pectoral fin

(ichthyology) Either of two fins located on each side of a fish just behind the head.


anal fin

(ichthyology) A fin located on the underside of a fish behind the anus.


caudal

Borrowed from Latin caudālis (“having a tail”).

The male widow-bird, remarkable for his caudal plumes, […]

1871, Charles Darwin, “Principles of Sexual Selection”, in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, Part II (Sexual Selection), page 269:

Dassoud […] stepped forward with a lash composed of the caudal appendages of half a dozen wildebeests.

1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin, published 2006, page 3:

(zoology) Pertaining to the tail or posterior or hind part of a body.


pelvic fin

(ichthyology) Either of a pair of fins on either side and towards the rear of a fish.


zoophagous

/zəʊˈɒfəɡəs/

/zuːˈɒfəɡəs/

A zoophagous insect.

My homicidal maniac is of a peculiar kind. I shall have to invent a new classification for him, and call him a zoöphagous (life-eating) maniac; what he desires is to absorb as many lives as he can, and he has laid himself out to achieve it in a cumulative way.

1897, Bram Stoker, chapter VI, in Dracula, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, page 67:


inarticulate

From the substantivation of the above adjective through the associated taxon's name (Inarticulata). Used by contrast with Articulata.

(zoology, obsolete) An animal belonging to the subphylum Inarticulata.


zygobranchiate

en-adj

zygobranchiate (comparative more zygobranchiate, superlative most zygobranchiate)

more zygobranchiate (comparative)
most zygobranchiate (superlative)

(zoology) Of or pertaining to the Zygobranchia


zygenid

(zoology) Any one of numerous species of moths of the family Zygaenidae, most of which are bright colored.


zoönite

(zoology) Alternative spelling of zoonite.


zooid

From zoo- + -oid. Compare Ancient Greek ζῴδιον (zṓidion, “animal”).

cog

(zoology) An animal in one of its inferior or early stages of development, as one of the intermediate forms in alternate generation.

(zoology) One of the individual animals in a composite group, as of Anthozoa, Hydrozoa, and Bryozoa; — sometimes restricted to those individuals in which the mouth and digestive organs are not developed.


zoögeography

en-noun

zoögeography (usually uncountable, plural zoögeographies)

(zoology) Alternative spelling of zoogeography.


zoogamy

(zoology) The sexual reproduction of animals.


zooerythrine

(zoology) Alternative spelling of zooerythrin.


zoëa

zoëas (plural)
zoëae (plural)
zoaea (alternative)
zoea (alternative)
zooea (alternative)

From New Latin zōaea, zōēa, from Ancient Greek ζωή (zōḗ, “life”) (compare ζῷον (zôion)).

(zoology) A larval stage of certain decapod crustaceans, especially of decapods such as crabs and certain Anomura, also called the copepod stage, characterized by spines on the carapace and rudimentary thoracic and abdominal limbs.


zoanthodeme

From zoanthid + deme (“ecological population”).

compound

(zoology) The zooids of a compound anthozoan, collectively.


merus

From Ancient Greek μηρός (mērós, “thigh”).

(zoology) The meropodite; the first segment of the raptorial appendage of a crustacean.


Samoyed

From Russian самое́д (samojéd), probably from Sami *saam-edne (“land of the people”); compare Finnish Suomi (“Finn”). In the course of borrowing, the word was folk-etymologically reinterpreted as сам (sam, “self, own”) + есть, ед- (jestʹ, jed-, “eat”), "self-eater."

(endearing nicknames)

(zoology) A hardy breed of dog from Siberia.


polyp

From Latin polypus (“a polyp, a polypus in the nose”), from Ancient Greek πολύπους (polúpous, from πολύς (polús, “many”) + πούς (poús, “foot”)). Doublet of polypus.

der

(zoology) A cylindrical coelenterate, such as the hydra, having a mouth surrounded with tentacles.

The sessile life stage of many cnidarians, whose free-swimming stage, if present, is the medusa.


juvenile

Borrowed from Latin iuvenīlis (“youthful; juvenile”), from iuvenis (“young; a youth”) + -īlis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a relationship or a pertaining to). Iuvenis is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yuh₁en- (“young”), from *h₂óyu (“long life; lifetime”) (from *h₂ey- (“age; life”)) + *h₁én (“in”).

Even if juveniles acquire sex-specific adult-like foraging skills before reaching adult size, their smaller body size may put them at a foraging disadvantage. […] The size effect on foraging is reduced in species that use small or easily manipulated substrates. For instance, in Costa Rican squirrel monkeys, juveniles apparently mastered techniques for insect foraging only a few months after weaning, when they were still much smaller than adults[…].

2002, Charles H. Janson, Carel P[hilippus] Van Schaik, “Ecological Risk Aversion in Juvenile Primates: Slow and Steady Wins the Race”, in Michael E. Pereira, Lynn A. Fairbanks, editors, Juvenile Primates: Life History, Development, and Behavior, Chicago, Ill., London: University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 65, column 1:


wagtail

From a partial suppletion of Middle English wagstert (literally “wag-tail”), equivalent to wag + tail.

field wagtail

Motacilla flava and M. tschutschensis, syn. Budytes spp.

white-browed wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis


metazoan

monisoluinen eläin

(zoology) animals with differentiated tissues

(zoology) Any animal that is multicellular.

