Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

249 results found

kinkajou

(Encyclopedia)kinkajou kĭngˈkəjo͞oˌ [key], nocturnal, arboreal mammal, Potos flavus, found from Mexico to Brazil and related to the raccoon. It has a long, slender body with soft, short, woolly hair of any of ...

cape buffalo

(Encyclopedia)cape buffalo, species of short-haired African ungulate, or hoofed mammal, Syncerus caffer. The cape, or African, buffalo may reach 7 ft (2.1 m) in length, weigh more than 1,500 lb (670 kg), and reach ...

takin

(Encyclopedia)takin təkēnˈ [key], hoofed mammal, Budorcas toxicolor, found in Asia, most closely related to the musk ox. The takin is oxlike in build and may reach a shoulder height of 31⁄2 ft (107 cm). It has...

fish, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Anatomy of a ray-finned fish fish, limbless aquatic vertebrate animal with fins and internal gills. Traditionally the living fish have been divided into three class: the primitive jawless fish...

vicuña

(Encyclopedia)vicuña vĭko͞oˈnyə, vĭkyo͞oˈnə [key], wild South American hoofed mammal, Vicugna vicugna, the smallest member of the camel family. It is 30 in. (75 cm) high at the shoulder, with a long, slend...

tanuki

(Encyclopedia)tanuki or raccoon dog, omnivorous mammal, Nyctereutes Procyonoides, of the dog family, native to the forests of E Asia. The tanuki is similar in appearance to a dog but has black, masklike facial mark...

zorilla

(Encyclopedia)zorilla, small, carnivorous, nocturnal mammal, Ictonyx striatus, of the weasel family, found in dry regions of Africa. It is also called striped weasel and striped polecat. Although it strongly resemb...

Rocky Mountain goat

(Encyclopedia)Rocky Mountain goat, hoofed ruminant mammal, Oreamnos americanus, found in the high mountains of S Alaska, W Canada, and the extreme NW United States. Although it is not a true goat it belongs to the ...

pika

(Encyclopedia)pika pīˈkə [key], short-haired mammal related to rabbits and hares, also called mouse hare and rock rabbit. Pikas live above the timber line in the mountains of N Asia and W North America. The pika...

cyclosis

(Encyclopedia)cyclosis sīklōˈsĭs [key], streaming of cytoplasm within a living cell without deformation of the external cell membrane. In some plant cells there is a rapid rotatory cytoplasmic movement, which i...