(Encyclopedia) tallow, solid fat extracted from the tissues and fatty deposits of animals, especially from suet (the fat of cattle and sheep). Pure tallow is white, odorless and tasteless; it…
(Encyclopedia) Wolff, Caspar FriedrichWolff, Caspar Friedrichkäsˈpär frēˈdrĭkh vôlf [key], 1733–94, German biologist, a founder of observational embryology. In his Theoria generationis (1759) he…
(Encyclopedia) sea slug, name for a marine gastropod mollusk that lacks a shell as an adult and is usually brightly colored. Sea slugs, or nudibranchs, are distributed throughout the world, with the…
(Encyclopedia) veterinary medicine, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of animals. An early interest in animal diseases is found in ancient Greek writings on medicine. Veterinary medicine began to…
(Encyclopedia) Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, c.13,500 sq mi (35,000 sq km; roughly the size of Belgium), the largest multinational park in S Africa and one of the largest parks in the world, in…
(Encyclopedia) anteater, name applied to various animals that feed on ants, termites, and other insects, but more properly restricted to a completely toothless group of the order Edentata. There are…
(Encyclopedia) badlands, area of severe erosion, usually found in semiarid climates and characterized by countless gullies, steep ridges, and sparse vegetation. Badland topography is formed on poorly…
(Encyclopedia) blowfly, name for flies of the family Calliphoridae. Blowflies are about the same size as, and resemble, the housefly; because they are usually metallic blue or green they are also…
Classification, or taxonomy, is a system of categorizing living things. There are seven divisions in the system: (1) Kingdom; (2) Phylum or Division; (3) Class; (4) Order; (5) Family; (6) Genus; (…
The Question: Why do cats always land on their feet? The Answer: Most cats can get their feet underneath them during a fall because of their unique skeleton…