(zoology, obsolete) Any animal that undergoes development from an embryo stage with two or three tissue layers, namely the ectoderm, endoderm, and sometimes mesoderm.


coelenterate

(zoology, dated) Any simple aquatic animal formerly considered to belong to the phylum Coelenterata, now divided into the cnidarians and ctenophores.

腔腸動物 /腔肠动物

member of the former phylum Coelenterata


lamina

en-noun

lamina (plural laminae or (archaic) laminæ or laminas)

laminae (plural)
laminæ (archaic plural)
laminas (plural)

Borrowed from Latin lāmina (“a thin piece of metal, wood, marble; a plate, leaf, layer”). Doublet of lame.

bor

A thin layer, plate, or scale of material.

(zootomy) One of the narrow thin parallel plates of soft vascular sensitive tissue that cover the flesh within the wall of a hoof.


podex

Ligament which stretches over the surface of the uterus, running obliquely from the podex to the raceme.

1942, Fabricius (ab Aquapendente), Howard Bernhardt Adelmann (translator), The Embryological Treatises of Hieronymus Fabricius of Aquapendente (page 229)

(zoology, rare) The rear end of any animal.


alpha male

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-alpha male.wav

The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists

Originally used in scientific research of hierarchies in social animals, the term is now often applied to men with dominating characteristics. Already in some use during the 1990s, it was further popularized by Neil Strauss in The Game (2005).

(zoology, ethology) The dominant male in a group of animals.


hydro-

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hydro-.wav

From Ancient Greek ὑδρο- (hudro-), from ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”).


pleural

(zoology) An internal segment of the turtle carapace.


coelom

coeloms (plural)
celom (alternative)
coeloma (alternative)
coelome (alternative)
cœlom (alternative dated)
cœloma (alternative dated)
cœlome (alternative dated)

From international scientific vocabulary, from New Latin, from Ancient Greek κοίλωμα (koílōma, “hollow, cavity”). Cognate with coeliac.

uder

digestive system
digestive system#English

(zoology) A fluid-filled cavity within the body of an animal. The digestive system is suspended within the cavity, which is lined by a tissue called the peritoneum.


coelomate

coelomates (plural)
cœlomate (alternative)

From the substantivation of the adjective, equivalent to coelom + -ate (noun-forming suffix).

(zoology) Any animal possessing a fluid-filled cavity within which the digestive system is suspended.


coelomate

From coelom + -ate (adjective-forming suffix).


cœlomate

(zoology) A group of animals possessing a fluid-filled cavity within which the digestive system is suspended.


acnestis

From Late Latin acnestis, from Koine Greek ἄκνηστις (áknēstis, “spine”), from κνῆστις (knêstis, “spine, cheese-grater”), or from ἀ- (a-) + -κναίειν (-knaíein, “grate, scrape, scratch”) (only attested in compounds), or from incorrect segmentation of κατὰ κνῆστιν (katà knêstin, “on the spine”) (see Homer, Odyssey 10.161), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kneh₂-.

der

Acneſtis, from α priv. and κναειν to ſcratch. That part of the ſpine of the back, which reaches from the metaphrenon, which is the part betwixt the ſhoulder blades, to the loins. This part ſeems to have been originally called ſo in quadrupeds only, becauſe they cannot reach it to ſcratch.

1794, John Quincy, Lexicon Physico-medicum: Or, a New Medicinal Dictionary. Explaining the Difficult Terms Used in the Several Branches of the Profession. And in such Parts of Natural Philosophy, as are Introductory thereto. With an Account of the Things Signified by such Terms. Collected from the most Eminent Authors, 11th edition, London: Printed for T[homas] Longman, in Pater-noster Row, →OCLC, pages 16–17:

ACNÉSTIS (ακνηςις, from α neg. and κναω to ſcratch). That part of the ſpine between the ſhoulder-blades, and which extends to the loins. It is ſo called from the difficulty there is to reach and ſcratch it.

1802, W[illiam] Turton, A Medical Glossary: In which the Words in the Various Branches of Medicine are Deduced from their Original Languages; Properly Accented and Explained, 2nd edition, London: Printed by J. D. Dewick, Aldersgate Street, for Lackington, Allen, and Co. Temple of the Muses, Finsbury Square, →OCLC, page 11:

That spot known to crossword solvers as the acnestis.

Excoriations are typically linear and occur where the patient can reach with his hands. […] The middle of the back is typically spared, although with a back scratcher, this rule loses value. This pattern of sparing has been called the reverse butterfly sign; the Greek word for the area that cannot be reached is acnestis.

2000, Otto Braun-Falco with Gerd Plewig, Helmut H. Woolf, and Walter H. C. Burgdorf, Dermatology, 2nd completely rev. edition, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, →ISBN, page 991:

In what has to be the longest post-election season in living memory, the last five months have felt like an acnestis upon our collective soul; like that little patch of skin on our backs that we just can't reach to scratch ourselves. It's irritating. It's annoying. It's left us reaching and spinning around in circles.

