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Dampier, William

(Encyclopedia)Dampier, William dămˈpēr [key], 1651–1715, English explorer, buccaneer, hydrographer, and naturalist. He fought (1673) in the Dutch War, managed a plantation in Jamaica (1674), and then worked wi...

cladistics

(Encyclopedia)cladistics fīˌlōjənĕtˈĭk [key], an approach to the classification of living things in which organisms are defined and grouped by the possession of one or more shared characteristics (called cha...

Jacobsen, Jens Peter

(Encyclopedia)Jacobsen, Jens Peter yĕns pāˈtər yäˈkôpsən [key], 1847–85, Danish writer. His historical romance Marie Grubbe (1876, tr. 1917) deals with spiritual degeneration in 17th-century Denmark. Jaco...

rhea, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)rhea rēˈə [key], common name for a South American bird of the family Rheidae, which is related to the ostrich. Weighing from 44 to 55 lb (20–25 kg) and standing up to 60 in. (152 cm) tall, the rh...

Lamarck, Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de

(Encyclopedia)Lamarck, Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de zhäN bätēstˈ pyĕr äNtwänˈdə mônāˈ, shəvälyāˈ də lämärkˈ [key], 1744–1829, French naturalist. He is noted for his stud...

paleontology

(Encyclopedia)paleontology pāˌlēəntŏlˈəjē [key] [Gr.,= study of early beings], science of the life of past geologic periods based on fossil remains. Knowledge of the existence of fossils dates back at least...

Tiwi Islands

(Encyclopedia)Tiwi Islands, island group (2016 pop. 2,453), Northern Territory, Australia, c.50 mi (80 km) N of Darwin, in the Timor Sea. Consisting of Bathurst Island and the much larger Melville Island to the eas...

Dilke, Sir Charles Wentworth

(Encyclopedia)Dilke, Sir Charles Wentworth dĭlk [key], 1843–1911, British statesman. A radical leader in the Liberal party, he helped pass the parliamentary Reform Acts of 1884–85 as well as laws giving the mu...