bill, but all have short feet adapted for climbing, with four toes, two pointing forwards and two backwards or three pointing backwards and one pointing forwards. Of the toes which are directed backwards one is the hallux or proper hind-toe, the other is the outermost of the normal three anterior toes. This conformation of the foot enables the scansores to climb with unusual facility. Their food consists of insects and fruit; their nests are usually made in the hollows of old trees. The most important families are the cuckoos (Cuculidae), the woodpeckers and wry-necks (Picidae), the parrots (Psittacidae), the toucans (Ramphastidse), the trogons (Trogonidae), the barbets (Bucconidae), and the plantain-eaters (Musophagidaa). Not all of this order are actually climbers, and there are climbing birds which do not belong to this order.
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In botany, a scape is an unbranched stem, or rather peduncle, rising from the root and bearing the fructification without leaves, as in the narcissus and hyacinth.
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Scaphidema is a genus of darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae), about five millimetres long. The larvae develop in tree fungi, the adults live on the branches of fungi infested trees.
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Scaphidiidae is the shining fungus family of beetles. The members have a boat-shaped body, an abbreviated elytra with the tip of the abdomen exposed, are fast runners and eat fungi, particularly tree fungi.
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Scaphidium is a genus of shining fungus beetles, Scaphidiidae.
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Scaphisoma is a genus of shining fungus beetles, Scaphidiidae, with three species occurring in Britain.
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Scaphium is a genus of shining fungus beetles, Scaphidiidae, about six millimetres long. A single black species, Scaphium immaculatum, occurs in Britain.
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Scaphopodais a class of Phylum mollusca. The foot is reduced and the shell is tubular.
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The scarab (Scarabeus) is an extensive genus of dung beetle (so called from their habit of inclosing their eggs in pellets of dung, which are placed in holes excavated for their reception) of the family Scarabaeidae. They were held as sacred by the ancient Egyptians, and reproduced by them as amulets which were worn as protection against the evil eye and placed on the breast of the dead.
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Scarabaeidae is the chafers and dung beetles family of insects of the order Coleoptera. The members have the three distal segments of the antennae widened on one side to form a characteristic lamellate club. The larvae - known as grubs - develop in soil where they live on roots or are found in dung and other decaying organic matter.
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The Scarborough lily (Vallota purpurea) is a South African plant that bears many flowered umbels of red, infundibuliform flowers in late spring.
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The Scarce Chocolate-tip (Clostera anachoreta) is a moth of the family Notodontidae with a wing span of between 30 and 35 mm found in the deciduous forests of the Palaearctic. Two generations are produced.
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The Scarce Copper (Heodes virgaureae) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in the Palaearctic region, except in the northern regions, in meadows and forest clearings.
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The Scarce Fritillary (Euphydryas maturna) is a rare species of brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) found in scattered locations across Europe and Asia. It generally lives in damp forests in lowlands, where the caterpillars live on ash trees and poplars before hibernating and then moving to herbaceous plants such as plantain and speedwell. A single generation occurs in a year and flies from May to June.
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The Scarce Heath (Coenonympha hero) is a rare butterfly of the family Satyridae found in damp woodland clearings and grasslands flying from May to June.
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The Scarce Hook-tip (Sabre harpagula) is a moth of the family Drepanidae with a wing span of between 25 and 35 mm found in central and northern Europe and across Asia in deciduous forests and forest-steppes. Tow generations fly from May to June and during August.
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The Scarce Large Blue (Maculinea teleius) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. The caterpillars live first on wild burnet and then move into anthills when they are older.
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The Scarce Merveille du Jour (Moma alpium) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 30 and 35 mm found in non-polar Europe and western and central Asia in deciduous forests and heather-covered peat-bogs where it will be seen flying from May to August.
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The Scarce Prominent (Odontosia carmelita) is a moth of the family Notodontidae with a wing span of between 38 and 45 mm confined to scattered localities in northern and eastern Europe, particularly Scandinavia, north-east Russia, south-west Germany, northern Italy, inhabiting birch woods and peat-bogs flying from April to May.
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The Scarce Silver (Syngrapha interrogationis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 30 and 35 mm found in the northern Polar regions of the Palaearctic and further south in mountains and peat-bogs. It flies from June to August.
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The Scarce Silver-lines (Bena prasinana) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 40 and 45 mm found in Europe and Asia Minor in forests and forest-steppes. A single generation is produced flying from May to July.
