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Blaeu, Willem Janszoon

(Encyclopedia)Blaeu, Willem Janszoon vĭˈləm yänˈsōn blou [key], 1571–1638, Dutch cartographer and printer. He studied astronomy and instrument making under the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. The printing es...

surfperch

(Encyclopedia)surfperch, any member of the family Embiotocidae, a large family of spiny-finned, carnivorous fishes of the perch order. Also known as seaperches and surf fish, most surfperches are found off sandy sh...

Thomson, Sir John Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Thomson, Sir John Arthur, 1861–1933, Scottish naturalist and writer. From 1899 to 1930 he was Regius professor of natural history at the Univ. of Aberdeen. In 1924 he lectured at Union Theological S...

sea mouse

(Encyclopedia)sea mouse, marine worm of the genus Aphrodite with a short, broad, segmented body, found in moderately deep water. The upper, or dorsal, surface of a sea mouse bears 15 pairs of raised scales; the spa...

Revillagigedo Islands

(Encyclopedia)Revillagigedo Islands or Revillagigedo Archipelago rāvēˈyähēhāˈᵺō [key], volcanic island group in the Pacific Ocean, c.450 mi (720 km) W of Colima state and S of Baja California, Mexico. The...

Portales, Diego

(Encyclopedia)Portales, Diego dyāˈgō pôrtäˈlās [key], 1793–1837, Chilean statesman. Founder of constitutional order and of the conservative regime in Chile, he was general minister (1830–31) and minister...

Virgin Islands National Park

(Encyclopedia)Virgin Islands National Park, 14,689 acres (5,949 hectares), St. John, Virgin Islands; est. 1956. The park, with beaches, coves, and headlands, is rich in tropical-plant, animal, and marine life. Bord...

Ectoprocta

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Bugula, a moss animal, representative of the phylum Ectoprocta Ectoprocta ĕkˌtəprŏkˈtə [key], phylum of sessile, colonial aquatic animals (commonly known as moss animals or oryonzoans). ...

chart

(Encyclopedia)chart, term referring to maps prepared for marine navigation and for air navigation. All charts show, in some convenient scale, geographic features useful to the navigator, as well as indications of d...

differentiation

(Encyclopedia)differentiation, in biology, series of changes that occur in cells and tissues during development, resulting in their specialization. This, in turn, permits a greater variety of organisms. In plants, ...