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platypus

(Encyclopedia)platypus plătˈəpəs [key], semiaquatic egg-laying mammal, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Tasmania and E Australia. Also called duckbill, or duckbilled platypus, it belongs to the order Monotremata (s...

botfly

(Encyclopedia)botfly, common name for several families of hairy flies whose larvae live as parasites within the bodies of mammals. The horse botfly secretes an irritating substance that is used to attach its eggs t...

ameba

(Encyclopedia)ameba or amoeba both: əmēˈbə [key], common name for certain one-celled organisms belonging to the phylum Sarcodina of the kingdom Protista. Amebas were previously classified as members of the anim...

Arthropoda

(Encyclopedia)Arthropoda ärthrŏpˈədə [key] [Gr.,=jointed feet], largest and most diverse animal phylum. The arthropods include crustaceans, insects, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, scorpions, and the extinct ...

tapir

(Encyclopedia)tapir tāˈpər [key], nocturnal, herbivorous mammal, genus Tapirus, of the jungles of Central and South America and SE Asia. The tapir is somewhat piglike in appearance; however, it is not related to...

mite

(Encyclopedia)mite, small, often microscopic arachnid that belongs to several orders in the subclass Acari (or Acarina), to which the tick also belongs; mites and ticks are related to the spiders. The unsegmented m...

moose, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)moose, largest member of the deer family, genus Alces, found in the northern parts of Eurasia and North America. The Eurasian species, A. alces, is known in Europe as the elk, a name which in North Am...

tenrec

(Encyclopedia)tenrec tĕnˈrĕk [key], any of the small insectivorous mammals of the family Tenrecidae, also called tendrecs or tanrecs. These animals are found on the island of Madagascar. In that closed environme...

grebe

(Encyclopedia)grebe grēb [key], common name for swimming birds found on or near quiet waters in most parts of the world. Grebes resemble the loon and the duck; they have short wings, vestigial tails, and long, ind...

axolotl

(Encyclopedia)axolotl ăkˈsəlŏtˌəl [key], a salamander, Ambystoma mexicanum, found in certain lakes in the region of Mexico City, which reaches reproductive maturity without losing its larval characteristics. ...