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Definitions, Animals Amphibians: animals that first start in water; frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians Anthropoids: non-human primates; monkeys, apes and hominids Appendages: external body parts (arms, legs, limbs, etc...) attached to something larger Aquatic: animals that are mainly or only in water; examples such as sharks, whales, alligators, seals, etc... (see water creatures) Arthropod: jointed legs; invertebrate having jointed appendages and a segmented body with an exoskeleton made of chitin Bipedal: two legged (limb) posture and/or travel Bird: feathered animal (see fowl) Borne: feature; resemblence Bovids {boh'-vids}: bovines; herbivores; eaters of plant material; ruminant; cud-chewers Canines {K-9s}: various fissiped mammals with nonretractile claws and typically long muzzles Carnivores {kahr'-nih-vors}: terrestrial (animals with four or five clawed digits on each limb) or aquatic flesh-eating mammals; insectivorous plants are considered carnivores Chitin: a tough semitransparent horny substance; principal component of the exoskeletons of arthropods Cock: male bird especially of domestic fowl Coelenterates {suh-len'-tur-ayt}: one of the major groups of invertebrate animals; approximately 9,000 living species; phylum Coelenterata "hollow gut"; an alternative and more recent name for phylum is Cnidaria "nettle", both names refer to important attributes of the group; possess an internal gastrovascular cavity and the ability to sting their prey or enemies; most coelenterates, such as hydroids, the sea anemone and the various types of coral, are sedentary and marine; jellyfish, however, are modified for swimming; hydras, although sedentary, commonly inhabit fresh water Crocodilians {krah-kuh-dil-ee-yan}: a group of reptiles that (alligator, crocodile, caiman, gavial} having long jaws, a long tail and short legs Dinosaurs {dy-nuh'-sores}: ("Terrible lizards"); extinct reptile-like bird-mammals
Ectothermic: cold-blooded and dependent on external heat sources Endothermic: maintaining body temperature and heat production by internal metabolic processes Echidnas: is a type of egg-laying mammal; burrowing spine-covered monotreme of Australia and New Guinea having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites Echinoderms {ee-kine'-oh-durms}: are a phylum of marine invertebrate animals that have an internal skeleton composed of pieces of calcium carbonate (calcite ossicles) and a special system of fluid-filled vessels (the water vascular system) that aids in locomotion, feeding and sensory reception; the phylum includes starfish, brittle stars, feather stars, sand dollars, sea cucumbers, sea lillies and sea urchins; 6,000 living species are known Falconry: the art of training falcons and/or hawks to hunt and return Felines: various lithe-bodied round-headed fissiped mammals; many with retractile claws Fissiped: terrestrial carnivores; toes separated to the base; badgers, bears, cats, dogs and raccoons Fowl: domestic cock or hen; bird, its flesh Gastropod {gas'-troh-pahd}: members of the largest and most diverse class in the phylum Mollusca (mollusk); contains about 35,000 living species; including the snail, slug, abalone, welk, periwinkle, limpet and conch; mostly marine, gastropods also common in fresh water and are the only mollusks adapted to a terrestrial existence Hemiptera {hem-ip'-tur-uh}: (hemi, "half," and ptera, "wings") comprises about 25,000 species of true bugs; having mouthparts adapted to piercing and sucking, and most have two pairs of wings Hen: female of domestic fowl and others Herbivores {hur'-buh-vors}: animals that eat mainly plant material
Hominids: extinct species of man-like creatures Homoptera {hohm-ahp'-tur-uh}: order of insects including the aphid, cicada, leafhopper, mealybug, scale insect, whitefly and psyllid; they have sucking mouthparts that arise from the extreme rear lower part of the head; Immature and most adult homopterans suck sap from green plants; when present, the pairs of wings, usually two, are uniform in texture Hymenoptera {hy-muhn-ahp'-tuh-rah}: (hymeno, "god of marriage") third largest insect order (about 108,000 species); includes Ants, Bees and Wasps; lesser-known insects such as the Ichneumon, Flies, Sawflies and Horntails; Chalcids, with no common names at all; winged forms have two pairs of membranous wings, (fore wings and smaller hind wings) held together by tiny hooks functioning as a single unit Insectivores {in-sek'-ti-vors}: animals and plants that feed on insects Insects {in-sek'ts}: see Arthropod; the largest and most diverse class in the animal kingdom; number of described insect species is estimated to be 750,000; actual number of living species is perhaps 3 million; however, insects outnumber all other plant and animal groups; insects have three body divisions (1) head (2) thorax and (3) abdomen; six legs borne on the thorax as an adult; many insects possess wings as adults; their small size, ability to fly, rapid reproductive rate and external skeleton (exoskeleton) provide them with the ability to survive Integument: an outer protective covering such as a cuticle, seed coat, rind or shell Invertebrate: animals that lack a backbone or notochord Keel: relating to birds; attachment on breastbone for flight muscles Lepidoptera {lep-id-ahp'-tur-uh}: caterpillars, butterflies and moths; probably second largest insect order (about 113,000 species); undergo complete metamorphosis during their lifetimes; most adults have two pairs of wings covered with patterns, often different-colored scales; larvae (caterpillars) have chewing mouthparts and mostly feed on plants; most adults bear a coiled proboscis, which is thrust into flower nectaries when these insects are feeding Lithe: gracefully slender; moving and bending with ease Lizard: reptiles that can snap off their tails (wriggles) when attacked to puzzle enemies and escape, a new tail grows back in a few weeks; most are terrestrial; Marine Iguana is the only one that swims in ocean Mammal: any warm-blooded vertebrate having the skin more or less covered with hair, young are born alive except for the small subclass of monotremes and nourished with milk via suckling Mecoptera {me-kahp'-tur-uh}: "long wings"; order of insects known as scorpion flies; slender insects, mostly 18 to 25 mm (0.7 to 1.0 in) long; chewing type of mouth parts formed into a beak; head has characteristically elongated shape; found in wooded areas of dense vegetation; male genitalia in one family (Panorpidae), are large and curve upward, resembling a scorpion sting; scorpion flies do not bite or sting Mollusks: invertebrate animals comprising the phylum Mollusca; second-largest phylum in the animal kingdom with more than 65,000 living species described; six classes, the most familiar are Pelecypoda, or bivalves, include clams, mussels, oysters and scallops; Gastropods, include slugs and snails; Cephalopoda include octopus and squid Monotreme: the most primitive mammals comprising the only extant members of the subclass Prototheria Neuroptera {nuh-rahp'-tuh-ruh}: neuro, "nerve"; ptera, "wings"; order of insects containing about 4,300 species; includes lacewings, antlions, alderflies and dobsonflies; these soft-bodied insects have four similar membranous wings with many-branched veins; many are predaceous in immature and adult forms and use sucking mouthparts Nocturnal: active during the night Notochord: flexible rod-like structure that forms the supporting axis of the body Omnivores {ahm'-nuh-vors}: animals that eat both animal and vegetable substances Orthoptera: grasshoppers, locusts and crickets Passerine: relates to perching birds living near ground having 4 toes arranged to allow for gripping a perch Perch: relates to a resting spot for birds such as a branch or rod Platypus: duck-billed platypus or duck mole; egg-laying mammal of eastern Australia Plover: shorebird with a compact build straight beak and large pointed wings; sandpiper relative Plumage: delicate, fine, light and silky body covering; birds colorfully unique feathers Poultry: domestic fowls Predaceous: predatory Prehensile {prė'hen-syl}: said of some animals tails (monkeys); adapted for grasping by wrapping around an object Proboscis: long flexible snout as of an elephant; also the human nose especially when it is large; projection Prototheria: echidnas; platypus Quadrupedal: four legged (limb) posture and/or travel Taxonomically: classification of plants and animals into groups based on similarities of structure Terrestrial: refer to animals with four or five clawed digits on each limb Ratite: flightless birds with a flat breastbone lacking a keel, such as ostriches, cassowarries, emus, moas, rheas, kiwis and elephant birds Reptiles: cold-blooded animals with a bony skeleton and scaly skin; most lay eggs which hatch on land; some give live birth; crocodilian, lizards, snakes and turtles; Ruminants: any of various cud-chewing hoofed mammals having a stomach divided into four (occasionally three) compartments; such as antelope, camels, cattle, chevrotains, deer, giraffes, goats, llamas, pigs and sheep Sedentary: forced by illness to lead an inactive life; lethargic; sluggish Segment: one of several pieces or parts that fit with others constituting a whole object Snakes: shedding reptiles with no usable limbs and no eyelids (transparent scale protects eyes); venomous, non-venomous and constrictors; jaws dislodge to swallow large meals; most are loners Transparent: able to see through Turtles: aquatic reptiles with a protective shell (if damaged slowly heals); have no teeth, but their horny beaks have plenty of bite
Ungulates
{uhng'-gue-luhts}:
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