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The Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides podalarius) is a European butterfly of the family Papilionidae, now very rare due to the destruction of the blackthorn and hawthorn bushes which are its natural habitat.
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The Scarce Umber (Agriopis aurantiaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 27 and 35 mm found in deciduous forests across Europe and in Asia Minor flying in October and November.
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The Scarce Wormwood (Cucullia artemisiae) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 37 and 42 mm found in sandy localities of the mild regions of Europe and Asia where they fly from June to July.
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Scarites is a genus of beetles of the family Carabidae, subfamily Scaritinae. The genus is represented in Europe by a single, rare species, Scarites terricola, which is found in the Mediterranean region on coasts and in salty inland locations and on the shores of lake Neusiedler in Austria. The species is large, between 14 and 22 mm long, spending the day resting in burrows dug in the sand and hunting by night.
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Scaritinae is a subfamily of the ground beetle family, Carabidae, in which the species have the broad tibiae of the forelegs adapted for digging, and a thin, wasp-like waist between the thorax and the abdomen.
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The scarlet bean or scarlet runner (Phaseolus multiflorus) IS a twining plant native to Mexico, cultivated as a green vegetable for its long rough pods or as an ornamental plant.
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The Scarlet Fish is a species of carp found in Chinese waters, and thus named because of its colour. The eyes in these fish are exceedingly prominent, and the fins are double.
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The Scarlet Kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides or Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides) is an American snake which may be a species of King snake or may be a species of Milk Snake, hence the alternative Latin names. The Scarlet Kingsnake grows to a length of about 45 centimetres and has a completely red snout and a slender body. The Scarlet Kingsnake eats mainly small lizards and small snakes, and are notoriously adverse to being handled.
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Scarlet pimpernell (Anagallis arvensis) is an almost hairless prostrate annual with slender, branching stems bearing opposite, ovate to lanceolate leaves. The flowers are red, blue or various paler shades, and close in early afternoon and during dull weather. The flowers are carried singly on wiry stalks arising from the leaf axils. The fruit is a globose capsule.
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Scarodytes is a genus of predacious diving beetles of the family Dytiscidae found living in stagnant water and occasionally slow running water, usually with a gravel and clay bottom.
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The Scaup (Aythya marila) is a migrant duck, visiting Britain in winter. They appear similar to the tufted duck, but the larger male lacks a crest on its head, has a dark breast, white belly and flanks, grey back and a black stern. The female is brown with a conspicuous white face patch. It feeds on small fish, molluscs.
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Scelidosaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Scelidosaurus was an armoured herbivore, about four metres long, that walked on all fours. It had a small head with leaf-like ridged teeth and its body was armoured with bony knobs and spikes.
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Scented mayweed (Chamomilla recutia) also known as German Chamomile and Wild Chamomile, is an annual herb with an erect, much branched, glabrous stem with sparse, finely divided (two or three times pinnate) leaves. The solitary, terminal flowerheads have hollow, conical receptacles, white ligulate ray-florets which are spread at first and later bent downwards revealing the receptacle, and yellow tubular, five-lobed disc-florets. The fruit is an ovoid ribbed achene.
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Schinus is a genus of tropical American shrubs belonging to the family Anacardiaceae. They bear small, white, dioecious flowers, followed by oily, globose fruits.
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The Schipperke (from the Dutch meaning little skipper) is a Dutch breed of tailless dog about 30 centimetres tall and usually black in colour. They are exceedingly vivacious, inquisitive and alert, and make excellent watch-dogs - formerly being used by Dutch barge owners for just this purpose.
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Schistoglossa is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae. The British species are black or dark brown in colour and live chiefly in swamps and on wet ground beside water overgrown by vegetation.
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Schistosoma is a member of the order Digenea.
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Schizanthus is a genus of annual, herbaceous Chilean plants belonging to the family Solanaceae.
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In biology, schizogony refers to a type of cell reproduction involving multiple fission; the nucleus divides many times and the nuclei are separated into daughter cells.
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Schizopoda is a tribe of long-tailed decapod crustaceans. They are all of small size and marine. The Mysis, or opossum-shrimp is an example of these creatures.
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Schizotus is a genus of Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroidae).
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The Schleswig Heavy Draft is a German breed of heavy horse developed in northern Germany during the 19th century. The Schleswig Heavy Draft stands 15 to 16 hands high and is mostly chestnut in colour with a flaxen mane and tail. The breed has fairly short legs with feathering, soft, flat feet and a rather long body.
