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The Small Angle Shades (Euplexia lucipara) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 27 and 32 mm found in Europe, Asia and North America. It lives mostly in damp biotopes with an abundance of vegetation. One or two generations are produced flying from May to August.
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The Small Apollo (Parnassius phoebus) is a mountain butterfly of the Swallowtails family (Papilionidae) found at high altitudes in the Alps, Urals, Rocky Mountains, China and Siberia.
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The Small Argent and Sable (Epirrhoe tristata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 20 and 23 mm found in temperate Europe and Asia flying in two generations from April to September.
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The Small Blue (Cupido minimus) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found across Europe and temperate Asia as far east as the Amur. It lives in both dry steppe and damp mountain localities up to an altitude of 3000 meters.
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The Small Brindled Beauty (Apocheima hispidaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 28 and 35 mm found in temperate parts of Europe, Asia and the Far East, flying from March to May.
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The Small China-mark (Cataclysta lemnata) is a moth of the family Pyralidae with a wing span of between 15 and 22 mm found in Europe. The male moth is much smaller than the female and almost white in colour, while the larger female is brownish in colour. The adult moths fly throughout summer near stagnant water.
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The Small Chocolate-tip (Clostera pigra) is a moth of the family Notodontidae with a wing span of between 22 and 27 mm found in non-polar Europe, mainly in mountains to an altitude of 2500 meters. Two generations are produced flying from May to August.
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The Small Clover Case-bearer (Coleophora frischella) is a moth of the family Coleophoridae with a wing span of between 10 and 13 mm found in Europe, Asia Minor and Afghanistan flying from June to September.
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The Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found throughout the Palaearctic region and North America, mainly in dry, flowery places, open spaces and forest steppes.
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The Small Dark Yellow Underwing (Anarta cordigera) is a small moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 20 and 25 mm found in Europe, Asia and North America, flying from May to July on sunny days.
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The Small Dotted Buff (Photedes minima) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 20 and 23 mm found in northern and central Europe in damp meadows and peat bogs flying from June to August.
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The small Eggar (Eriogaster lanestris) is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae with a wing span of between 30 and 40 mm found in Europe and Asia flying in early spring.
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The Small Elephant Hawkmoth (Deilephila porcellus) is a moth of the family Sphingidae with a wing span of between 40 and 45 mm found in Europe and Asia flying from May to June and sometimes a second generation in August.
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The Small Emerald (Hemistola chrysoprasaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 28 and 32 mm found in central and southern Europe, and across Asia flying from June to August.
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The Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 15 and 20 mm found mainly in warmer parts of Europe and in Asia Minor flying from June to September.
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The Small Heath Butterfly (Coenonympha pamphilus) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in north Africa, Europe and Asia.
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The Small Lappet (Phyllodesma ilicifolia) is a rare moth of the family Lasiocampidae with a wing span of between 35 and 40 mm found in central and northern Europe and colder parts of Asia flying from April to May.
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The Small Magpie (Eurrhypara hortulata) is a moth of the family Pyralidae with a wing span of between 24 and 28 mm found in scattered localities across the Palaearctic region, generally in damp biotopes, forests and overgrown places, flying from June to August.
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The small nettle (Urtica urens) is similar to the common nettle, but smaller and the lower leaves have blades shorter than their stalks, and male and female flowers are borne on the same plant.
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The Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Clossiana selene) is a widely distributed butterfly of the brush-footed butterflies family (Nymphalidae) found throughout temperate Europe, Asia and North America.
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The Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 23 and 27 mm found in open woods, especially those near water, in Europe, Asia and North America flying from April to August.
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The Small Quaker (Orthosia cruda) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 25 and 30 mm found in Europe flying from March to April.
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The Small Rivulet (Perizoma alchemillata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 14 and 18 mm distributed throughout temperate Europe and Asia flying from May until September.
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The Small Square-Spot (Diarsia rubi) is a moth of the family Noctuidae found in meadows and open woodland in non-polar Europe and Asia. Two generations are produced flying from May to June and the second from August to September.
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The Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is the most abundant European butterfly of the brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae) family, also found across Asia often found flying when there is still snow on the ground. The adult butterfly has a wing span of 47 mm and the caterpillars are spiky and live gregariously feeding upon nettles.
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The Small White Wave (Asthena albulata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 14 and 18 mm found in Europe and northern Asia flying from May to July.
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The Small Yellow Wave (Hydrelia flammeolaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 14 and 20 mm found in Europe and Asia flying from May to August.
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The Small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata) is a tall deciduous tree of the family Tiliaceae native to Britain and Europe, with a domed crown and downward- curving branches. The bark is smooth and grey, turning rough and fissured with age. The leaves are stalked, alternate and cordate, slightly asymmetrical, sharply serrate and dark green and shiny above, greyish green below. The flowers are yellowish-white in colour and arranged in clusters of between three and fifteen in a stalked erect or spreading cyme. The fruit is an ovoid, hairy achene, the bracht acting as a wing.
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The smelt is a genus of small European fish allied to the Salmon which live in the salt water around the mouths of rivers. The common smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) is around ten to twenty centimeters long and silvery-white in colour with a greenish back. During May to August the smelt comes up river to spawn in fresh water before then returning to the sea.
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The smew (Mergus albellus) also known as the Smee or Nun is a small sawbill duck found in winter along the British coast, where it visits from the Arctic. It is about 38 to 45 centimeters long. The male has a white underside and black-coloured back plumage. The wings are black and white. The female is red-brown with grey tints in colour.
