Charadrius is a genus of birds which includes the lapwing, pratincole and oyster-catcher.
The genus is characterised by a long, slender, straight, or slightly recurvate bill, which is higher than broad at the base, and extremely compressed toward the end; an upper mandible with the dorsal line straight and slightly sloping at the base, somewhat convex beyond the nostrils, then straight and sloping to the point, the ridge broad and flattened as far as the prominence, afterwards extremely narrow, the sides sloping at the base, perpendicular towards the end, the edges rather sharp, the tip abrupt and wedge-shaped; the nasal groove is long and bare; a lower mandible with the angle of moderate length, the dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the sides erect, the edges thin, the tip abrupt and wedged.
The nostrils are sub-basal, linear and near the margin. The head is of a moderate size, ovate with a rounded forehead; the neck is of moderate length; the body compact. The feet are of moderate length, rather stout; the tibia are bare for about a quarter of their length; the tarsus is slightly compressed and covered all round with hexagonal scales; the toes are of moderate length, stout, marginate, flat beneath, webbed at the base, the outer considerably longer than the inner, the first wanting. The claws rather small, arched, moderately compressed and obtuse. The plumage is generally blended and compact on the back. The wings are long and pointed, the first quill being the longest. The tail is short, nearly even, and comprised of twelve feathers. The tongue is short, triangular and fleshy; The Oesophagus is dilated into a fairly large crop; the stomach rectangular, muscular, with the epithelium dense and longitudinally rugous; the intestine is long and rather slender; the coeca is long and nearly cylindrical; the cloaca globular. Research Charadrius
Entomology is the branch of zoology dealing with insects. It was started as a science in 1705 by the publication of Ray's 'Methodus Insectorum'.
The name entomology comes from the Greek entoma, animals 'cut in', the transverse division or segmentation of the body being their most conspicuous feature.
The true insects are those animals of the division Arthropoda or Articulata distinguished from the other classes of the division by the fact that the three divisions
of the body - the head, thorax, and abdomen - are always distinct from one another. There are never more than three pairs of legs in the perfect insect, and these are all borne upon the thorax. Each leg consists of from six to nine joints. The first of these is called the 'coxa,' and is succeeded by a short joint called the 'trochanter.' This is followed by a joint, often of large size, called the 'femur,' succeeded by the 'tibia,' and this has articulated to it the 'tarsus', which may be composed of from one to five joints.
Normally two pairs of wings are present, but one or other may be wanting. The wings are expansions of the sides of the second and third sections of the thorax, and are attached by slender tubes called 'nervures'.
In the beetles the anterior pair of wings becomes hardened so as to form protective cases for the posterior membranous wings, and are called in this condition ' elytra ' or ' wing-cases.' Respiration is effected by means of air-tubes or tracheas, which commence at the surface of the body by lateral apertures called 'stigmata' or 'spiracles,' and ramify through every part of the body.
The head is composed of several segments amalgamated together, and carries a pair of feelers or 'antennae', a pair of eyes, usually compound, and the appendages of the mouth. The thorax is composed of three segments, also amalgamated, but generally pretty easily recognized. The abdominal segments are usually more or less freely movable upon one another, and never carry locomotive limbs; but the extremity is frequently furnished with appendages connected with generation, and which in some cases serve as offensive and defensive weapons (stings).
The organs of the mouth take collectively two typical forms, the masticatory and the suctorial, the former exemplified by the beetles, the latter by the butterflies, in which the mouth is purely for suction. The alimentarycanal consists of the oesophagus or gullet, a crop, a gizzard, a stomach, and an intestine, terminating in a cloaca. There is no regular system of blood vessels ; the most important organ of the circulation is a contractile vessel situated dorsally and called the 'dorsal vessel.' The nervous system is mainly composed of a series of ganglia placed along the ventral aspect of the body and connected by a set of double nerve-cords.
The sexes are in different individuals, and most insects are oviparous. Reproduction is generally sexual, but non-sexual reproduction also occurs. Generally the young are very different from the full-grown insect, and pass through a 'metamorphosis' before attaining the mature stage. When this metamorphosis is complete it exhibits three stages - that of the larva, caterpillar, or grub, that of the pupa or chrysalis, and that of the imago or perfect winged insect.