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The Schnauzer is three breeds of German dog. The standard Schnauzer was bred as a cattle dog and for catching rats under the name 'Wire-haired Pinscher'. The Giant Schnauzer is about 63 centimetres tall, the standard Schnauzer 48 centimetres and the miniature Schnauzer (formed by crossing with the Affenpinscher) about 35 centimetres tall. All three are lively, playful animals but are wary of strangers.
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Schoenus is a genus of bog plants, of the natural order Cyperaceae. The black bog-rush (Schoenus nigricans) is the only European species.
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School is the collective noun for a group of porpoises.
School is the collective noun for a group of whales.
School is the collective noun for a group of dolphins.
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Sciaena is a genus of teleostean fish, belonging to the Acanthopteri, and forming the type of a family - the Sciaenoids, allied to the perches. The most important of the genus is the Scianea aquila, the maigre of the French, whose chief habitat is the Mediterranean.
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Sciaphilus is a genus of polyphagous Snout Beetles (Curculionidae).
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The scilla (two-leaved squill, autumn scilla, Cuban lily, Siberian squill, blue squill, Tubergen squill) is a bulbous herb of the family Liliaceae with long and slender leaves; six parted terminal blue purple or white bell- shaped, tubular, or spreading flowers.
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Sciodrepoides is a genus of beetles of the family Catopidae. They live on carrion, in mammals' burrows and in birds' nests.
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Scirpus is a genus of water and marsh plants belonging to the family Cyperaceae.
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Scirtes is a genus of beetle of the family Scirtidae.
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Scirtidae or Helodidae, is a family of small beetles of the order Coleoptera. The larvae develop in water and generally take to the land for the pupation.
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The Scissor-Bill (Rhynchops nigra) is a genus of birds of the Laridas or gulls, so named from the possession of an elongated beak of compressed form, the lower mandible exceeding the upper one in length, and shutting into the latter somewhat after the fashion that the blade of a knife does into its handle. This curious beak is of an orange colour at its base, and black at its tip. The bird, which inhabits the coasts of America and Africa, is a dark brown on the upper aspect of the head and body; the under surface white, and a band of white across the wings. The average length of the scissor-bill is about 45 cm.
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Scitaminaceae is a family of herbaceous plants with creeping rhizomes. The family includes ginger, arrowroot, cardamom and banana.
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Sclerostomum is a genus of nematode worms.
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Scolioidea is a super-family of insects of the sub-order Apocrita, order Hymenoptera. The members vary in size from tiny to large, reaching 40 mm in length and have biting-sucking mouthparts which enable them to reach into deep flowers. The male has straight antennae, the females spiral or heart-shaped antennae.
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Scolopacidae is a family of birds of the order Grallae. They are characterized by a long and slender bill; four toes, the hind one weak and elevated.
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Scolytidae (formerly Ipidae) is the bark and ambrosia beetles family of insects of the order Coleoptera. The majority develop in the twigs, branches and trunks of deciduous and coniferous trees, and the family contains some of the most serious forest pests. Many of the species damage the wood directly and also help to transmit plant diseases.
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Scopaeus is a genus of tiny (2.5 to 3 mm long) rove beetles, Staphylinidae.
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The Scorched Carpet (Ligdia adustata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 20 and 25 mm found in Europe, Asia and Japan.
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The Scorched Wing (Plagodis dolobraria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 28 and 32 mm found throughout the Palaearctic from Europe to Japan flying from April to August.
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Scorpion is a popular name for any of several species of arachnids of the order Scorpionidea. Scorpions have an elongated body, suddenly terminated by a long slender tail formed of six joints, the last of which terminates in an arcuated and very acute sting, which effuses a venomous liquid. This sting gives rise to excruciating pain, but is usually unattended either with redness or swelling, except in the glands of the arm-pit or groin. The animal has four pairs of limbs borne by the thorax or chest-segments, and the maxillary palpi (organs of touch belonging to the maxillas or lesser jaws) are largely developed, and constitute a formidable pair of nipping claws. With these claws they seize their insect prey, which is afterwards killed by the sting - the venom of the sting being inversely proportionate to the relative size of the claw. Scorpions with large claws have a weakly venomous sting and use the claws to kill their prey, scorpions with small, feeble claws have a deadly sting which is used to kill their prey.
The eyes, which are of the simple kind, number six, eight, or twelve. The female scorpions are said to exhibit great care for their young, and carry them on their backs for several days after being hatched, whilst they tend them carefully for about a month, when they are able to move about for themselves. Scorpions generally live in dark places, and under stones and under the bark of fallen logs and branches. They are found in the south of Europe, in Africa, in the East Indies, in South America and in the Caribbean, several genera (Androctonns, etc) being comprised within the order. The Buthus afer, or rock scorpion of Africa, is one of the most familiar species.
