The SelectWare System Volume 5 #4/The SelectWare System Volume 5 #4.iso/mammals/i/glossary

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  Glossary

   "Mammals: A Multimedia Encyclopedia" may contain words that are new to you.
Their meanings are explained below. Knowing what these words mean may help you
to better understand the encyclopedia and other books about animals.

    adapt - to become suited to surroundings. Animals adapt to changes in
environment over many generations.

    aestivate - to spend the hot months in a sleeplike state. While
aestivating, an animal breathes more slowly and has a lower body temperature
and slower heart rate than while active.

   amphibians - cold-blooded vertebrates, such as frogs, toads, and
salamanders. Amphibians spend part of their lives in the water and part on
land.

    antlers - a pair of solid bony forms on the heads of most species of male
deer. Antlers sprout, continue to grow, and fall off every year. Female caribou
also grow antlers.

    arboreal - living in trees.

    artiodactyl - the name of an order of mammals. Artiodactyls are hoofed
mammals with an even number of toes on each foot.

    bachelor herd - a group formed by young male animals and males without
territories. Bachelor herds are common among many kinds of hoofed mammals.

    baleen - plates of hard, flexible material, with fringed inner edges, that
grow from the upper jaws of some whales. Baleen plates serve as strainers. They
allow water to pass through a whale's mouth, but they trap small animals for
food.

    blowhole - the opening of the nostril or nostrils on the top of the head of
a whale or dolphin, through which the animal breathes air.

    blubber - the fat of whales and other large marine mammals. A layer of
blubber keeps the mammals warm in the water.

    brachiate - to swing with the arms in a hand-over-hand movement from one
hold--often a branch or a vine--to another.

    breaching - leaping clear of the water. Whales and dolphins breach.

    breed - to mate and produce young. Also, a breed is a group of domestic
animals of one species in which certain characteristics, such as size, color,
and type of hair, have been developed and maintained by humans.

    browse - to feed on the leaves, twigs, and young shoots of shrubs and
trees.

    brush - a growth of small trees or shrubs.

    burrow - a hole in the ground often dug by an animal and used as a place to
live, to hide, and to bear young.

    bush - an area covered with low shrubby plants.

    camouflage - a disguise, such as body coloring, that helps an animal blend
in with its surroundings.

    captivity - the state of being confined, as when an animal is kept in a
zoo or an animal park.

    carnivore - the name of an order of mammals. "Carnivore" means "meat
eater," and carnivores usually catch and eat prey, have specialized, sharp
teeth for tearing flesh, and often have claws. Other animals--including
humans--that eat meat are described as carnivorous but are not members
of the order zoologists call carnivores.

    cetacean - the name of an order of mammals. Cetaceans--whales and
dolphins--spend their whole lives in water and breathe through blowholes.

    chiropteran - the name of an order of mammals. Chiropterans are bats, the
only mammals that have true wings and really fly.

    cud - a wad of partly chewed and digested food brought up to the mouth
from the stomach of certain hoofed mammals. The cud is chewed again, swallowed,
and then digested completely.

    den - a hollow space that an animal uses as a place to live, to hide, and
to bear young.

    dermopteran - means "skin wing" and is the name of an order of mammals.
The colugo--the only dermopteran--has unusual comb-shaped teeth and glides from
tree to tree by stretching well-developed folds of skin that extend from the
sides of its neck to all four feet and its tail.

    desert - a dry, generally treeless region that usually receives less than
10 inches (25 cm) of precipitation a year. A desert may be hot or cold.

    displays - actions that serve as signals to other animals. Animals may use
displays to attract mates. Displays may also help to ward off enemies and to
show how important or strong an animal is to the other animals in its group.

    diurnal - active during the day.

    domestic or domesticated animals - animals, such as dogs, cats, cattle, or
sheep, that have been tamed by humans.

    dorsal fin - a fin on the top side (the back) of a cetacean or fish.

    echolocation - a system by which an animal sends out beeps or pulses of
high-pitched sounds and listens for the echoes that bounce back when the
sounds hit an object. Bats, porpoises, solenodons, whales, and some shrews
use echolocation to find their way, to avoid obstacles, and to detect prey.

    edentate - the name of an order of mammals. "Edentate" means without teeth,
but two kinds of edentates, armadillos and sloths, have tiny teeth. The third
edentate, the anteater, is truly toothless.

    endangered - reduced in numbers to the point of near extinction.

    environment - surroundings, including air, land, water, and living things.

    exotic - introduced from another country, not native to the place where it
is found.

    extinct - no longer in existence.

    feral animal - an animal, now living in the wild, that was once domestic or
had ancestors that were once domestic.