2008 August 5, New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:

I nudged Winston [a cat] to one side of his chair and sat down beside him. I scratched the spot between his shoulders, the acnestis that animals can't scratch by themselves, and he looked up at me and smiled.

2010, Blaize Clement, Raining Cat Sitters and Dogs: A Dixie Hemingway Mystery, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne Books, →ISBN, page 24:

Acnestis (n.) On an animal, the point of the back that lies between the shoulders and the lower back, which cannot be reached to be scratched. I am very glad I found this word early in my reading of the OED – the fact that there existed a word for this thing which previously I had been sure lacked a name was such a delight to me that suddenly the whole idea of reading the dictionary seemed utterly reasonable.

2010, Ammon Shea, Satisdiction: One Man's Journey into all the Words He'll Ever Need, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN:

(zoology) The section of an animal's skin that it cannot reach in order to scratch itself, usually the space between the shoulder blades.


siphon

→ Welsh: seiffon

→ Irish: siofón

From Middle French siphon, from Old French sifon, from Latin sipho, from Ancient Greek σίφων (síphōn, “pipe, tube”), of uncertain origin; possibly related to Latin tibia (“pipe, flute of bone”), with the irregular forms suggesting a non-Indo-European loan source, perhaps of the shape *twi-, *twibh.

As a result, although corbinas commonly utilize mollusks, they are limited to the siphons, foot, or other soft parts that either extend from the shell or can be picked from it.

1962, Fish Bulletin, numbers 118-130, Department of Fish and Game, page 48:

(botany, zoology) A tubelike organ found in animals or elongated cell found in plants.


medusa

en-noun

medusa (plural medusas or medusae or (obsolete) medusæ)

medusas (plural)
medusae (plural)
medusæ (obsolete plural)

Typically, what we think of as the jellyfish, the medusa, reproduces sexually, spawning sperm and eggs which, once fertilised, turn into sea anemone-like polyps, which attach themselves to the jellyfish’s bottom or other surfaces.

2014, Theo Tait, ‘Water-Borne Zombies’, London Review of Books, volume 36, number 5:

(zoology) A jellyfish; specifically, a non-polyp form of individual cnidarians, consisting of a gelatinous umbrella-shaped bell and trailing tentacles.


fusiform

en-adj

fusiform (comparative more fusiform, superlative most fusiform)

more fusiform (comparative)
most fusiform (superlative)

Fusobacteria are fusiform bacilli (spindled rods).

Acorns come in spherical and fusiform varieties.

(chiefly botany, zoology) Shaped like a spindle with yarn spun on it; having round or roundish cross-section and tapering at each end.


cryptid

→ Catalan: críptid

→ German: Kryptid

From crypt + -id. English usage 1983; coined by John E. Wall in the ISC Newsletter.

Now comes perhaps the cleverest tag of all: cryptozoology. It refers to the search for new animals, animals dwelling in unexpected places, and most importantly for "X-Files" scriptwriters, "cryptids"—legendary creatures such as the yeti.

1999 August 16, Steve Burgess, “Loren Coleman, Loch Ness snowman of cryptozoology”, in salon.com:

(cryptozoology) A creature known only from folklore or legend, the existence of which is not proven by scientific observation.


helminthology

(zoology) The branch of zoology related to the study of helminths (parasitic worms).

helmintologia

branch of zoology related to study of helminths


pecker

From Middle English pekker, equivalent to peck (“to pick at something in the manner of a bird”) + -er (“forming agent nouns”).

af

The Titmouse, and the Peckers hungry Brood.

1697, Publius Virgilius Maro, translated by John Dryden, Georgics, section IV:

By far the greater number of modern birds belong to the... orders of the perchers, the peckers, and the birds of prey.

1884 January, George Allen, Longman's Magazine, page 294:

Someone who or something that pecks, striking or piercing in the manner of a bird's beak or bill, particularly:

(zoology) A bird, particularly a member of the group including the woodpeckers, flowerpeckers, oxpeckers, and berrypeckers.

The pecker was esteemed a sacred and divine bird.

1883, Jacob Grimm, translated by J.S. Stallybrass, Teutonic Mythology, volume III, page 973:

I've been feeding several downy ’peckers from my short-perched tubes for years.

(zoology, usually colloquial or US regional) Clipping of woodpecker (Picidae).


operculum

Hyoliths […] have a small, conical calcium carbonate shell, with a lid called an operculum.

2017 January 18, Susannah Lydon, The Guardian:

(zoology) A covering flap in animals, such as a gill cover.


midden

From Middle English midding, myddyng, from Old Danish mykdyngja, (a compound of Old Norse myk, myki (“muck, manure”) and dyngja (“dung, dungpile”)), whence also Danish møgdynge and mødding, Norwegian mødding, dialectal Swedish mödding.

(zoology) A shelter made of vegetation and other materials by packrats.