The scorpions are first represented in a fossil condition in the Silurian period. The book scorpions (Cheliferidae), of which a common species is the Chelifer Wideri, are so named from their presenting a close resemblance in outward form to the true scorpions. The book scorpions are, however, much smaller, and are included in another group (Trachearia) of the class Arachnida, whilst they want the jointed tail of the true scorpions. They are generally found living amongst old books, and feed on the minute insects which also inhabit such situations.
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Scorpion fish is a popular name for any of the spiny fishes of the family Scorpaenidae - many of which are venomous - which includes the genera Scorpaena and Scorpaenodes. The first dorsal fin possesses eleven spines, the second dorsal possessing one spiny ray and nine or ten soft rays. The anal fin is short, and has three spines and five soft rays. The red scorpion-fish (Scorpoena scrofa) is a familiar form. The spotted scorpion-fish (Scorpoena porous) is a second species, and, like the preceding form, occurs in British waters, as well as in the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and the tropical seas.
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The scorpion-fly (Panorpa) is a genus of insects belonging to the order Neuroptera, or that of the dragon-flies. The name scorpion-fly is derived from the appendages seen attached to the abdomen of some species. The male in the common species, for example, has the sixth and seventh joints of the abdomen attenuated, and capable of extensive motion; whilst the last joint forms a pair of forceps resembling those of the earwigs. When at rest this tail is curled over the back, but when irritated the forceps are used as weapons of offence or defence.
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Scorpion-grass is another name for forget-me-not.
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Scorpion-shell is the name given to the shells of certain gasteropodous molluscs, belonging to the family Strombidae, from the projecting spines with which the shells are provided. These shells are also known by the name of 'spider-shells' for the same reason. They are chiefly found in the Indian and Chinese Seas.
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Scorpionidea or Scorpiones is the scorpion order of Arachnida. They have four pairs of lung-books in the mesosoma and the post-anal telson forms a sting. Scorpions are amongst the most hardy of animals, able to survive frozen in ice for three weeks, temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius and withstand two hundred times the amount of radiation (such as the fallout from a nuclear explosion) that kills other animals. Scorpions are deaf and nearly blind, but are very sensitive to earth vibrations and air vibrations, detected through feelers.
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Scorzonera is a genus of plants of the natural order Compositae, sub-order Chicoraceae, with yellow and occasionally rose-coloured flowers. The species, which are numerous, are chiefly indigenous to Southern Europe and the East. The common scorzonera (Scorzonera Hispanica), a native of Spain and the south of Europe, has long been cultivated in English kitchen-gardens for its edible roots, which are carrot-shaped, but small and dark-coloured, though pure white within. They possess cooling and antifebrile properties, and are said to be often highly beneficial in cases of indigestion or biliousness. The name viper's grass is sometimes given to this plant, either from the shape of the root, or from its supposed properties of curing snake-bites. Scorzonera deliciosa is a species much cultivated as an esculent at Palermo.
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The Scotch Terrier or Scottish Terrier (originally known as the Aberdeen Terrier, and now affectionately known as the Scottie) is a hardy, persevering breed of dog with immense teeth, for the size of dog, erect ears and a hard coat. The breed has short legs and a long body. They were formerly used for catching vermin and fox hunting in hilly country where hounds couldn't run.
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The Scoter, or Surf Duck (Oidemia) is a genus of sea-ducks. The most familiar species is the common or black scoter (Oidemia nigra), which shows a deep black plumage in the male, the bill and legs being of the same colour. The upper mandible is marked on its dorsal surface by a line of orange colour. This bird averages the common duck in size; and the females are coloured of a dark-brown hue. It occurs in the Arctic regions in summer, but comes southwards to the British coasts in winter.
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The Scots Dumpy is a breed of chicken.
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The Scots Grey is a breed of chicken.
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The Scottish Fold is a breed of shorthaired cat distinguished by its folded ears which were the result of a spontaneous mutation first noticed in 1961. The Scottish Fold is a medium sized cat, rounded and cobby, broad across the shoulders and rump with a full, broad chest and a massive, round head set on a short thick neck. The Scottish Fold evolved from farm cats, and retains the hunting instinct, being an excellent mouser and needing to practise their hunting.