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Smicrus is a genus of featherwing beetles, Ptiliidae, found chiefly in decaying plant material.
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Smilaceae are a tribe of plants of the family Liliaceae. They are mostly climbing plants with woody stems and small unisexual flowers.
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Smilax is a genus of shrubs of the family Liliaceae with umbels of small, dioecious flowers. The roots of several species furnish sarsaparilla.
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Smilodon (Machaerodus neogaeus) also known as the Sabre-Toothed tiger was a prehistoric large cat, about the size of a modern tiger with tusks projecting some eighteen centimeters from its jaw.
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Smith's Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum smithi) is a species of Milk snake named after Dr Hobart M Smith found in a small area of southern Mexico.
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A smolt is a young, silvery salmon over two years old, but still living in a river and leaving for the sea in the Spring.
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Smooth rupturewort (Herniaria glabra) is an annual or biennial, rarely a perennial, herb of the order Caryophyllaceae with a mat-forming, branched, densely leaved, more or less glabrous prostrate stem. The leaves are small, oval, sessile and yellow-green. The flowers are small, white and borne in racemes from the leaf axils. The fruit is a nutlet with one shiny black seed.
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Smuck is the collective noun for a group of jellyfish..
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Smut (Ustilago) is a genus of zygomycetous fungi parasitic upon herbs and grasses. Several species of the genus are pests upon cultivated cereals, producing the conditions known as 'smut', 'black-ball' and 'chimney-sweeper'. The mycelial threads run between the cells of the deeper tissues and break through to the surface, where they produce their masses of microscopic brown spores which appear in the mass like soot. The flowers when attacked produce no grain; where the assault is made upon the seeds these are largely converted into spore-masses.
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The snail is an air breathing gastropod mollusc with an external shell. Snails are of world-wide distribution, found everywhere except the polar regions. There are many thousands of species, with more than 120 British species, some terrestrial and some aquatic living in fresh water. There are also marine snails, of which the Periwinkle is a familiar specimen. Snails vary in size from tiny, smaller than the head of a pin, to tropical species with shells more than twenty centimetres long.
Snails love damp spots and are most active after rain. In continued dry weather they retire underground or to sheltered spots, close the orifice of the shell with a film or epiphragm of dried mucus, and aestivate (remain dormant) until the damp weather returns. During the winter most snails hibernate.
The great majority of snails are vegetarian, though several British species are more or less carnivorous. Some snails possess a remarkable homing instinct, the common snail (Helix aspersa) returning to the same spot to sleep for the entire course of its life unless displaced by an accident.
Almost all snails are nocturnal, only roaming during daylight in the rain. Snails travel slowly, by way of wave-like ripples in their muscular foot. The lifespan of snails varies greatly with species, most British species living between two and five years. Snails are mostly hermaphrodites, and lay eggs. The edible snail lays eggs about the size of a pea with a white chalky shell. Some large species lay eggs as large as a bird's egg.
All terrestrial snails are edible, and were widely eaten in Britain before the Industrial revolution.
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A snake is an elongated, limbless reptile of the suborder Serpentes of the order Squamata. Because of their 160 to 435 vertebrae, snakes are extremely flexible in their movements.
Snakes crawl along with their belly scales by pushing bends in their body against the surface over which they are moving. The tail is usually quite short, while the head is either indistinctly or clearly delineated from the body. Most snakes kill their prey either by suffocation (the constrictors) or by injecting venom (Venomous snakes), and then waiting for the prey to die, following it by scent. Smooth prey such as new-born mice, fish, amphibians and earthworms are swallowed alive. Snakes can dislocate their bottom jaw from the top, which combined with a bulging windpipe and 'floating ribs' enables them to swallow large prey.
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Snake's-head or Common Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) is a bulbous perennial herb of the natural order Liliaceae, native to Europe and Western Asia. The small bulb consists of only a few swollen scales, and the long leaves are very narrow. The large, drooping flowers are produced singly at the top of the leafy stem, and are similar to those of the tulip in shape. They are of a dull purple colour spotted with oval patches of a paler tint, or occassionally entirely white.
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Snake-flies (also called camel-flies, Raphidiadae) are a family of neuropterous insects so named on account of their neck-like elongation of the head and thorax.
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Snake-wood is the wood of the Strychnos colubrina, of the family Loganiaceae. It is a tree found in India and Java.
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Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) is a perennial herb of the natural order Scrophulariaceae, native to Europe. The variable leaves are more or less lance-shaped. The tubular flowers, which resemble a dragon's snout, are closed by the compression of the rounded upper lip, and are of various colours, purple, white, yellow and crimson.
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Sneeze-wood is the popular name of the South African tree Pteroxylon utile. It is of the family Sapindaceae and yields a strong durable timber which is dusty to work with, and causes sneezing.
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Sneezewort or sneeze-wort (Achillea ptarmica) is a British perennial composite herb of the milfoil genus. It has a woody, creeping rhizome and erect, angled, leafy stems, which are hairy at the top but not at the base. It flowers between July and August. Sneezewort is also native to Europe, Asia Minor and Siberia. The name derives from the former practise of drying and pulverising the rootstock into a powder which was once used as an alternative to snuff.
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The snipe isa genus of birds of the plover tribe. The common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is a European marsh bird found in Britain. It is dumpy with a rounded body, mottled black and brown plumage on the upper parts, white bars on the flanks and white under parts, short legs and a very long, straight bill with which it probes downwards into soft mud for food, the food comprising worms and insects.