(zoology) An accumulation of dried urine and fecal deposits made by hyraxes.


incumbent

en-adj

incumbent (comparative more incumbent, superlative most incumbent)

more incumbent (comparative)
most incumbent (superlative)

From Latin incumbentem + English -ent (suffix denoting the causing, doing, or promoting of an action). Incumbentem is the accusative singular of incumbēns (“reclining”), the present active participle of incumbō (“to lay upon, to lean or recline on; to fall upon, to press down on”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘against; into; on, upon’) + *cumbō (“to lie down, recline”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb-).

rusten op

the incumbent toe of a bird

Chiefly followed by on or upon: leaning, or lying, reclining, or resting, on something else.

(zoology) Of a body part such as a hair, spine, or wing: bent downwards or otherwise positioned so that it, or part of it, rests on or touches something else; specifically (ornithology), of the hind toe of a bird: fully resting on a support.

rusten op

of a body part: bent downwards or otherwise positioned so that it, or part of it, rests on or touches something else; of the hind toe of a bird: fully resting on a support


loveliness

en-noun

loveliness (countable and uncountable, plural lovelinesses)

From Middle English luflynes; equivalent to lovely + -ness.

'A loveliness of ladybirds,' whispers Roisin to her sleeping child, and looks at her husband proudly. He grins back. 'Aye, the plague of last summer. Couldn't pick up a glass of lemonade without finding a hundred ladybirds using it as a bubble-bath.'

2016, David Mark, Dead Pretty, Hachette UK, page 10

A loveliness of ladybugs is enjoying lunch - little aphids that pepper a crop of soybeans.

2018, Natalie Rompella, The World Never Sleeps, Tilbury House, p18

Sparks of sunlight caught on a loveliness of ladybirds that had floated into the waiting room through an open door.

2019, Jayne Fresina, A Loveliness of Ladybirds, Twisted-E Publishing LLC, page 71

(zoology, collective) A group of ladybirds.


lepidopterology

From Ancient Greek λεπίς (lepís, “scale”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing”) + -λογία (-logía, “-logy, branch of study”), or, more recently, from translingual Lepidoptera + -ology.

(biology, zoology, entomology) The scientific study of butterflies and moths (the Lepidoptera).


cavernous

en-adj

cavernous (comparative more cavernous, superlative most cavernous)

more cavernous (comparative)
most cavernous (superlative)

Late Middle English cavernous, cavernose, borrowing from Old French caverneux or Latin cavernōsus (“full of hollows or cavities”), from caverna (“a hollow, cavity, cave”) + -ōsus (“-ous, -ose”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to cavern + -ous.

af

(anatomy, zootomy) Composed largely of vascular sinuses and capable of dilating with blood to bring about the erection of a body part.


murrain

en-noun

murrain (countable and uncountable, plural murrains)

murrains (plural)
murrein (alternative)
murrion (alternative)

The noun is derived from Late Middle English morein, morine, moreyn (“(widespread) death; widespread sickness, plague; fatal disease; carnage; carrion”), from Anglo-Norman morine, mourine, moreyn (“death; widespread sickness, plague; carrion; cattle disease”), Middle French morine, and Old French morine, mourine, murine (“widespread sickness, plague; animal which has died from a disease”), from Late Latin morina (“plague”), probably from Latin morior (“to die; to decay, wither”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to die”).
The adjective and adverb are derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Italian morìa (“plague”)
* Latin morticīnus (“that has died naturally, dead; (relational) carrion”) (Medieval Latin morticinium)
* Occitan moria (“death; plague”)
* Old French morie (“death”) mourie (“flesh of animals that have died of disease”) (Middle French murie)
* Portuguese morrinha (“cattle plague”)
* Spanish morriña (“cattle plague”)

cog

water murrain

Il'e ſtrike thee [Earth] vvith a laſting barrenneſſe. / No more ſhall plenty crovvne thy fertill brovves, / Il'e breake thy plovves, thy Oxen murren-ſtrike: […]

1613, Thomas Heywood, The Silver Age, […], London: […] Nicholas Okes, and are to be sold by Beniamin Lightfoote […], →OCLC, Act III, signature H, verso:

[A] Church-mans Juriſdiction is no more but to vvatch over his Flock in ſeaſon, and out of ſeaſon, to deal by ſvveet and efficacious Inſtructions, gentle Admonitions, and ſometimes rounder Reproofs; […] againſt a perſiſting ſtubbornes, or the fear of a reprobate ſenſe, a timely ſeparation from the Flock by that interdictive Sentence, leſt his Converſation unprohibited, or unbranded, might breath a peſtilential murrein into the other Sheepe.

1642 April, John Milton, An Apology for Smectymnuus; republished in A Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works of John Milton, […], volume I, Amsterdam [actually London: s.n.], 1698, →OCLC, page 159:

The murrain among Bees is very rare: other diſeaſes they are ſubject too, eſpecially to a ſcovvring, by gathering, or feeding on Tithymal, […]

1657, Samuel Purchas, “Of Bees, Enemies and Sicknesses”, in A Theatre of Politicall Flying-Insects. […], London: […] R. I. for Thomas Parkhurst, […], →OCLC, page 122:

The next year vvas calamitous, bringing ſtrange fluxes upon men, and murren upon Cattel.

