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crocodile

(Encyclopedia)crocodile, large, carnivorous reptile of the order Crocodilia, found in tropical and subtropical regions. Crocodiles live in swamps or on river banks and catch their prey in the water. They have flatt...

mugger

(Encyclopedia)mugger: see crocodile.

leviathan

(Encyclopedia)leviathan lēvīˈəthən [key], in the Bible, aquatic monster, presumably the crocodile, the whale, or a dragon. It was a symbol of evil to be ultimately defeated by the power of good. ...

gavial

(Encyclopedia)gavial gāˈvēəl [key], large reptile of the crocodile order, found in rivers from Pakistan to Myanmar. Also called gharial, the gavial (Gavialis gangeticus) is distinguished from the crocodiles and...

Ombos

(Encyclopedia)Ombos ŏmˈbōs [key], ancient city, S Egypt, on the Nile, S of Idfu. It was strategically located on top of a hill. The city attained great importance under the Ptolemies, who built there a mighty te...

Limpopo, river, S Africa

(Encyclopedia)Limpopo lĭmpōˈpō [key], river, c.1,100 mi (1,770 km) long, rising in Limpopo prov., South Africa. It flows in a great arc, first north (forming part of the South Africa–Botswana border), then ea...

alligator

(Encyclopedia)alligator, large aquatic reptile of the genus Alligator, in the same order as the crocodile. There are two species—a large type found in the S United States and a small type found in E China. Alliga...

scale, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)scale, in zoology, an outgrowth, either bony or horny, of the skin of an animal. The major component of the scales of fishes is bone, and they are formed directly in the skin membrane as the fish grow...

plover

(Encyclopedia)plover plŭvˈər [key], common name for some members of the large family Charadriidae, shore birds, small to medium in size, found in ice-free lands all over the world. Plovers are plumpish wading bi...

Everglades

(Encyclopedia)Everglades, marshy, low-lying subtropical savanna area, c.4,000 sq mi (10,000 sq km), S Fla., extending from Lake Okeechobee S to Florida Bay. Characterized by water, sawgrass, hammocks (islandlike ma...

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