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Scraptia is a genus of small (roughly 2.5 mm long) beetle of the family Scraptiidae.
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Scraptiidae is a family of beetles of the order Coleoptera.
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Screamer is the name given to two genera of South American grallatorial or wading birds, the Palamedea cornuta or horned-screamer and the closely allied Chauna chavaria or crested-screamer. The latter has no horn, but its head is furnished with a dependent crest of feathers.
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The Screw-pine (Pandanus) is the type of an order of trees or bushes known as the Pandanaceae or Screw-pine order. They are natives of tropical regions, and abound in insular situations, such as the Eastern Archipelago. They branch in a dichotomous or forked manner, and are remarkable for the peculiar roots they send out from various parts of the stem. These roots are called aerial or adventitious, and serve to support the plant. The seeds are edible; and the flowers of some species are fragrant, as in the Pandanus odoratissimus, which is conspicuous by its adventitious roots, and its long spiny leaves, resembling those of the pineapple, and arranged in a screw-like manner.
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Scrophulariaceae is a family of plants, mostly herbaceous, though some are shrubs and a few are trees. They inhabit all parts of the world except the coldest, containing about 160 genera and 1900 species. bear usually irregular flowers with four or five persistent sepals, a gamopetalous corolla, frequently bi-labiate, generally four stamens, didynamous, and a two-lobed stigma. Many of the genera, such as the foxglove, calceolaria, veronica, mimulus, antirrhinum, pentstemon, etc, are valued by gardeners for their beautiful flowers. Scrophularia is the typical genus.
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Scuiro Morpha is the squirrel-like suborder of the order Rodentia.
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The Sculpin (Cottus octodecimspinosus) is a, small sea-fish found on the Atlantic seaboard and on the Pacific coast of America. The gemmeous dragonet (CaIIionymus lyra) is so called by the Cornish fishermen.
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Scurvy grass (Cochlearia) is a genus of herbaceous plants belonging to the family Cruciferae. They are characterised by their fruit, which is a globose, two-valved pouch, the valves not flattened. The common scurvy grass (Cochlearia officinalis) is an abundant sea-shore plant with heart-shaped root leaves and rectangular stem leaves, bearing large corymbs of white flowers in May.
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Scutellaria is a genus of plants belonging to the family Labiate. They bear flowers with campanulate, bilabiate calyxes, the upper lip bulging out so as to form a sort of lid or cap over the fruit, and a bilabiate corolla, the lips being unequal. Among the British species are the greater skullcap (Scutellaria galericulta) and the lesser skullcap (Scutellaria minor).
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Scutellosaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Scutellosaurus was a herbivore with a short skull and ridged teeth. A small animal, it was 134 centimetres long with hind legs that were longer than its front legs, but not by enough to rule out Scutellosaurus walking on all fours. It had a long tail and was armoured with hundreds of small bony knobs set in the skin of its back.
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Scydmaenidae is a family of minute beetles measuring between 0.7 and 2.3 mm in length, have an elongate body with fine, loose bristles on the back and the antennae have clavate tips. The members of the family live chiefly in moss and damp fallen leaves, in dung, in rotting wood, under bark or under stones, with a few species living in ants' or mammals' nests. Both the larvae and the adults feed on mites.
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Scydmaenus is a genus of beetles of the family Scydmaenidae distinguished by the antennae set very close together on the front of the head. Most species live in ants' nests, though Scydmaenus tarsatus lives in mouldy straw, decaying plants and compost.
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Scydmoraphes is a genus of beetles of the family Scydmaenidae similar to the genus Neuraphes, with one species, Scydmoraphes minutus, living in the nests of ants of the genera Formica and Lasius.
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Scymnidae is a family of sharks, distinguished by the absence of an anal fin, and by dorsals unfurnished with spines. The lobes of the caudal fin or tail are nearly equal, and the head is furnished with a pair of small spiracles. The Greenland shark is the best-known species.
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Scymnus is a genus of ladybird (Coccinellidae). They are small, hairy beetles with short antennae.
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Scyphozoa is the class of marine animals known as jelly-fishes. The adult is always medusoid, and there is an extensive system of radial canals, sense organs and tentaculocysts.
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Scythrops, the channel-bill, is a genus of birds belonging to the cuckoo family. Scythrops. Novoe Hollandioe is a very handsome and elegantly coloured bird inhabiting part of Australia and some of the Eastern Islands, about the size of the common crow. It has a large and curiously formed beak, which gives it so singular an aspect that on a hasty glance it might almost be taken for a toucan or hornbill.
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