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spoonbill

(Encyclopedia)spoonbill, common name for a large wading bird related to the ibis. It has a long bill with a tip like a flattened spoon, with which it captures small aquatic animals. The roseate spoonbill, Ajaia aja...

stonefly

(Encyclopedia)stonefly, any insect of the order Plecoptera. North American species, of which there are more than 200, are yellowish, greenish, or brownish in the adult stage and have transparent wings, usually two ...

diatom

(Encyclopedia)diatom dīˈətŏmˌ, –tōmˌ [key], unicellular organism of the kingdom Protista, characterized by a silica shell of often intricate and beautiful sculpturing. Most diatoms exist singly, although s...

neoteny

(Encyclopedia)neoteny nēŏtˈənē [key], in biology, sexual maturity reached in the larval stage of some animals. Certain environmental conditions can inhibit the completion of metamorphosis; low temperature or l...

arrowhead

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Broad-leaved arrowhead, Sagittaria latifolia arrowhead, any plant of the genus Sagittaria, widely distributed marsh or aquatic herbs of the primitive family Alismataceae (water-plantain family...

Sudd

(Encyclopedia)Sudd so͝od [key], swampy region, c.200 mi (320 km) long, and c.150 mi (240 km) wide, central South Sudan, E central Africa. It is fed by the Bahr el Jebel, the Bahr el Ghazal, and the Bahr el Arab, h...

Venus's-flytrap

(Encyclopedia)Venus's-flytrap, insectivorous or carnivorous bog plant (Dionaea muscipula) native to the Carolina savannas and now widely cultivated as a novelty. The leaves, borne in a low rosette, resemble bear tr...

Xochimilco

(Encyclopedia)Xochimilco sōchēmēlˈkō [key], town (1990 pop. 271,151), Federal District, S central Mexico, suburb of Mexico City. Mainly a commercial and tourist center, it is famous for its canals lined with p...

chamois

(Encyclopedia)chamois shămˈē [key], hollow-horned, hoofed mammal, Rupicapra rupicapra, found in the mountains of Europe and the E Mediterranean. It is about the size of a large goat and is light brown with a bla...

flying lemur

(Encyclopedia)flying lemur, gliding mammal native to the tropical lowland forests of S Asia, Malaya, and the Philippines. Also called the colugo, the flying lemur is brownish or grayish above and paler below. It ra...