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Snout Beetles or True Weevils are the Curculionidae family of insects of the order Coleoptera, with over 416 British species. The head is produced into a rostrum of variable length. The larvae of the species live in plants, have a short cylindrical body and propel themselves by means of thick ridges on the under side of their body.
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The Snout Moth (Hypena proboscidalis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 25 and 38 mm found in forests. Two generations appear flying from May to September, the winter being passed as a caterpillar.
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The Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia) is an endangered species of Leopard found in the higher, colder, snow-covered mountains of parts of Mongolia, Russia, China, Bhutan, northern India, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan. The Snow Leopard is has long thick fur, yellowish grey in colour, marked with dark blotches or rosettes and a long tail that affords some protection against the cold, being wrapped over the face when the animal sleeps. A generally solitary animal, Snow Leopards may be seen hunting in pairs and feed on mountain goats, ibex, gazelle, boar and smaller mammals and birds which they hunt at night and in the early morning. Because of the scarcity of prey, when they have a big kill Snow leopards will gorge themselves so as to survive until the next successful hunt.
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The Snow-Bunting (Emberiza, Plectrophanes or Plectrophenax nivalis) also known as the snow- fleck is a gregarious, Passerine bird belonging to the bunting family. It is a native of arctic regions and a winter visitor to Britain and other temperate regions. It is a white bird with black on its back, tail and wings. The nest is built of grass, moss, roots, hair and feathers in a cranny in rocks or boulders.
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The snow-goose is a species of goose which lives in arctic regions.
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Snowberry (Symphoricarpus racemosus) is a North American shrub of the natural order Caprifoliaceae. It has slender, upright, branching stems with opposite, oval leaves, and spikes of small, pink coloured, bell-shaped flowers, succeeded by large, opaque, white coloured berries, each containing two seeds.
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The snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) is a bulbous perennial herb of the natural order Amaryllidaceae. It is native to Europe and Western Asia. The small oval bilb produces a solitary, drooping and elegant white flower on a long stalk that appear in February.
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Snowdrop tree is a popular name for two ornamental American trees (Halesia tetraptera and Halesia diptera) belonging to the Styrax family (Styracaceae). They have alternate, oval lance-shaped leaves and are so named from bearing snowy-white bell-shaped flowers in sprays that look like snowdrops.
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The Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) is a small, all-white American heron of the order Grallae, family Ardeidae, with a black bill, black legs which have a yellow stripe down their back and yellow feet. When aroused it may raise long feathers on its crown. It hunts small fish and crustaceans in marshes, estuaries, along rivers and in lakes.
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Soapberry (Sapindus saponaria) is a tropical American tree of the natural order Sapindaceae. The soapberry has alternate leaves and small greenish-white flowers. The fruit is fleshy and contains hard, black, round seeds that have been used as beads and buttons. The outer covering of the seeds when soaked in water produce a lather, and have been used as a natural soap. The root may also be used as a soap but is less effective.
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Soapwort (Saponaria) is a genus of plants of the family Caryophyllaceae. Fuller's Herb (Saponaria officinalis) is a perennial herb native to central and southern Europe where it grows in damp waste land, hedges and by streams. It has a branched, orange coloured, creeping rhizome and a tuft of erect or ascending downy stems, which are branched at the top. The leaves are opposite, ovate to elliptic, three-veined and sessile. The flowers are pinkish, tubular and arranged in terminal panicles. The fruit is an ovoid capsule, which opens by means of four or five teeth to release the small black seeds. Soapwort is so named because the bruised leaves produce a lather like soap when agitated in water.
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The Soko is a herbivorous mammal closely allied to the chimpanzees. It was discovered living near Lake Tanganyika by David Livingstone.
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The Sokoke scops owl (Otus ieneae) is a small African owl thought to be entirely confined to the threatened Arabuko Sokoke Forest in Kenya. Only discovered in 1965, the owl is typical of many of the continent's little- known species, confined to a few limited and specialized habitats and thus extremely vulnerable to change.
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The Sokolsky or Sokolka is a Polish breed of heavy horse developed around the 19th century. They stand between 15 and 16 hands high and are chestnut, bay or brown in colour. They are a tough breed of horse with great stamina and a forward-going gait.
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Solanaceae is a family of monopetalous exogenous plants, composed of herbs or shrubs, natives of most parts of the world, and especially within the tropics. They have alternate leaves, terminal or axillary inflorescence, and regular, or nearly regular, monopetalous flowers. They are generally narcotic, tonic and poisonous, although some parts of the plants are cultivated for food (such as the potato, aubergine, chililies and tomato) and others for smoking, such as tobacco.
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Solaster is an asteroidea.
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Soldanella is a genus of plants of the family Primulaceae. the species are small herbs native to alpine districts.
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Dover Sole (Solea vulgaris) is a marine flat fish. Sole is an important food fish. It grows to about thirty centimetres in length and is dark brown in colour on the right or upper side, and greyish-white beneath. Sole is found on the sandy shores from the Mediterranean to northern Denmark.
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Solenodontidae is a family of mammals belonging to the order Insectivora.
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Solidungula is a division of the Ungulata mammals which includes the horse and donkey.
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The solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria) is an extinct flightless pigeon, nearly allied to the dodo, which lived in the island of Rodriguez in the Indian Ocean until about 1761. It had longer legs than the dodo, the male standing almost one meter high.
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Solomon's Seal is a British liliaceous plant (Polygonatum multiflorum) occasionally found in woodlands. It is a tall-growing plant with a thick, branched, creeping rootstock, round stem and elliptical leaves all pointing one way. It bears green-tipped white, tubular, bell-shaped flowers, shaped somewhat after the manner of round seals, whence the name is derived.