1670, John Milton, “The Sixth Book”, in The History of Britain, that Part Especially now Call’d England. […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for James Allestry, […] , →OCLC, page 245:

[page 47] [B]ecauſe Murreins among the Larger Cattle, and Rots among the Smaller, are the moſt Fatal of Diſeaſes, and ſvveep them avvay by Herds and Flocks, I ſhall (from Long Experience) ſhovv the neareſt vvay to fore-ſee the approaching Danger, […] [page 48] To prevent therefore this Murrein, Long-ſought; or as ſome call it, Gurget: If you are conſtrained to Paſture your Beaſts, bleed them as ſoon as ever the Leaf begins to fall; peg their Ears and Devv-laps vvith Helebore, or Bears-foot, a Plant ſo called; […]

1700, C. P. [pseudonym], “Signs of Murrein, Rot, or Such Like Destroying Diseases in Cattle; how to Prevent or Remedy Them”, in The Sheepherd’s New Kalender: or, The Citizen’s & Country Man’s Daily Companion: […], London: […] A. M. for J. Blare, […], →OCLC, pages 47–48:

(countable, veterinary medicine, chiefly historical) Any of several highly infectious diseases of cattle or other livestock, such as anthrax, babesiosis, or rinderpest; or a particular epizootic thereof; also, an infectious disease affecting other animals, such as poultry.

مَوْتَان

any of several highly infectious diseases of cattle, etc.; or a particular epizootic thereof


replicate

en-adj

replicate (comparative more replicate, superlative most replicate)

more replicate (comparative)
most replicate (superlative)

/ˈɹɛpləˌkət/

From Latin replicātus, past participle of replicāre (“to fold or bend back; reply”), from re (“back”) + plicāre (“to fold”); see ply. Doublet of reply and replica.

a replicate leaf or petal

the replicate margin of a shell

(botany, zoology) Folded over or backward; folded back upon itself.


maculation

en-noun

maculation (countable and uncountable, plural maculations)

Females [of the species Speyeria nokomis] are cream above with heavy black maculation accompanied by much dark suffusion.

1975, William H. Howe, editor, The Butterflies of North America, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, page 217:

1990, Mason E. Hale, A Synopsis of the Lichen Genus Xanthoparmelia (Vainio) Hale (Ascomycotina, Parmeliaceae), Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 195,
[This lichen] species […] is recognized by […] more or less distinct maculation on the upper surface, and pale brown lower surface.

(zoology, botany, chiefly uncountable) A pattern of spots.


maculose

en-adj

maculose (comparative more maculose, superlative most maculose)

more maculose (comparative)
most maculose (superlative)

(geology, zoology, botany) Having spots on the surface; spotted


madreporite

/ˌmædɹəˈpɔɹaɪt/

From madrepore + -ite; the echinoderm sense is in reference to how it resembles the coral.

water vascular system
water vascular system

(zoology) A calcareous opening in the body of echinoderms which connects the water vascular system to the environment.


magistery

en-noun

magistery (countable and uncountable, plural magisteries)

/ˈmæd͡ʒɪstəɹi/

/ˈmæd͡ʒəˌstəɹi/

PIE word
 *méǵh₂s
From Middle English magisteri, magistery (“academic degree of Master”), from Latin magisterium (“office of a chief, director, president, or superintendent; teaching office or authority of the Roman Catholic Church; authoritative statement”) (compare Late Latin magisterium (“philosopher’s stone”)), from magister (“master (title for a person in authority or one having a licence from a university to teach liberal arts and philosophy); teacher”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”) + *-teros (contrastive or oppositional suffix forming adjectives)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns, sometimes denoting groups and offices). Doublet of magisterium. Cognate with French magistère, Old French magisteire.

der

(countable, pharmacology, veterinary medicine) A medicine prepared for a specific use.


cnidarian

From translingual Cnidaria + -an, derived from New Latin Cnīdāria, derived from Ancient Greek κνῑ́δη (knī́dē, “sea nettle”).

der+

A general feature of cnidarians, as I noted above, is their stinging cells.

2016, Peter Godfrey-Smith, Other Minds, William Collins, published 2018, page 35:

(zoology) Any of various invertebrate animals, such as jellyfish, hydras, sea anemones, corals and formerly sponges and ctenophores that belong to the phylum Cnidaria.

cnidario

any of various invertebrate animals that belong to the phylum Cnidaria


languet

From Old French languete (modern French languette), diminutive of langue (“tongue”), from Latin lingua.

