I is the ninth letter and the third vowel of the English alphabet, in which it represents not only several vowel sounds but also the consonantal sound of y.The two principal sounds represented by it in English are the short sound as in pit, pin, fin, and the long as in pine, fine, wine, the latter being really a diphthongal sound. It has also three other sounds: that heard in first, dirk (e, the neutral vowel); that heard in machine, intrigue (which, however, can scarcely be considered a modern English sound); and the consonant sound heard in many words when it precedes a vowel, as in million, opinion, trunnion. I and J were formerly regarded as one character. Research I
Angler is any of an order of fishes Lophiiformes, with flattened body and broad head and jaws. Many species have small, plant-like tufts on their skin. These act as camouflage for the fish as it waits, either floating among seaweed or lying on the sea bottom, twitching the enlarged tip of the threadlike first ray of its dorsal fin to entice prey. There are over 200 species of angler fish, living in both deep and shallow water in temperate and tropical seas. The males of some species have become so small that they live as parasites on the females.
The British species, Lophius piscatorius is also from its habits and appearance called the Fishing-frog and Sea-devil. It is a remarkable fish often coasts. It is from 1 to 1.5 metres long; the head is very wide, depressed, with protuberances, and bearing long separate movable tendrils; the mouth is capacious, and armed with formidable teeth. Its voracity is extreme, and it is said to lie concealed in the mud, and attract the smaller fishes within its reach by gently waving the filamentous appendages on its head. Research Angler
The Atlantic Cownose Ray (Rhinoptera bonasus) is a fish of the family Rhinopteridae with wide and falcate pectoral fins about 210 cm wide from edge to edge, a bulbous head with a concave leading edge resembling a cow's nose, a single dorsal finpresent at the base of the tail which is long and whipl-ike. The dorsum is generally a mid to dark brown colour, the ventrum pale with dusky pectoral fin tips. Atlantic cownosed rays are to be found in the eastern AtlanticOcean from Mauritania, Senegal, and Guinea to the western AtlanticOcean from New England to Brazil, where they swim singulary or in schools using their pectoral fins to stir-up the sediment and find ,olluscs and crustaceans to eat. Research Atlantic Cownose Ray
Axolotl are salamanders of the genus Amblystoma found in North America. The Axolotl is a stoutly-built lizard-like animal, about 25 cm long, dark grey in colour with black spots. The tail is flattened and has a semi-transparent membranous fin. The head is flat and broad and has three feathery gills on each side. The Axolotl retain many larval characteristics, but can develop into full adults in certain conditions. In Mexico they were eaten as a delicacy by the native Indians. Research Axolotl
Bec-fin is the French name for various small birds of the family Muscicapidae, order Passeriformes. It includes such thin-billed birds as the stone-chat and hedge sparrow or dunnock. Research Bec-fin
The blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) is a generally harmless shark - though they can be dangerous to divers when the sharks are feeding - found in most parts of the world, growing to about 280 cm long. The blacktip shark is characterised by a black tip to the dorsal fin, pectoral fins and lower lobe of the tail fin. The blacktip shark feeds on small schooling fish such as sardines, anchovies and menhaden and also bottom-dwelling fish, crustaceans and squid. The blacktip shark is grey or grey-brown in colour with a white under belly. The snout is long and parabolic with the eyes on the side of the head near the mouth's leading edge. Research Blacktip Shark More pictures of Blacktip Shark
The bream (Abramis brama) is a fresh water fish allied to and belonging to the carp family Cyprinidae. It is about 70 cm long, of a yellowish-white colour, and distinguished by its compressed and elevated body, the short dorsal fin, and the absence of barbells on the mouth. There are seven European species, two of which are British, the common bream and the white bream. Some species occur sporadically in salt-water, and they are often found in stagnant and slow-moving water. It is found in many European lakes and rivers, and affords good sport to the angler, but is a very coarse and insipid food. It prefers still water with a bottom of soft soil, and feeds both on animal and vegetable matter. It is little known in Scotland, though common in many parts of England and Ireland. The name is also given to various kinds of sea-fishes, mostly of the family Sparidae, as the black sea-bream, the common sea-bream or gilthead, the abort sea-bream, etc. Research Bream
The broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus) is a rather rare shark found in the temperate regions of the South Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean at depths down to about 135 metres. The broadnose sevengill shark grows to about three metres long, and is characterised by seven pairs of gill slits and a single, small dorsal fin. It has a wide head and a blunt snout and small eyes. It is silvery grey to brownish black on the back and sides speckled with numerous small dark and white spots, with a pale underside. The broadnose sevengill shark feeds on other sharks, rays, fish, seals and carrion. Research Broadnose Sevengill Shark
The carp (Cyprinus) is a genus of soft-finned fresh water fish distinguished by a small mouth, toothless jaws and gills of three flat rays. They have a single dorsal fin and fairly large scales. Research Carp
Cephaloptera are a genus of cartilaginous fishes of the ray family. They have a pair of small fins which stand out from the head like horns, hence they are called the fin-headed rays or horned rays. Research Cephaloptera
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research I
