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hermit crab

(Encyclopedia)hermit crab, a crustacean distinguished from true crabs by its long, soft, spirally coiled abdomen terminating in an asymmetrically hooked tail. Most hermit crabs protect this vulnerable portion of th...

Ctenophora

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Pleurobrachia, representative of the phylum Ctenophora Ctenophora tĭnŏfˈərə [key], a small phylum of exclusively marine, invertebrate animals, commonly known as comb jellies. Because they...

fluke

(Encyclopedia)fluke, parasitic flatworm of the trematoda class, related to the tapeworm. Instead of the cilia, external sense organs, and epidermis of the free-living flatworms, adult flukes have sucking disks with...

aster

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Cross section of a sunflower, a member of the aster family aster [Gr.,=star], common name for the Asteraceae (Compositae), the aster family, in North America, name for plants of the genus Aste...

porcupine, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)porcupine, member of either of two rodent families, characterized by having some of its hairs modified as bristles, spines, or quills. The quills are loosely attached to the porcupines' skin and pull ...

dwarf tree

(Encyclopedia)dwarf tree, in horticultural practice, a tree artificially kept to a smaller size than is normal for average members of the species. This is usually accomplished either by limiting its root space and ...

chinquapin

(Encyclopedia)chinquapin chĭngˈkəpĭn [key] [Algonquian], name for certain American species of the chestnut genus of the family Fagaceae (beech family) and for a related species, the golden chinquapin (Castanops...

oleaster

(Encyclopedia)oleaster ōˌlēăsˈtər [key], common name for members of the Elaeagnaceae, a family principally of shrubs with leathery leaves and a dense covering of glistening hairs. Most members of the family a...

lily of the valley

(Encyclopedia)lily of the valley, common name for either of the two species of Convallaria, spring-blooming perennials of the family Liliaceae (lily family). C. majalis, the species usually in cultivation, is nativ...

limpet

(Encyclopedia)limpet, marine gastropod mollusk with a simple, flattened, conical shell, found in cooler waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Certain species creep over rocks, feeding on algae during high ...