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glove

(Encyclopedia)glove, hand covering with a separate sheath for each finger. The earliest gloves, relics of the cave dwellers, closely resembled bags. Reaching to the elbow, they were most probably worn solely for pr...

gopher

(Encyclopedia)gopher or pocket gopher, name for the burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae, found in North America and Central America. The gopher is gray, buff, or dark brown. Its combined head and body length ...

dentition

(Encyclopedia)dentition, kind, number, and arrangement of the teeth of humans and other animals. During the course of evolution, teeth were derived from bony body scales similar to the placoid scales on the skin of...

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...

urea

(Encyclopedia)CE5 urea yo͝oēˈə [key], organic compound that is the principal end product of nitrogen metabolism in most mammals. Urea was the first animal metabolite to be isolated in crystalline form; its c...

poisonous plant

(Encyclopedia)poisonous plant, any plant possessing a property injurious to man or animal. Plants may be poisonous to the touch (e.g., poison ivy, poison sumac), or orally toxic (e.g., poison hemlock, deadly amanit...

prairie dog

(Encyclopedia)prairie dog, short-tailed, ground-living rodent, genus Cynomys, of the squirrel family, closely related to the ground squirrels, chipmunks, and marmots. There are several species, found in the W Unite...

paramecium

(Encyclopedia)paramecium parəmēˈsĭəm [key], unicellular organism of the genus Paramecium, of the ciliate phylum Ciliophora found in freshwater throughout the world. Like other protozoans, paramecia, previously...

Apatosaurus

(Encyclopedia)Apatosaurus ăpˌətəsôrˈəs, āˌpătˌə– [key], [Gr.,=deceptive lizard], quadruped saurischian dinosaur, estimated to be from 70 to 90 ft (21 to 27 m) in length and to weigh up to 30 tons (27 ...

isoleucine

(Encyclopedia)CE5 isoleucine īˌsəlo͞oˈsēn [key], organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l-stereoisomer appears in mammalian protein. It is one of several es...