(zoology) A tongue-like organ found on certain tunicates.


nates

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-nates.wav

(zoology) The umbones of a bivalve shell.


trimerous

From tri- + -merous; ultimately from tri-, from Ancient Greek τρία (tría, “three”); + Ancient Greek μέρος (méros, “part”).


domestic cat

Felis silvestris catus
Felis silvestris catus#Translingual

(zoology) A domesticated cat, of the species Felis catus or subspecies Felis silvestris catus, especially one kept as a pet or for vermin control.


foot-and-mouth disease

So Joe starts telling the citizen about the foot and mouth disease and the cattle traders and taking action in the matter and the citizen sending them all to the rightabout and Bloom coming out with his sheepdip for the scab and a hoose drench for coughing calves and the guaranteed remedy for timber tongue.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: The Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], pages 301–302:

(pathology, veterinary medicine) A highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease that can affect animals with cloven hooves.


pecking order

(zoology) The natural hierarchy of social status and dominance occurring in a group of birds.


zoological name

en-noun

zoological name (plural zoological names)

(zoology) a formal scientific name of an animal, especially as conforming to the ICZN.


quill

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-quill.wav

From late Middle English quyl, which is first attested in the early 15th century with the meanings "fragment of reed" and "shaft of a feather", probably from Low German and Middle Low German quiele, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to pierce, stick”).
Compare Middle High German kil (“large feather, quill”), which is derived from the Low German term.


monobasic

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-monobasic.wav

(zoology) Having only one subordinate taxon; monotypic.


frenulum

frenula (plural)
frenulums (plural)
fraenulum (alternative hypercorrect nonstandard)
frænulum (alternative hypercorrect nonstandard)

Borrowed from New Latin frēnulum, diminutive of frēnum (“a bridle, curb, bit”).

(entomology, zootomy) A bristle or row of bristles on the edge of the hindwings of some lepidoptera which unites the wings by interlocking with a catch on the posterior part of the forewings.


retract

en-verb

retract (third-person singular simple present retracts, present participle retracting, simple past and past participle retracted)

retracts (present singular third-person)
retracting (participle present)
retracted (participle past)
retracted (past)

From Late Middle English retracten, retract (“to absorb, draw in”), from Latin retractus (“withdrawn”), the perfect passive participle of Latin retrahō (“to draw or pull back, withdraw; to bring back; to compel to turn back; to recall; to get back, recover; to hold back, restrain, withhold; to remove, take away; to bring to light again; (Late Latin) to delay”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + trahō (“to drag, pull; to extract, withdraw”). Doublet of retreat.

der

A cat can retract its claws.

To pull (something) back or back inside.

(specifically, zoology) To draw (an extended body part) back into the body.

縮 /缩

to draw (an extended body part) back into the body


trimorphic

/ˌtɹaɪˈmɔɹfɪk/

(zoology) Having three different forms with a clear attribute amongst three animals of the same species.


tympanum

Borrowed from Latin tympanum (“a drum, timbrel, tambourine; the eardrum”). Doublet of timbre, timpani, timbal, and tymbal.

قَلْب القَوْصَرَة

triangular space between the sides of a pediment

(anatomy, zootomy) Any of various anatomic structures in various animals with analogy to a drum head:

(anatomy, zootomy) The eardrum (tympanic membrane, membrana tympanica).

(anatomy, zootomy) The main portion of the middle ear: the tympanic cavity (cavitas tympani).

(zootomy, entomology) A thin tense membrane covering the hearing organ on the leg or body of some insects, sometimes adapted (as in cicadas) for producing sound.

(zootomy) A membranous resonator in a sound-producing organ in frogs and toads.

(zootomy) (in certain birds) The labyrinth at the bottom of the windpipe.


timpanum

timpanums (plural)
timpana (plural)
tympanum (alternative)

(zoology) An external hearing organ in some insects.


nematode

Derived from Ancient Greek νηματώδης (nēmatṓdēs, “fibrous, in filaments”), from νῆμα (nêma, “thread, yarn”) + -ώδης (-ṓdēs, “-like”).

af

Nematodes are free-living, soil-dwelling microscopic worms.

2020, Brandon Taylor, Real Life, Daunt Books Originals, page 7:

(zoology) A worm of the large phylum Nematoda, such as a roundworm or threadworm.


radiolitid

(zoology) Any extinct bivalve in the family Radiolitidae.


antlia

Borrowed from Latin antlia (“pump”), from Ancient Greek ἀντλία (antlía).

(archaic, zoology) The spiral tubular proboscis of butterflies.


raniform

(rare, chiefly zoology) Shaped like a frog; resembling a frog.


velum

Borrowed from Latin vēlum (“a cloth, covering, awning, curtain, veil”). Doublet of veil.

bor

A thin membrane resembling a veil or curtain.

(zoology) A annular membrane, typically bordering a cavity, especially in certain molluscs, medusae, and other invertebrates.


xanthism

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ξανθισμός (xanthismós), by surface analysis, xantho- + -ism.

lbor

(biology, zoology) A yellowish colouring of pigments in hair, skin, feathers, etc.


xiphioid

en-adj

xiphioid (comparative more xiphioid, superlative most xiphioid)

more xiphioid (comparative)
most xiphioid (superlative)

From ξιφία (xiphía), from ξίφος (xíphos, “sword”) + -oid.

(zoology) Resembling or related to the genus Xiphias (swordfish).

