(Encyclopedia) sea star, also called starfish, echinoderm of the class Asteroidae, common in tide pools. Sea stars vary in size from under 1&fslsh;2 in. (1.3 cm) to over 3 ft (90 cm) in diameter…
(Encyclopedia) cockle, common name applied to the heart-shaped, jumping or leaping marine bivalve mollusks, belonging to the order Eulamellibranchia. The brittle shells are of uniform size, are…
(Encyclopedia) Falkland IslandsFalkland Islandsfôkˈlənd [key], Span. Islas Malvinas, group of islands (2015 est. pop. 3,000), 4,618 sq mi (11,961 sq km), S Atlantic, c.300 mi (480 km) E of the Strait…
(Encyclopedia) kangaroo, name for a variety of hopping marsupials, or pouched mammals, of the family Macropodidae, found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. The term is applied especially to the…
(Encyclopedia) plum, common name for a tree of any of many species of the genus Prunus of the family Rosaceae (rose family) and for its fruit, a drupe. The plum is generally cultivated in the…
(Encyclopedia) Carson, Kit (Christopher Houston Carson), 1809–68, American frontiersman and guide, b. Madison co., Ky. In 1811 he moved with his family to the Missouri frontier. After his father's…
—Holly HartmanMystery Skull In July 2002, an international team led by French paleontologist Michel Brunet announced the discovery of a humanlike skull that may be up to seven million years old,…
(Encyclopedia) Miocene epochMiocene epochmīˈəsēn [key], fourth epoch of the Tertiary period in the Cenozoic era of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table), lasting from…
