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taxon

(Encyclopedia)taxon (pl. taxa), in biology, a term used to denote any group or rank in the classification of organisms, e.g., class, order, family. ...

Dewey, Melvil

(Encyclopedia)Dewey, Melvil, 1851–1931, American library pioneer, originator of the Dewey decimal system, b. Adams Center, N.Y., grad. Amherst (B.A., 1874; M.A., 1877). A man of originality and of enormous energy...

subspecies

(Encyclopedia)subspecies, also called race, a genetically distinct geographical subunit of a species. See also classification. ...

Hamitic languages

(Encyclopedia)Hamitic languages, subfamily of the Hamito-Semitic family of languages, a now-abandoned system of classification for languages of N Africa and SW Asia. The Egyptian, Berber, Cushitic, and (sometimes) ...

Fabricius, Johan Christian

(Encyclopedia)Fabricius, Johan Christian yōhănˈ krĭsˈtyän fäbrēˈsyo͝os [key], 1745–1808, Danish entomologist. Influenced by the methods of Linnaeus, under whom he studied, he devised a system of classif...

Fries, Elias Magnus

(Encyclopedia)Fries, Elias Magnus ĕlēˈäs mängˈnəs frēs [key], 1794–1878, Swedish botanist. He taught (1834–59) at the Univ. of Uppsala. Fries originated the modern classification of fungi and lichens. H...

Leuckart, Karl Georg Friedrich Rudolf

(Encyclopedia)Leuckart, Karl Georg Friedrich Rudolf kärl gāˈôrk frēˈdrĭkh ro͞oˈdôlf loiˈkärt [key], 1823–98, German zoologist, a founder of the science of parasitology. He made important discoveries i...

Eichler, August Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Eichler, August Wilhelm ouˈgo͝ost vĭlˈhĕlm īkhˈlər [key], 1839–87, German botanist. He worked out the symmetry of the parts of a flower and developed a system of plant classification which, ...

coast

(Encyclopedia)coast, land bordering an ocean or other large body of water. The line of contact between the land and water surfaces is called the shoreline. It fluctuates with the waves and tides. Sometimes the term...

Richardson, Ernest Cushing

(Encyclopedia)Richardson, Ernest Cushing, 1860–1939, American librarian and bibliographer, b. Woburn, Mass. He was assistant librarian at Amherst (1879–80), librarian and professor of bibliology at Hartford The...