(zoology) Resembling or related to the family Xiphiidae (a group of fish).


xiphioid

(zoology) Any member of the genus Xiphias or family Xiphiidae.


xiphosuran

(zoology) Any member of the order Xiphosura, including horseshoe crabs.


xiphosuran

(zoology) Of or pertaining to the order Xiphosura.


perrisodactyl

/pɛɹɪsəʊˈdæktɪl/

(zoology): Any member of the mammal order Perissodactyla, including the horse, tapir, and rhinoceros


pollicate

(zoology) Of insects: having a curved projection or spine on the inner side of a leg joint.


pallet

(zoology) One of a pair of shelly plates that protect the siphon tubes of certain bivalves, such as the Teredo.


ruga

Borrowed from Latin rūga (“a crease in the face, wrinkle”).

bor

Female: Face subpolished, weakly rugose, rugae somewhat diverging, at sides sparsely and shallowly punctate; […]

1980, Joseph Kenneth Jonathan, The Isotima-complex (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), page 83:

the deadly water-snakes coil’d together like the Rugæ of a single great Brain, the gray and even illumination from the Sky

(anatomy, zootomy, botany, usually in the plural) A fold, crease or wrinkle.


parenchyma

en-noun

parenchyma (countable and uncountable, plural parenchymas or parenchymata)

parenchymas (plural)
parenchymata (plural)

/pəˈɹɛŋ.kɪm.ə/

From Ancient Greek παρέγχῠμα (parénkhŭma, “anything poured in beside”), from πᾰρᾰ- (pără-, “beside”) + ἔγχῠμα (énkhŭma, “instillation, content of a vessel”), given by the Greek anatomist Erasistratus to the peculiar substance of the lungs, liver, kidneys, and spleen, as if formed separately by the veins that run into them.

af

[I]n a Sponge, the Parenchyma, it seems, is but a kind of mucous gelly, which is very easily and cleerly wash'd away.

1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia, section XXII:

(zoology) Cellular tissue lying between the body wall and the organs of invertebrate animals lacking a coelom, such as flatworms.


halfbeak

(zoology) Any slender, marine fish of the family Hemiramphidae, having the upper jaw much shorter than the lower, the balahoos or ballyhoos.

migbec

any slender, marine fish of the family Hemiramphidae


olfactory

From Latin olfactus (“an act of smelling; the sense of smell”) + -ory, from olfaciō (“to sniff, smell, scent”) + -tus (action noun suffix).

(anatomy, zootomy) Ellipsis of olfactory organ.


equilateral

(zoology) Having the two sides equal, as a surface divisible by a longitudinal median line into two halves of the same form.

(zoology) Having all the convolutions of the shell in one plane, chiefly of foraminifers.


mala

Learned borrowing from Latin māla (“the cheekbone, jaw”).

lbor

(zootomy)
A single lobe of an insect's maxilla.

The grinding surface of an insect's mandible.

The third segment of a mandible of some myriapods.


squirrel monkey

en-noun

squirrel monkey (plural squirrel monkeys)

(zoology, primatology) Any of several small New World monkeys, of the genus Saimiri, that live in Central and South America.


mutilate

Learned borrowing from Latin mutilātus, the perfect passive participle of mutilō (“to mutilate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), itself from mutilus (“maimed”).

(archaic, zoology) Having fin-like appendages or flukes instead of legs, like a cetacean does.


syrinx

/sɪˈɹɪnd͡ʒiːz/

Learned borrowing from Latin sȳrinx (“reed; reed pipe, panpipes”), from Ancient Greek σῦριγξ (sûrinx, “panpipes; pipe-shaped object”), from Pre-Greek. Doublet of syringe.
The plural form syringes is a learned borrowing from Latin sȳringes.

der

This tube is named the Windpipe, Trachea, or Aspera-arteria; […] its lower extremity, or the part at which it bifurcates, is the Lower Larynx, or the Syrinx. Besides acting as a pipe to the lungs, it is also the organ of the voice, the air in passing through it causing its membranes so to vibrate, and being so acted upon by the muscles attached to it, as to give rise to the various cries and notes emitted by birds, although the palate, the tongue, and the mandibles also operate in modifying the sounds thus produced.

1839, William MacGillivray, “Practical Ornithology. Fifth Lesson.”, in A History of British Birds, Indigenous and Migratory: […], volume II (Cantatores, Songsters), London: […] [W. Burness] for Scott, Webster, and Geary, […], →OCLC, page 19:

The role of the syrinx in psittacine sound production is still under examination, and probably differs from that of songbirds. […] For species with relatively simple syringes but complex vocal behavior (such as Grey parrots), these data imply that other structures must modify syringeal output.

1999, Irene Maxine Pepperberg, “How Does a Grey Parrot Produce Human Speech Sounds?”, in The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots, Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press, published 2002, →ISBN, page 293:

The primary sound-producing organ in a bird is the syrinx and the secondary system aiding sound production consists of the larynx, mouth, tongue and laryngeal muscles. […] Birds vocalise by expelling air over the elastic membranes of the syrinx housed within the inter-clavicular sac, an air sac in the pleural cavity.

