Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

worm lizard

(Encyclopedia)worm lizard, partially or entirely limbless burrowing lizard of the family Amphisbaenidae. All worm lizards lack hind limbs and most species lack forelimbs as well. Except for their size, they are ver...

stonecrop

(Encyclopedia)stonecrop, common name for members of the Crassulaceae (also called orpine, or hen-and-chickens, family), a family of succulent, fleshy herbs and shrubs mostly inhabiting arid regions in many parts of...

molly

(Encyclopedia)molly or mollie, New World fish of the genus Poecilia, which includes the guppy or rainbow fish, Poecilia reticulata. Mollies, which are related to the killifishes, are found from the E and central Un...

marmoset

(Encyclopedia)marmoset märˈməzĕtˌ [key], name for many of the small, squirrellike New World monkeys of the family Callithricidae. Members of this family are all found in tropical South America, with one specie...

myna

(Encyclopedia)myna or mynah both: mīˈnə [key], common name for any of a number of species of Asian starlings found chiefly in India and Sri Lanka, some of which are known for vocal mimicry. Most familiar is the ...

characin

(Encyclopedia)characin –sĭd [key], common name for members of the Characidae, a large and diverse family comprising 700 species of freshwater fishes. The characins are related to the carp and the catfish. They a...

pocket mouse

(Encyclopedia)pocket mouse, small jumping rodent of W North America and as far south as N South America. More closely related to the squirrel than the true mouse, the pocket mouse gets its name from the fur-lined c...

caecilian

(Encyclopedia)caecilian sēsĭlˈēən [key], any of the legless, tailless tropical amphibians belonging to the order Gymnophiona (or Apoda). Most adult caecilians resemble earthworms superficially but have vertebr...

grouse

(Encyclopedia)grouse, common name for a game bird of the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 18 species. Grouse are henlike terrestrial birds, protectively plumaged in shades of red, brown, and...

sea urchin

(Encyclopedia)sea urchin, spherical-shaped echinoderm with movable spines covering the body. The body wall is a firm, globose shell, or test, made of fused skeletal plates and marked by regularly arranged tubercles...