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The Somali is a breed of long-haired cat renowned for its playful attentiveness and for its keen abilities as a mouser and hunter of small game. It has a lush and slightly shaggy coat, each individual hair carrying ten or more colour tickings, giving the coat a very rich colour density. The ears are large, pointed, and set wide apart, the tail is full and brushy and held over the back when the cat is moving. The eyes are hazel, amber, or green and almond-shaped. It has a lively and shrewd demeanour and is suited to a life indoors, although it needs space to run and play.
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The Somali Wild Ass (Equus asinus somalicus) is the only surviving subspecies of the African Wild Ass. The Somali Wild Ass stands about 130 centimetres tall, has a large head in proportion to its body, and is a uniform light grey in colour. The Somali Wild Ass resembles the domestic donkey (Equus asinus), but is not actually a donkey. Rather, domestic donkeys are descended from the now extinct Nubian Wild Ass which was very similar to the Somali Wild Ass. The
Somali Wild Ass is now on the verge of extinction and is one of the rarest animals left in the world, with just a few hundred remaining in Ethiopia and Somalia.
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Sonchus (Sow-Thistle) is a genus of tender herbs with milky juice of the natural order Compositae, characterized by all the florets being bisexual and strap-shaped. The flowers have an imbricated involucre, and the fruit is flattened. The species are natives of the temperate regions and have brittle, hollow stems and the pappus is hairy. There are four British species. The corn sow-thistle (Sonchus arvensis) is a fine perennial with stout creeping rootstock, stems about 150 cm tall, ending in yellow flower-heads about five centimetres across. The common sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) is an annual and smaller.
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The Song Thrush or Mavis (Turdus musicus) is a British bird with brown upper parts, tinged with olive, a throat which is white in the middle, white flanks and abdomen which are spotted with oval dark brown markings. The Song Thrush feeds on worms, insects and snails which it picks up and breaks their shell by dashing the snail against a stone, using the same stone repeatedly returning to it as it finds snails to eat. In the spring caterpillars are also eaten and in summer berries also. The nest is built of grass and twigs, lined with mud and rotten wood.
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The Sonoran coral snake (Micruroides euryxanthus) is a small, red, white or yellow and black banded venomous snake growing to about 6 centimetres long. Two subspecies of Sonoran coral snake are found in Mexico and a third in Arizona, USA.
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The Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana) is a species of Milk snake that grows to a length of about 104 centimetres. It has the common red colour with white bands sandwiched between thin black bands and a snout of a white colour with black and white flecking, or pale yellow. The
Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake occurs in Utah, Nevada, Arizona and northern Mexico.
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The soosoo is a cetaceous mammal similar to a dolphin. It is found in the Ganges and grows to about four meters in length.
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The Sooty Copper (Heodes tityrus) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in the south of the Palaearctic region in steppes and dry mountain meadows. Two or three generations are produced in a year between April and August.
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Sophora is a genus of plants of the family Leguminosae. The species are ornamental shrubs and trees found chiefly in central and tropical Asia, and the tropical and sub-tropical parts of South America. The leaves are broken up into two rows of paired leaflets, and the purple, yellow or cream-coloured pea-like flowers are borne in racemes or panicles. A popular species of Sophora is the Chinese Pagoda-tree (Sophora japonica).
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Sord is the collective noun for a group of wildfowl.
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Sorghum is a genus of grasses of the natural order Gramineae. They are the tall grasses with succulent stems, flowers in panicles and each glume containing two flowers, and are found in the tropical parts of Asia and other warm regions. Indian Millet is one of the chief species of the genus.
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Soricidae is a family of mammals belonging to the order Insectivora which includes the shrews and musk-rats.
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The Sorraia is a breed of Iberian pony which developed around the Spanish-Portuguese border. They stand 13 hands high and have a good natured temperament. They occur in dun, grullo and dark palomino colours, have a heavy head with a convex profile and quite large ears.
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Sorrel (Rumex) is a genus biennial and perennial herbs of the family Polygonaceae that includes the Docks. The two smallest of the British species have leaves that are used in salad. The stems are upright and grow to about 0.5 meters. An Italian species, Rumex patientia is sometimes grown as a herb.
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The Sorrel-tree or sourwood (Oxydendron arboreum) is a tree belonging to the family Ericaceae, native to North America. It inhabits the range of the Alleghanies from Virginia to Georgia. The leaves are rectangular, lanceolate, sour tasting and ten to twelve centimetres long. The flowers occur as clustered sprays of white flowers.
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A sorus (plural sori) is a cluster of sporangia found on the under-surface of certain fern leaves.
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Sounder is the collective noun for a group of swine.
Sounder is the collective noun for a group of boars.
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The South Devon is a breed of cattle.
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South Sea Arrowroot (Tacca pinnatifida) is a perennial herb of the natural order Taccaceae native to the East Indies and Society Islands. It has a tuberous root stock, which like that of the potato and rice is rich in starch. The leaves are large and cut into oval segments, the flowers are purplish in colour, funnel-shaped and clustered in a dense umbel and succeeded by large, pear-shaped, ribbed fruits. Strips of the leaves are plaited into hats, but mainly the plant is grown for the starch which is obtained by rasping the tubers and macerating the material in water, the resulting deposit being a fine form of arrowroot.
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The Southern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor priapus) also known as the Southern Racer, Black Racer, Black Snake and Pilot Snake is a typical snake of the subfamily Colubrinae, family Colubridae found in North America that feeds on small mammals and reptiles and grows to an average length of 150 centimetres.
