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chinchilla

(Encyclopedia)chinchilla chĭnchĭlˈə [key], small burrowing rodent of South America. It lives in colonies at high altitudes (up to 15,000 ft/4,270 m) in the Andes of Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. One of the costlies...

dodo, extinct bird

(Encyclopedia)dodo, a flightless forest-dwelling bird of Mauritius, extinct since the late 17th cent. The dodo was closely related to the Rodrigues solitaire, extinct flightless giant found on another island in the...

turquoise

(Encyclopedia)turquoise, hydrous phosphate of aluminum and copper, Al2(OH)3PO4·H2O+Cu, used as a gem. It occurs rarely in crystal form, but is usually cryptocrystalline. Turquoise is opaque and has a waxy luster; ...

Front Range

(Encyclopedia)Front Range, an eastern range of the U.S. Rocky Mts., bordering the Great Plains and extending c.300 mi (480 km) S from SE Wyo. to the Arkansas River, S central Colo. It has several peaks, including G...

Hunter, John

(Encyclopedia)Hunter, John, 1728–93, Scottish anatomist and surgeon, studied under his brother, William Hunter. A pioneer in comparative anatomy and morphology who is sometimes called the father of modern surgery...

Israëls, Jozef

(Encyclopedia)Israëls, Jozef yōˈzəf ēsˈräĕls [key], 1824–1911, Dutch genre painter. In Amsterdam he painted somber and moving scenes from the life of the Dutch fishermen and peasantry, for which he soon b...

soapstone

(Encyclopedia)soapstone or steatite stēˈətīt [key], metamorphic rock of which the characteristic and usually chief mineral is talc, but which also contains varying parts of chlorite, mica, tremolite, quartz, ma...

Briard

(Encyclopedia)Briard brēärdˈ [key], breed of muscular, wiry working dog whose origins may be traced back to 12th-century France. It stands from 22 to 27 in. (55.9–68.6 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs betwe...

Percheron horse

(Encyclopedia)Percheron horse pûrˈchərŏnˌ [key], breed of draft horse developed in NW France, originally of Flemish origin, but also containing some Arabian blood (see Arabian horse). For a heavy horse, it has...

wildcat

(Encyclopedia)wildcat, common name of Old World cats (Felis silvestris) of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The wildcat resembles a large domestic tabby cat with a heavy tail; its fur is brownish to gray, with a pattern o...