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mudpuppy

(Encyclopedia)mudpuppy, common name for North American salamanders of the genus Necturus, found in rivers and streams throughout the E United States and SE Canada. The name derives from an erroneous belief that mud...

Office of Price Administration

(Encyclopedia)Office of Price Administration (OPA), U.S. federal agency in World War II, established to prevent wartime inflation. The OPA issued (Apr., 1942) a general maximum-price regulation that made prices cha...

pack rat

(Encyclopedia)pack rat, rodent of the genus Neotoma, of North and Central America, noted for its habit of collecting bright, shiny objects and leaving other objects, such as nuts or pebbles, in their place; also ca...

numbat

(Encyclopedia)numbat nŭmˈbăt [key], small marsupial, of SW Australia, also known as the marsupial anteater. The numbat, Myrmecobius fasciatus, resembles a squirrel in size and general appearance, but is adapted ...

madroño

(Encyclopedia)madroño mədrōnˈyə [key], tree or shrub (Arbutus menziesii) of the family Ericaceae (heath family), native to the Pacific coast of North America and Mexico. It has glossy evergreen leaves, white f...

Lunt, Alfred, and Lynn Fontanne

(Encyclopedia)Lunt, Alfred, 1893–1977, b. Milwaukee, and Lynn Fontanne fŏntănˈ [key], 1887?–1983, b. Essex, England, American acting couple. Lunt made his debut in Boston (1913), toured in vaudeville, and wo...

land tax

(Encyclopedia)land tax, impost levied upon real property. It is sometimes called a real estate tax, especially when assessed against both improved and unimproved land. Probably the earliest direct tax and formerly ...

kinkajou

(Encyclopedia)kinkajou kĭngˈkəjo͞oˌ [key], nocturnal, arboreal mammal, Potos flavus, found from Mexico to Brazil and related to the raccoon. It has a long, slender body with soft, short, woolly hair of any of ...

king snake

(Encyclopedia)king snake, name for a number of species of the genus Lampropeltis, nonvenomous, egg-laying, constricting snakes of North America which show much variation in color and markings. The common king snake...

pitchblende

(Encyclopedia)pitchblende pĭchˈblĕndˌ [key], dark, lustrous, heavy mineral, a source of radium and uranium. Largely natural uranium oxides, triuranium octaoxide (U3O8) and uranium dioxide (UO2), it usually cont...