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The Southern Comma is a Mediterranean species of butterfly of the brush- footed butterflies (Nymphalidae) family, found extending to Asia Minor and Iran.
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The Southern Festoon (Parnalius polyxena) is a European butterfly of the Swallowtail family (Papilionidae) found mainly in the eastern Mediterranean region. Despite protection under law in some countries, the
Southern Festoon is becoming rarer due to coastal developments and the use of insecticides.
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The Southern White Admiral (Limenitis reducta) is a species of butterfly of the brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae) family, found in southern Europe from Spain to Iran.
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Southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum) also known as Old Man, Boy's Love, and Old Woman, is a shrubby perennial plant of the order Compositae, native to Europe. The flowers are insignificant, but the plants are popular on account of their feathery, hair-like foliage.
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The Soviet Heavy Draft is a Russian breed of heavy horse developed at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th century. The Soviet Heavy Draft stands 15.3 hands high and is chestnut, bay or roam in colour with a massive build and good agility. They do however suffer from a relatively poor resistance to disease and are prone to pigeon toes in the front feet and sickle hocks behind.
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Sow-bread is a species of Cyclamen so called from its being the favourite food of the Sicilian wild boars.
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Soya bean (Glycine max) or soybean as it is also known, is a cultivated annual herb native to eastern Asia, with an erect hairy stem and large trifoliate leaves. The flowers are white or violet-tinged and grow in clusters from the leaf axils. The fruit is a slightly curved and hairy pod containing the seeds.
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In botany, a spadix is a form of inflorescence in which many small flowers are clustered around a fleshy spike, often enclosed by a spathe.
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Spaerosoma is a genus of tiny beetles of the family Enfomychidae.
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A spaie is a three-year old red deer.
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The spaniels are a sub-species of dogs characterized by great intelligence and an affectionate disposition.
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The Spanish is a breed of chicken.
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Spanish Broom, or spart (Spartium junceum) is an ornamental flowering shrub of the broom family found growing in Africa, Italy and Spain and the south of France.
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The Spanish Lynx (Lynx pardinus) is the rarest of Europe's wild cats and is an endangered species. Formerly hunted almost to extinction, the Spanish Lynx exists only in few mountainous areas of Portugal and Spain. The Spanish Lynx is a small Lynx, weighing about 13 kg, reddish-brown in colour with black spots, the tail is short and stubby, the ears tufted, and the cheeks have long hairs giving the impression of a beard. The Spanish Lynx hunts by stalking its prey, often for considerable distances. The favourite prey are rabbit and hares, but birds and young deer will also supplement its diet.
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Sparassis Crispa is a fine, edible fungus of the natural order Hymenoyceteae that grows upon the roots of pine trees in woods. From a thick, fleshy base the fungus repeatedly branches, the ultimate divisions taking the form of brittle plates more or less twisted, and of a cream or pale brownish colour. The entire mass is ordinarily the size of a small football, but may be as much as 46 centimetres in diameter. In its raw state, Sparassis Crispa has a nutty flavour.
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Sparaxis is a genus of bulbous or tuberous perennials of the natural order Iridaceae, native to South Africa. They have a few sword-shaped or lance-shaped leaves, and rather large tubular flowers of yellow, white, or purple colour, variously spotted or mottled. One variety, Sparaxis bulbifera, has edible tubers.
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Sparidae is a family of acanthopterygious, teleostean fishes. They form the genus Sparus.
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Sparrow is a popular name for a genus of finches, of which the best known is the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). The house sparrow is a small, black-streaked brown finch found across the world, though once very common during the later part of the 20th century the sparrows declined rapidly for reasons unknown.
The house sparrow builds a bulky, untidy nest of whatever materials are available, such as hay, straw, roots, rag, string, bits of paper, but it is always lined with soft feathers. The eggs are white in colour with a blue or green tinge and variously streaked or spotted with brown or purple. The house sparrow eats insects. House sparrows have been seen carrying a young offspring on their back, though this behaviour is very rarely witnessed, and the reason for it is unknown.
The tree sparrow (Passer montanus) is slightly smaller than the house sparrow, has brown plumage and a white collar around the throat and two white bars on the tail. The tree sparrow nests in hollow trees, under the thatch of old buildings and in holes in rocks.
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The Sparrow Hawk (Accipiter nisus) is a British bird of prey, found in mostly country districts. The plumage is bluish grey on the upper parts, and reddish-white, barred with dark brown on the under parts. The tail is barred with grey and black, and the beak is blue. The female is about eight centimetres longer than the male and has brown upper parts, while the under parts are barred with light and dark grey.
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Spartan is a variety of apple produced in 1936 by Agriculture Canada breeders in British Columbia who crossed McIntosh with Newtown Pippin. It is firmer and crisper than McIntosh but has many of its qualities, including rich flavour and excellent juiciness. It is strongly aromatic even before being cut. It is an all-around apple for eating fresh and for use in pies and applesauce. Many cider pressers include Spartan in their blends as part of their special formulas for superb taste.
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Spatangus is a genus of sea-urchins, popularly called the heart-urchins from their shape.
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In botany, the spathe is the sheathing bract, enclosing one or several flowers. A fleshy spike of flowers covered by a spathe is called a spadix. The purpose of the spathe is to protect the young flowers, and after they bloom the spathe usually withers or falls off.
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Spatularia is a genus of fishes of the sturgeon tribe which are remarkable for their long, leaf-like snouts.
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The Spear-thistle (Carduus lanceolatus) is a species of thistle with long spines on its lance-shaped leaves and purple flowers.