    flipper - a broad, flat limb used for swimming. Seals, dolphins, whales,
and some other aquatic mammals have flippers.

    flukes - tail fins or the flattened parts of a whale's tail.

    food chain - a sequence of plants and animals providing food for members
of a community. Plants make their own food and are eaten by plant-eating
animals. These animals are consumed by meat-eating animals. For example, a
mouse eats grass. A weasel eats the mouse. A hawk eats the weasel.

    forest - an area with thickly growing trees and underbrush.

    freeze - to become very still.

    grassland - an area covered with grasses and herbs.

    graze - to feed on grasses and herbs.

    groom - to clean the skin and hair by removing dirt and insects. For many
animals, grooming one another is important in maintaining the social relations
of their group.

    guard hairs - long, coarse hairs that cover and protect an animal's soft,
thick underfur.

    habitat - the terrain in which an animal lives naturally, such as a desert,
a forest, a grassland, or a swamp.

    harem - a social group consisting of an adult male, at least two adult
females, and their not yet adult offspring.

    herd - a group of wild or domestic animals of one or more kinds that feed
and travel together.

    hibernate - to spend the cold months in a sleeplike state. While
hibernating, an animal breathes more slowly and has a lower body temperature
and slower heart rate than while active.

    home range - the entire area where an animal lives.

    hoof - a hard fingernail-like covering on the lower part of the foot of
certain mammals, such as horses and deer.

    horn - a hard growth made of a hairlike material that usually forms around
a bony core on the head of some hoofed mammals. (The horn of the rhinoceros
does not have a bony core.) Horns are permanent. Unlike antlers, they do not
fall off and grow back every year.

    hyracoid - the name of an order of mammals, the hyraxes. Hyraxes have
hooflike nails on their toes, and their upper teeth are a little like tusks.

    incubation period - the time during which an animal uses the warmth of its
body to hatch eggs. Female echidnas and platypuses are the only mammals that
lay eggs.

    insectivore - the name of an order of mammals. Most insectivores are small
and have long, narrow snouts and sharp claws that are well suited for finding
insect prey.  Many animals in other orders also eat insects and can be
described as insectivorous.

    invertebrates - animals without backbones, such as jellyfishes, worms,
snails, spiders, and insects.

    krill - small, shrimplike animals found most abundantly in cold waters.
Krill are the main food of baleen whales.

    lagomorph - the name of an order of mammals. "Lagomorph" means "rabbit-
shaped," and the order includes rabbits, hares, and pikas.

    larvae - wormlike forms that hatch from the eggs of many kinds of insects.

    life span - the average or recorded length of time that an animal lives in
the wild or in captivity.

    litter - the offspring born at one time to an animal that usually gives
birth to more than one young.

    macroscelidean - the name of an order of mammals, the elephant shrews.

    mammal - a warm-blooded vertebrate that feeds its young with milk from
special glands in the mother's body. All mammals have some hair on their bodies
at some time during their life.

    mammalogist - a scientist who studies mammals.

    marsh - an area of usually wet land covered with plants, such as grasses,
cattails, and rushes.

    marsupial - the name of an order of mammals. Marsupials give birth to tiny,
underdeveloped young, which usually crawl into the mother's pouch immediately
after birth, attach themselves firmly to a nipple, and stay there, growing and
developing for a month or two before leaving the pouch.

    mating season - the time of year when males and females of the same species
breed.

    membrane - a thin layer of skin.

    migration - the seasonal movement of animals from one place to another.

    molt - to shed hair at certain times of the year.

    monotreme - the name of an order of mammals. Monotremes are the only
egg-laying mammals; their young hatch from leathery, reptilelike eggs.

    native - belonging to or coming from a particular locality.

    nocturnal - active at night.

    nurse - to feed young with milk from special glands in the mother's body.

    nursery herd or cave - a group formed by female animals and their young.
Nursery herds are common among many kinds of hoofed mammals; some bats place
their offspring together in nursery caves.

    offspring - the young of an animal.

    order - a scientific classification that groups together animals that
share certain characteristics. An order is divided into families, genera, and
species.

    perissodactyl - the name of an order of mammals, including tapirs, horses,
and rhinoceroses, that have an odd number of hoofed toes on each foot.

    pholidote - the name of an order of mammals. The pangolin, with large,
horny scales, is the only pholidote.

    pinniped - comes from Latin words that mean "feather foot" and describes
the water-dwelling carnivores whose limbs have evolved into flippers. Some
scientists have classified the pinnipeds--seals, sea lions and walruses--as an
order of mammals, but most scientists classify these mammals as carnivores.

