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tilapia

(Encyclopedia)tilapia təläˈpēə [key] or St. Peter's fish, a spiny-finned freshwater fish of the family Cichlidae, native chiefly to Africa and the Middle East. Fish of the genera Oreochromis, Sarotherodon, and...

gerbil

(Encyclopedia)gerbil jûrˈbĭl [key], small desert rodent found throughout the hot arid regions of Africa and Asia. Also known as sand rats, gerbils have large eyes and powerful, elongated hind limbs upon which th...

entomology

(Encyclopedia)entomology, study of insects, an arthropod class that comprises about 900,000 known species, representing about three fourths of all the classified animal species. Insects are studied because of their...

abominable snowman

(Encyclopedia)abominable snowman or yeti yĕtˈē [key], humanlike creature so named because it is associated with the perpetual snow region of the Himalayas. A figure unknown except through tracks ascribed to it a...

arborvitae

(Encyclopedia)arborvitae ärˌbərvīˈtē [key] [Lat.,=tree of life], aromatic evergreen tree of the genus Thuja of the family Cupressaceae (cypress family), with scalelike leaves borne on flattened branchlets of ...

pipit

(Encyclopedia)pipit, common name for a group of chiefly Eurasian and African birds that together with the wagtails constitute a subfamily of songbirds related to the Old World warblers and thrushes. Pipits are trim...

wintergreen

(Encyclopedia)wintergreen or checkerberry, low evergreen plant (Gaultheria procumbens) of the family Ericaceae (heath family), native to sandy and acid woods (usually of evergreens) of E North America and frequentl...

yam

(Encyclopedia)yam, common name for some members of the Dioscoreaceae, a family of tropical and subtropical climbing herbs or shrubs with starchy rhizomes often cultivated for food. The largest genus, Dioscorea, is ...

yarrow

(Encyclopedia)yarrow, a plant of the genus Achillea, perennial herbs of the family Asteraceae (aster family), native to north temperate regions. Several species are cultivated as ornamentals for their flat-topped c...

bonefish

(Encyclopedia)bonefish, common name for a fish belonging to several species in the two genera of the family Albulidae. Albula vulpes, the bonefish, is widespread in warm, shallow marine waters; it is the only bonef...