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Spearmint (Mentha viridis or Mentha spicata) is a European and North American species of mint cultivated for its flavouring properties. It is a perennial herb of the natural order Labiateae with a creeping, underground stem, and erect, aerial stems, with opposite, oval-lanced shaped leaves which have a pungent odour. The stems end in spikes of whorled purplish coloured flowers.
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Spearwort is a plant of the genus Ranunculus. There are two species, the great (Ranunculus lingua) and the lesser spearwort (Ranunculus flammula). Both are native to Europe and temperate Asia and are found in Britain chiefly in marshes and ditches. Great spearwort has a hollow stem about one meter tall, with large, stalkless lanceolate undivided leaves that clasp the stem at their base. The flowers are golden yellow in colour, fine and about three centimetres across. The lesser spearwort is similar but smaller, with the lower leaves stalked and oval, the upper leaves stalkless and lance-shaped.
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Species is a biological term for related individuals with very similar general structure.
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The Speckled Beauty (Fagivorina arenaria) is an endangered moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 25 and 30 mm found in central Europe in old oak forests, and once found in Britain but is now extinct there. The moth flies from May to July.
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The Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in north Africa, Europe and Asia in open deciduous woods, oak and beech forests.
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The Speckled Yellow (Pseudopanthera macularia) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 23 and 28 mm found in Europe flying from April to July.
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The Spectacle Moth (Abrostola triplasia) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 27 and 30 mm distributed throughout the temperate zone of Europe and Asia. Two generations appear flying from May to September.
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Heath or Common Speedwell (Veronica officinalis) is a perennial herb of the Figwort family Scrophulariaceae, native to Britain and Europe where it grows in woods, dry grassland and heaths.
Speedwell has creeping, branched, often mat-forming stems which root at the nodes, and ascending flowering shoots. The leaves are opposite, short- stalked, sessile, oval and bluntly serrate. The flowers are small, white, bright blue or lilac in colour, shortly tubular and divide into four lobes of which the upper and lower are broader than the side pair, and are arranged in dense, slender, erect, spike-like racemes that grow from the upper leaf axils.
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Spelt (Triticum sativum spelta) is a prehistoric cereal formed around 1000 BC from a crossing of Emmer wheat and a goat grass. Spelt was grown by the lake-dwellers of Switzerland and the ancient Romans, and was still being cultivated in central and Southern Europe at the start of the 20th century. Spelt has a brittle ear which easily breaks into short pieces, each of which bears a spikelet, and the grain cannot be properly threshed. Spelt produces a yield not so high as Emmer, but is an ancestor of modern wheat.
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Spergula is a genus of plants of the knot grass family, natural order Caryophyllaceae. They are natives of temperate regions. One species, Spergula arvensis, the corn spurrey, grows in Britain. It has stalks between fifteen and thirty centimeters long, swollen at the joints, and bears panicles of white flowers. It is frequently grown as a sheep fodder.
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The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales, with a long and massive head comprising roughly one third of its total length.
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In botany, spermatophytes are the term for seed plants, comprising one of the two primary divisions of plant-life. They include all those species which produce true seeds, containing an embryo which develops directly into a plant resembling its parent. The spermatophytes comprise two groups: the Angiosperms, or higher flowering plants, whose seeds are enclosed in fruits, and the Gymnosperms, whose seeds are not enclosed, but borne on special leaves or branches, as in the cone-bearing pine trees.
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Spermatozoon (frequently shortened to 'sperm') are the male germ cells. In the lowest forms of life the spermatozoon and the female cell, or egg, are very similar, but in the higher forms the spermatozoon becomes a highly specialised active locomotor cell, and the female egg, or ovum, becomes a larger, more passive cell. The spermatozoon is provided with a head, body and tail, the head containing a nucleus of chromatin, the body the centrosome, and the tail is a cytoplasmic thread. The tail provides the cell with the power required for movement.
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Spermophagus is a genus of Seed Beetles (Bruchidae).
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Sphaericus is a genus of small Spider Beetle (Ptinidae).
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Sphaeridium is a genus of water scavenger beetles of the family Hydrophilidae. They live in fresh cow dung.
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Sphaeriidae is a family of a single genus of beetle (Sphaerius).
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Sphaerius is a genus of beetle comprising the family Sphaeriidae, and containing 18 species worldwide. The antennae have a three-jointed club, and the wings are fringed with hair. One species,
Sphaerius acaroides occurs in Britain but is extremely rare.
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Sphagnum is a genus of mosses commonly known as bog-moss from their unusual habitat. They have erect stems several centimetres long, and bear the male organs on lateral stems, somewhat resembling catkins, and the female organs on shorter lateral stems, resembling buds.
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Sphecoidea is the Digger Wasps super-family of insects of the sub-order Apocrita, order Hymenoptera. The members have various colourings, often yellow and black or red and black.
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The Sphenisciformes are an order of birds. These are the penguins. They comprise a single family, Spheniscidae. They are water birds with a streamlined body and elongated head. The beak is stout and ends in a sharp point. They are incapable of flight, instead their wings have adapted as short powerful paddles.
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Sphenoptera is a genus of jewel beetle (Buprestidae). The larvae, which take two years to develop, live chiefly in the roots of milk-vetch and sainfoin.
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Sphindidae is a family of beetles of the order Coleoptera.
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Sphindus is a genus of small beetle of the family Sphindidae that lives on slime moulds.
