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Queensland

(Encyclopedia)Queensland, state (2016 pop. 4,703,193), 667,000 sq mi (1,727,200 sq km), NE Australia. Brisbane is the capital; other important cities are Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville, Rockhampton, Cairns, and ...

Yap

(Encyclopedia)Yap yăp, yäp [key], state (1990 pop. 10,886), c.47 sq mi (121 sq km), in the W Caroline Islands, W Pacific. One of four states comprising the Federated States of Micronesia, the island group was for...

tang, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)tang, common name for certain members of the Acanthuridae, a family of mostly small, mainly reef-dwelling tropical fishes with compressed bodies and small mouths and teeth. Other members of the family...

National Marine Sanctuary Program

(Encyclopedia)National Marine Sanctuary Program, federally owned marine and Great Lakes reserves, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The program consists of 13 marine sanctu...

triggerfish

(Encyclopedia)triggerfish, any of several species of tropical reef fishes with laterally compressed bodies, heavy scales, and tough skins. They are named for the mechanism of the three spines of the dorsal fin: whe...

Valdez

(Encyclopedia)Valdez văldēzˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 4,068), Valdez-Chitina-Whittier census div., S Alaska, at the head of Valdez Arm inside Prince William Sound; inc. 1901. It has tourist and fishing industries,...

Spratly Islands

(Encyclopedia)Spratly Islands, group of about 100 low islands and coral reefs in the central South China Sea, intersecting busy shipping lanes. The whole group is claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and parts ar...

angelfish

(Encyclopedia)angelfish, common name for certain members of the Pomacanthidae, a family of brightly colored reef-dwelling tropical fishes with compressed bodies and small mouths and teeth. They were formerly classi...

giant clam

(Encyclopedia)giant clam, common name for the largest bivalve mollusk in the world, Tridacna gigas, also known as the bear's paw clam. The giant clam may weigh over 500 lb (225 kg) and attain a length of over 4 ft ...

sea slug

(Encyclopedia)sea slug, name for a marine gastropod mollusk that lacks a shell as an adult and is usually brightly colored. Sea slugs, or nudibranchs, are distributed throughout the world, with the greatest numbers...

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