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leatherback

(Encyclopedia)leatherback, marine turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters around the world. The largest of all turtles, it may reach a length of 71⁄2 ft (230 cm) and wei...

loon

(Encyclopedia)loon, common name for migratory aquatic birds found in fresh- and saltwater in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Its strange, laughing call carries for great distances. Like the grebes, loo...

markhor

(Encyclopedia)markhor märˈkôr [key], wild goat, Capra falconeri, found in the rugged mountains of central Asia, from S Russia to the W Himalayas. Largest of the goats, the male may stand over 40 in. (100 cm) at ...

archerfish

(Encyclopedia)archerfish, laterally compressed fish, genus Toxotes, which catches insects by spitting at and disabling them. The archerfish has a groove in the roof of its mouth that forms a long narrow tube when t...

naked mole rat

(Encyclopedia)naked mole rat, name applied to a species (Heterocephalus glaber) of small rodents found in E Africa, whose members—the only hairless rodents—live entirely in underground communities of 80 or more...

mudskipper

(Encyclopedia)mudskipper, name for fish of several genera in the subfamily Oxudercinae of the goby family, found in coastal waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans and on the Atlantic coast of Africa. The typically...

anchovy

(Encyclopedia)anchovy, small fish of the family Engraulidae, found mainly in the temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean and Black seas. The commercially significant ancho...

garter snake

(Encyclopedia)garter snake, harmless snake of the genus Thamnophis, abundant from Canada to Central America. There are many common species; members of most species are about 2 ft (60 cm) long. Most garter snakes ar...

jaçana

(Encyclopedia)jaçana jəkănˈə, jəkänˈə [key], common name for members of the Jacanidae, a family of tropical and subtropical wading birds. Jaçanas, also called lily-trotters and lotus-birds, have long toes...

egret

(Encyclopedia)egret ēgrĕtˈ [key], common name for several species of herons of the Old and New Worlds, belonging to the family Ardeidae. Before they were protected by law the birds were nearly exterminated by hu...