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Sphingidae is the Hawkmoths family of insects of the order Lepidoptera. The members have thick antennae which is nearly always hooked, a robust spindle or torpedo-shaped body. Of the 1000 known species about 20 live in Europe, the rest in the tropics.
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Spider (Araneidae) is an order of animals of the class Arachnida, all having eight legs. Most spiders are terrestial, but some live in fresh water.
The spiders have a body that is divided into two parts: the head and breast, fused into one piece; and the abdomen, usually all in one piece, and only in rare cases with hints of segmentation. Between these two parts there is typically a narrow waist. The region corresponding to the head bears two pairs of mouth parts: a pair of two-jointed poison-jaws or chelicerae; and a pair of sensitive, usually six-jointed pedipalps.
All spiders have a poisonous bite, but the bite is not severe except in a few tropical forms. The poison of the bird-catching spider (Mygale) kills a bird in a few minutes. In male spiders the tip of the pedipalp is complicated, it becomes a reservoir for spermatozoa at the mating season, and is used to transfer them into the female, where they fertilise the eggs just prior to the eggs being laid. In the main the pedipalps are organs of touch, with very sensitive tactile qualities.
On the top of the head are several pairs of simple short-sighted eyes. From the region corresponding to the thorax there arise four pairs of seven-jointed legs, ending in minute curved claws, by means of which spiders grip the surface on which they creep. At the end of the abdomen there are between four and six minute appendages transformed into spinnerets, from which the silken threads emerge. Each spinneret resembles the rose of a watering-can, and contains numerous minute tubes known as spinning-spools through which the silk issues. There may be hundreds of these spinning-spools and each is connected with an internal gland which produces the silk. The gland is enclosed in a muscular envelope, the contraction of which acting like a syringe, forces the liquid silk down a duct and out at the spinning-spool. There are sometimes three kinds of glands, producing different kinds of silk, and it rests with the spider to use more or fewer at one time, thereby adjusting the thickness of the thread produced. The thread is a fusion of many jets of liquid silk, which solidifies instantly it is exposed to the air.
A small minority of spiders breathe by two pairs of lung-books; all the rest breathe by two lung-books and by two or four tracheae like those of insects. The air enters the compartments of the lung-books through an external slit flush with the skin. In the partitions between the compartments of the lung-books the blood circulates and is purified.
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Spider Beetles is the common name for insects of the family Ptinidae, order Coleoptera, so named from their appearance which resembles a spider with three pairs of long legs. The adults frequently live on dry substances, while the larvae develop chiefly in grain, cereal products and dried plant material before tunnelling into harder material to pupate.
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The Spider Monkey (Ateles) is a genus of American monkeys of the family Cebidae. The Spider Monkeys are notable for their attenuated limbs, slender bodies, and long prehensile tails. Marvellously agile, they swing from bough to bough, making use of their prehensile tail. There are a number of species found between Mexico and Uruguay, and in Brazil they are a traditional part of the diet of the natives.
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In botany, a spike is a form of inflorescence in which the flowers are all stalkless, and attached to a common, elongated axis.
Spike was an old alternative name for the plant lavender.
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Spikenard or nard (Nardostachys jatamansi) is a perennial herb of the natural order Valerianaceae, native to the Himalayas. It has a short, thick, very fragrant, spindle-shaped rootstock. The leaves are lance-shaped or spoon-shaped and tufted. The flowers are small, rosy-purple in colour and gathered into dense heads.
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Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is an annual herb of the natural order Chenopodiaceae native to the Orient, and introduced into Britain around 1568. Spinach is cultivated as a vegetable, the leaves being eaten.
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The Spinach moth (Eulithis mellinata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 27 and 30 mm found locally throughout the whole Palaearctic flying from June to July.
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The Spindle Ermine (Yponomeuta cagnatella) is a moth of the family Yponomeutidae with a wing span of between 20 and 25 mm found in Europe flying from June to July in sparse deciduous forests and shrubby undergrowth, on wastelands, shrubby hillsides and beside roads.
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The spindle tree or wahoo tree (Euonymus eruopaeus) is a small tree of the natural order Celastraceae native to Europe, western Siberia and north Africa. It grows to a height of about six meters, and has smooth grey bark and four-angled twigs. The opposite, lance-shaped leaves have obscurely toothed edges, and the flowers are minute and greenish-white in colour. The fruit is a four-lobed capsule of a crimson hue, which opens to disclose the orange jackets of the few large seeds. The timber is hard and used for making small articles.
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Spinifex (Porcupine Grass, Triodia irritans) is a coarse Australian grass growing in tufts to around one meter high.
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Spinney is the collective noun for a group of trees.
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Spinosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Spinosaurus was about twelve meters long, a carnivore with straight, serrated teeth and a 'sail' that ran down its back supported by spines up to two meters long.
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Spiraea isa large genus of perennial herbs and shrubs of the natural order Rosaceae, natives of the northern temperate and cold regions. The British species include dropwort and meadow sweet.
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The Spiti is an Indian breed of pony developed in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh. The Spiti stands 12 hands high, may be grey, dun, chestnut or brown and is of a good-natured but spirited temperament. The Spiti has stamina and endurance and is used as a packhorse.
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Spleenwort (Ceterach officinarum) also known as rusty-back, scale-fern, finger-fern and milt-waste is a fern of the family Aspleniaceae, natural order Polypodiaceae. Most of the species are tropical, but some are native to Europe and western Asia. The fronds grow in a tuft from rocks and masonry, each being narrow-lanced-shaped, the two sides cut into semi-elliptic lobes. They are of a leathery consistencw, the upper side green and smooth, the underside shaggy with long chaffy scales, which are silvery on the younger frond, red-brown on the mature. The fern curls up and appears withered in dry weather, but expands again in moisture.