Insects have been divided into three sections - Ametabola,Hfemimetabola, and Holometabola, according as they undergo no metamorphosis, an incomplete one, or a complete one. The young of the Ametabola differ from the adult only in size. They are all destitute of wings; the eyes are simple and sometimes wanting. The Hemimetabola undergo an incomplete metamorphosis, the larva differing from the imago chiefly in the absence of wings and in size. The pupa is usually active, or if quiescent capable of movement. In the Holometabola the metamorphosis is complete, the larva, pupa, and imago differing greatly from one another in external appearance and habits. The larva is wormlike and the pupa quiescent. The section Ametabola (which in the opinion of many naturalists are scarcely within the pale of the true Insecta) is divided into three orders - Anoplura (lice), Mallophaga (bird-lice), and Thysanura (springtails). The section Hemimetabola comprises the orders Hemiptera (cicadas, bugs, plant-lice, etc), Orthoptera (cockroaches, crickets, grasshoppers, locusts, earwigs, etc), and Neuroptera (dragon-flies, may-flies, white-ants, etc). The Holometabola comprises the orders Aphaniptera (fleas), Diptera (gnats, bot-flies, gad-flies, mosquitos, house-flies, etc), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), Strepsiptera (stylops, minute and parasites), and Coleoptera (ladybirds, glow-worms, cockchafers, weevils, and all of the beetle tribe).
A division is sometimes made into Mandibulate and Haustellate groups, the oral apparatus of the former being adapted for mastication, the latter for imbibition of liquid food. Both types are, however, sometimes modified, and occasionally combined. Research Entomology
Ladybird is the popular name for beetles of the family Coccinellidae. There are many species, over forty in Britain alone, and they vary in colouration from yellow to black. Most are predacious, feeding on plant-sucking insects, especially aphids. When in danger they feign death and may release a foul smelling fluid from an opening between their femur and tibia. Research Ladybird
Platysoma is a genus of beetles of the family Histeridae, found in Europe but not Britain. They have wide tibia with a toothed outer edge, and deep S- shaped grooves on the first pair of tibiae. Both the larvae and the adults feed on bark beetles and fly larvae under bark. Research Platysoma
The anterior tibial veins pass between the tibia and fibula along the leg. These veins receive blood from the knee joint, muscles of the thigh, and upper calf and the join the posterior tibial and the popliteal vein. The veins have numerous valves to assist in the transport of blood against gravity up the leg. Research Anterior Tibial Vein
The astragalus is the upper bone of the foot supporting the tibia; the huckle, ankle, or sling bone. It is a strong irregularly-shaped bone, and is connected with the others by powerful ligaments. Research Astragalus
The biceps femoris (biceps flexor cruris) muscle is included with the hamstring muscle group. The biceps femoris is a large muscle comprised of two heads (two points of attachment to the bone), the long head (caput longum) and the short head (caput breve). The long head originates from the tuberosity of the ischium near the semitendinosus muscle and the short head originates from the linea aspera between the adductor magnus and the vastus lateralis muscles. The two muscles converge to a single tendon and insert in the fibula. This common tendon is located on the outer back corner of the knee and forms the outer hamstring. The long head of the biceps femoris is innervated by the tibial nerve and the short head is innervated by the peroneal nerves. This muscle is supplied by a deep branch of the femoral artery, the profunda femoris. Both heads of the muscle flex the lower leg at the knee joint and rotate the tibia outward. The long head also assists with the extension and outward rotation of the thigh at the hip joint, making it a two-joint muscle, while the short head is a single-joint muscle. Research Biceps Femoris
The anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments connect the inner surfaces of the head of the femur with the head of the tibia. They are so named because they cross each other, with the anterior ligament extending from the inside of the lateral condyle of the femur to the medial side of the tibial head, and the posterior ligament extending from the inside of the medial condyle of the femur to the lateral side of the tibial head. Research Cruciate Ligaments
The long, thin extensor digitorum longus muscle actually consists of four combined bellies and their tendons. The belly arises from the lateral condyle of the tibia and the front edge of the fibula and extends about three-fourths of the way down the lower leg. The four tendons lie close to each other and appear as one tendon that continues down to the front of the ankle. When the tendons reach the back of the foot they separate and extend to the middle and distalphalanges (bones) of the toes two through five. The muscle is innervated by deep branches of the peroneal nerves and supplied by branches of the anterior tibial artery. The
extensor digitorum longus extends the toes (separates the toes) and bends the foot toward the leg. The tendons may clearly be seen on the top of the foot when the toes are extended. Research Extensor Digitorum Longus
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Charadrius
