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tree shrew

(Encyclopedia)tree shrew, small, arboreal mammal of the family Tupaiidae, found in S Asia. The 17 known species of tree shrews are classified as the order Tupaioidea or Scandentia. Tree shrews superficially resembl...

Thomson, James , 1700–1748, Scottish poet

(Encyclopedia)Thomson, James, 1700–1748, Scottish poet. Educated at Edinburgh, he went to London, took a post as tutor, and became acquainted with such literary celebrities as Gay, Arbuthnot, and Pope. His most f...

selenium

(Encyclopedia)selenium səlēˈnēəm [key], nonmetallic chemical element; symbol Se; at. no. 34; at. wt. 78.96; m.p. 217℃; b.p. about 685℃; sp. gr. 4.81 at 20℃; valence −2, +4, or +6. Selenium is directly ...

spinal cord

(Encyclopedia)spinal cord, the part of the nervous system occupying the hollow interior (vertebral canal) of the series of vertebrae that form the spinal column, technically known as the vertebral column. Extending...

rhea, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)rhea rēˈə [key], common name for a South American bird of the family Rheidae, which is related to the ostrich. Weighing from 44 to 55 lb (20–25 kg) and standing up to 60 in. (152 cm) tall, the rh...

Livingston

(Encyclopedia)Livingston, family of American statesmen, diplomats, and jurists. Edward Livingston,Edward Livingston, 1764–1836, b. Livingston Manor, was the son of Robert R. Livingston (1718–75) and brother o...

Chambers, William

(Encyclopedia)Chambers, William, 1800–1883, and Robert Chambers, 1802–71, Scottish authors and publishers. Their firm of W. and R. Chambers is best known for Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, which William started ...

coot

(Encyclopedia)coot, common name for a migratory marsh bird related to rails and gallinules and found in North America and Europe. The American coot (Fulica americana), or mud hen, is slate gray with a white bill, b...

arsenopyrite

(Encyclopedia)arsenopyrite mĭsˈpĭkəl [key], silver-white to steel-gray mineral with the metallic luster characteristic of a pyrite. It is a sulfarsenide of iron, FeAsS, crystallizing in the orthorhombic system ...

bayberry

(Encyclopedia)bayberry, common name for the Myricaceae, a family of trees and shrubs with aromatic foliage, found chiefly in temperate and subtropical regions. The waxy gray “berries” of the North American wild...