    plain - a large area of treeless land that is either flat or rolling.

    plateau - a large, flat, elevated area of land. A plateau is higher than
the surrounding land on at least one side.

    poacher - a person who hunts illegally.

    poaching - illegal hunting.

    pollinate - to spread pollen grains from one part of a seed plant to
another, enabling the plant to reproduce. Bats, birds, insects, and wind can
all be pollinators.

    prairie - a large area of flat or rolling land with tall, coarse grasses
and few trees.

    predator - an animal that hunts, kills, and feeds on other animals. Wild
cats, for example, are predators of rodents.

    prehensile tail - a tail that can be used for grasping. Some kinds of
monkeys have prehensile tails that can hold on to branches and support their
weight. Binturongs, kinkajous, tree pangolins, and most opossums also have
prehensile tails.

    preserve - a natural area set aside for the protection of animals.

    prey - an animal that is hunted for food; to hunt another animal for food.

    primate - the name of an order of mammals--the order that includes humans.
Primates have the ability to grasp things with either their fingers or their
toes and have flat, hard nails on at least some of their fingers or toes. All
primates have a uniquely shaped bone in each ear; many can see objects three-
dimensionally; and some have highly developed brains.

    proboscideans - the name of an order of mammals created especially for the
elephants. "Proboscis" means nose, and the elephant's nose--its trunk--is
unique. Proboscideans also have hooflike nails.

    quill - a hollow, sharp spine, formed from modified hair.

    rain forest - a tropical area having a heavy annual rainfall. Rain forests
have broad-leaved evergreen trees.

    range - the geographical area where a mammal lives.

    rare - scarce, not plentiful. Zoologists describe species as rare,
vulnerable, or endangered, depending on how threatened they are with
extinction.

    reproduction - the process by which animals produce offspring like
themselves.

    reptiles - air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates--such as snakes,
turtles, and lizards--that are usually covered with scales or bony plates.

    rodent - the name of an order of mammals. Rodents have four chisel-sharp
front teeth--two in the upper and two in the lower jaw--called incisors. They
grow throughout the animal's life and have to be worn down by gnawing.

    root - to dig in the ground with the snout.

    savanna - a grassland in tropical regions that contains scattered trees or
bushes.

    scandentian - the name of an order of mammals. Tree shrews are the only
scandentians.

    scavenger - an animal that feeds on the remains of dead animals that it
finds.

    scent glands - glands in the bodies of some animals that produce a
substance that is often strong smelling.

    scent marks or scent posts - marks made by an animal rubbing its scent
glands against an object. Scent marks or scent posts may also be made by
spraying urine. Animals often use marks to announce their presence, to mark
their territory, and to help find mates.

    scrubland - an area covered with shrubs or stunted trees.

    sirenian - the name of an order of mammals. Sirenians--manatees and
dugongs--have a flattened tail and no hind limbs and spend their entire
lives in water. But they breathe with nostrils, not blowholes.

    solitary - alone. Some mammals spend most of their lives isolated from
other members of their own species.

    species - a group of animals of the same kind that can mate and produce
young like themselves.

    sprint - to run at top speed for a short distance.

    streamlined - shaped to reduce resistance from air or water.

    swamp - an area of wet land covered with trees and shrubs.

    terrain - the physical appearance of an area of land.

    territory - an area that an animal, or a group of animals, lives in and
defends from others of the same species.

    terrestrial - living on the ground.

    threatened - in danger. An animal population may be threatened by
habitat destruction, poaching, or other adverse factors throughout its range.

    tubulidentate - the name of an order of mammals.  The aardvark, with
unusual, tubelike teeth in the back of its jaws, is the only tubulidentate.

    tundra - a relatively flat, treeless plain found in arctic and subarctic
areas. Cold desert is another term for tundra.

    tusks - large teeth that usually stick out when the animal's mouth
is closed. Elephants, walruses, wild boars, and male musk deer have tusks.

    underbrush - bushes, small trees, or shrubs that are found growing among
the tall trees of a forest.

    vertebrates - animals with backbones, such as mammals, birds, fishes,
amphibians, and reptiles.

    vulnerable - likely to become endangered--that is, threatened with
extinction--unless protected by human efforts.

    water hole - a pool where animals gather to drink.

    wetlands - lands that contain marshes, swamps, bogs, or other wet areas.

    widespread - occurring across a wide range. Coyotes, for example, are
widespread--inhabiting various habitats from Alaska to Central America.

    wingspan - the distance from one wing tip to the other when both wings are
extended.

    woodland - a grassland with small trees and shrubs.