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Spondias are a genus of tropical trees belonging to the family Anacardiaceae. They bear small flowers, followed by fleshy drupes. The principal species are Spondias lutea, the so called golden apple or Jamaican plum and Spondias dulcis, the sweet Tahiti Apple or Otaheite apple.
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Spondylis is a genus of comparatively small longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), up to about 25 mm long, and active at night.
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Sponges (Porifera) are a group of simple animals. They possess a porous ' spongy' texture and no definite external organs or form. They vary in shape and hardness. The sponge body consists of a mass of cells of various kinds forming a delicate tissue, and this is supported on a skeleton of minute rods, or spicules, of calcite, silica or of a horny organic substance.
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The spongilla is a member of the demospongia class.
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The spoonbill (Plataleidae) is a family of stork-like wading birds with very wide and flat bills. They are found near shallow, fresh water in most parts of the world except northern Europe, Asia and America.
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A spore is a reproductive cell that can develop into an individual without first fusing with another reproductive cell. Plants, fungi, bacteria, and some Protozoa produce spores. A spore may develop into an organism resembling the parent or into another stage in the life cycle, either immediately or after a period of dormancy. In plants showing alternation of generations, spores are formed by the sporophyte generation and give rise to the gametophyte generation. In ferns, the rows of brown reproductive structures on the under-surface of the fronds are spore producing bodies.
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Sporozoa are a class of Phylum Protozoa. They are parasitic Protozoa propagated by spores.
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Spots (formerly known as spotted swine) is a breed of domestic swine. The present day Spots descend from the Spotted hogs which trace a part of their ancestry to the original Poland China, which consisted of six separate breeds and was referred to as the 'Warren County Hog' of Ohio. One such breed imported into Ohio in the early 1880's was a breed called the 'Big China', which was mostly white in colour, but having some black spots. They were good feeders, matured early, were very prolific and produced these characteristics in their offspring. Three men from Indiana, brought boars and sows back from Ohio to cross with their own good hogs; and thus developed a breed all their own from this background which kept the characteristic colour of large black and white spots.
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The Spotted Clover (Protoschinia scutosa) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 30 and 35 mm found in warmer parts of Europe and Asia and also as a migrant visitor to other parts.
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The spotted eagle (Aquila naevia) is an eagle found in south and east Europe, Egypt and other parts of Africa. The plumage is light or dark brown, brighter towards the tail and thighs. The beak is black and the cere and feet yellow. The spotted eagle is about sixty centimetres in length and feeds on water-fowl, snakes, fish and larger insects as well as occasionally rabbits and hares.
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The Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma) is a species of brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) found in northern Africa, across Europe to central Asia.
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The Spotted Sulphur (Emmelia trabealis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 18 and 20 mm distributed across the Palaearctic zone in treeless areas such as meadows and steppes. Two generations are produced flying from May to June and the second from July to August.
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The sprat (Clupea sprattus) is an edible fish of the herring family found around the coast of Britain. They are about ten centimetres long and similar to the herring, but are distinguished by having seven rays in the pelvic fin in place of the herring's nine, the edge of the belly being narrow instead of blunt, and bearing strong sharp spines.
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Spring is the collective noun for a group of teals.
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The Spring Usher (Agriopis leucophaeria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 23 and 28 mm found in warmer parts of Europe and in Asia Minor and Asia flying during the spring.
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The springbok (Gazella euchore) is a species of gazelle found in South Africa. The springbok stands about 75 cm high, and has cinnamon-yellow coloured hair with white under parts and a line of white hair along its back. The horns are lyre-shaped and about 35 cm long. The springbok is noted for its high bounds when running.
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Spruce is a popular name in Britain for the Norway Spruce (Picea excelsa). The Norway Spruce was introduced into Britain some time prior to 1548. It attains a height in excess of thirty meters, and while it is farmed for timber in some countries, in Britain it is generally grown for ornamentation.
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The Spruce Carpet (Thera variata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 18 and 25 mm found in Europe and Asia in spruce forests. One or two generations are produced flying from May to September.
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Spurge is a genus of plants of the order Euphorbiaceae. They are natives of all except the extremely cld climates. The British spurges are all herbaceous, and remarkable for the singular structure of their flowers which are green, and their milky juice. Many spurges are succulent like cacti. A few have conspicuous flowers, but in some species, notably Poinsettia, they have yellow blossoms surrounded by brilliant red coloured bracts.
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The Spurge Hawkmoth (Hyles euphorbiae) is a species of moth of the family Sphingidae with a wing span of between 55 and 75 mm found in central and southern Europe, and western Asia east to India. Once an abundant moth, the species has now become extinct in many areas and now only really survives in the south, migrating northwards. One or two generations are produced each year flying from May to August.
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A squab is a young bird, especially a young pigeon.
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The Squamata is the lizards, amphibaenians and snakes order of reptiles. The lower border of the lower temporal vacuity is incomplete and the body is covered by horny scales. These animals live in warmer climates.
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The Square-Spot Dart (Euxoa obelisca) is a moth of the family Noctuidae found mainly in dry, sandy and limestone biotopes flying in August and September.
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The Square-Spotted Rustic (Xestia xanthographa) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of about 35 mm found in the warmer regions of central Europe, southern Europe Asia Minor and Iran in steppes and forest-steppes where it flies from August to September.
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Squash (Cucurbita Melopepo) is a gourd cultivated in America as an article of food.
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