Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

72 results found

Protista

(Encyclopedia)Protista prōˌtŏktĭsˈtə [key], in the five-kingdom system of classification, a kingdom comprising a variety of unicellular and some simple multinuclear and multicellular eukaryotic organisms. Pro...

Euglenophyta

(Encyclopedia)Euglenophyta yo͞oˌglənŏfˈətə [key], small phylum (division) of the kingdom Protista, consisting of mostly unicellular aquatic algae. Most live in freshwater; many have flagella and are motile. ...

Pringsheim, Nathanael

(Encyclopedia)Pringsheim, Nathanael nätänˈäĕl prĭngsˈhīm [key], 1823–94, German botanist, one of the founders of the scientific study of algae. He made important discoveries in the morphology and physiolo...

Sargassum

(Encyclopedia)Sargassum särgăsˈəm [key], genus of brown algae that has given its name to the Sargasso Sea, where it is found in great abundance. See Phaeophyta; seaweed. ...

Cohn, Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Cohn, Ferdinand fĕrˈdĕnänt kōn [key], 1828–98, German botanist. He is considered a founder of the science of bacteriology. From his early studies of microscopic life he developed theories of th...

Nägeli, Karl Wilhelm von

(Encyclopedia)Nägeli or Naegeli, Karl Wilhelm von both: kärl vĭlˈhĕlm fən nāˈgəlē [key], 1817–91, Swiss botanist. He was professor at the Univ. of Munich from 1858 and was noted especially for his work ...

springtail

(Encyclopedia)springtail, common name for any of the minute, primitive six-legged arthropods of the order Collembola. The springtail is named for a springlike mechanism on the underside of the abdomen. When at rest...

Dinoflagellata

(Encyclopedia)dinoflagellata dīˌnōflăjˌəlätˈə, –lāˈtə [key], phylum (division) of unicellular, mostly marine algae, called dinoflagellates. In some classification systems this division is called Pyrrh...

periwinkle, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)periwinkle, any of a group of marine gastropod mollusks having conical, spiral shells. Periwinkles feed on algae and seaweed. They are found at the water's edge; out of water, they resist drying by cl...

coral reefs

(Encyclopedia)coral reefs, limestone formations produced by living organisms, found in shallow, tropical marine waters. In most reefs, the predominant organisms are stony corals, colonial cnidarians that secrete an...

Browse by Subject