2007, Gisela Kaplan, “Emotions, Vocal Behaviour and Communication”, in Tawny Frogmouth (Australian Natural History Series), Collingwood, Melbourne, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing, →ISBN, page 121:

The organ responsible for producing sounds during song is the syrinx, located where the trachea joins the bronchi of the two lungs[…]. Four to six muscles on either side are attached to the syrinx, and sound is produced when air is expelled through it. The flow of air induces part of the syrinx wall to vibrate and generate sound, in a similar way to the operation of the human larynx.

2010, Peter Simmons, David Young, “Nerve Cells and Animal Signalling: Songs of Crickets, Electric Fish and Birds”, in Nerve Cells and Animal Behaviour, 3rd edition, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 247:

(ornithology, zootomy) The voice organ in birds, located at or near where the trachea and the bronchi join.


fauces

en-noun

fauces pl (normally plural, singular faux)

Borrowing from Latin faucēs (“the upper part of a throat”).

bor

There are two orange-coloured spots at the fauces of that Cypræa Isabella, whence its name, orange-tip.

1826, Mary Anne Venning, Rudiments of Conchology, page 94:

Even at that early age the lamella in the fauces may be distinctly traced through the translucent shell.

1872, American Journal of Conchology, volume 7, page 226:

The tubercle is the same color but with white fauces. The glossy shell coloring is extremely various; the background is white, yellow or black, with or without longitudinal zigzag lines, transverse bands or blotches covering the surface.

1993, Recovery Plan for the Oʻahu Tree Snails of the Genus Achatinella, page 14:

(zoology) That portion of the interior of a spiral shell which can be seen by looking into the aperture.


debark

en-verb

debark (third-person singular simple present debarks, present participle debarking, simple past and past participle debarked)

debarks (present singular third-person)
debarking (participle present)
debarked (participle past)
debarked (past)

From de- + bark (“(of a dog) make the noise”).

prefix

(transitive, veterinary medicine) To devocalize (a dog).


plume moth

(zoology) Any one of numerous small, slender moths, belonging to the family Pterophoridae, most of which have wings deeply divided into two or more plumelike lobes, some species of which are injurious to the grapevine.


plumicorn

From Latin pluma (“feather”) + cornu (“horn”).

(zoology, rare) An ear tuft of feathers, as in the horned owls.


plumiped

From Latin plumipes, plumipedis, from pluma (“feather”) + pes.

(zoology) Having feet covered with feathers.


metamorphism

en-noun

metamorphism (countable and uncountable, plural metamorphisms)

From metamorphosis + -ism, after French métamorphisme.

(zoology) The process by which insects develop through life stages, for example, those of embryo, larva, pupa and imago. The life cycle of the butterfly is one of complete metamorphosis, in which the embryo grows within the egg, hatches into the larval stage caterpillar, enters the pupal stage within its chrysalis, and finally emerges as an adult butterfly imago.


plumule

From Latin plūmula, diminutive of plūma (“feather”); compare French plumule.

(zoology) One of the featherlike scales of certain male butterflies.


plumularian

(zoology) Belonging or relating to the plumularia.


plumulaceous

en-adj

plumulaceous (comparative more plumulaceous, superlative most plumulaceous)

more plumulaceous (comparative)
most plumulaceous (superlative)

(zoology, ornithology) Downy; bearing down.


pollinose

pollinose (comparative more pollinose, superlative most pollinose)

more pollinose (comparative)
most pollinose (superlative)

(zoology) Having the surface covered with a fine yellow dust, like pollen.


pervious

pervious (comparative more pervious, superlative most pervious)

more pervious (comparative)
most pervious (superlative)

Borrowed from Latin pervius (“having a passage through; passable, penetrable, traversable”) + English -ous (suffix denoting the presence of a quality in any degree (typically an abundance)). Pervius is derived from per- (prefix denoting doing something all the way through or entirely) + via (“road, street; method, way; (figurative) course, route”) + -us (suffix forming adjectives)

bor

The noſtrils are very large, and pervious: the vvhole plumage is duſky, daſhed vvith purple and green: legs of a dirty fleſh-color: clavvs black.

1785, Thomas Pennant, “Class II. Birds. Div[ision] I. Land Birds. Order I. Rapacious. I. Vulture, Gen. Birds I.”, in Arctic Zoology, volume II, London: […] Henry Hughs, →OCLC, page 191:

(botany, zoology) Of a body structure (especially the nostril of a bird): having a hole, perforate; also, wide open.


remotion

en-noun

remotion (countable and uncountable, plural remotions)

From Old French or directly from Latin remōtiō.

By simple promotion and remotion, assisted by some flexure and extension, the distal spines of each would reach and scratch the substratum and, on remotion, sweep coarse particles posteriorly and dorsally.

1995, Cladocera as Model Organisms in Biology, →ISBN, page 63:

In other arthropods, promotion-remotion of the leg is accomplished at other joints. For example, in spiders promotion-remotion occurs at the coxa-trochanter joint, insects utilize the body-coxa joint, and […]

2008, John L. Capinera, Encyclopedia of Entomology, volume 4, →ISBN, page 3326:

(zoology, chiefly entomology) Backward motion.


auricularia

/ɔːˌɹɪk.jʊˈlɛəɹi.ə/

/ɔˌɹɪk.jəˈɛɹi.ə/

From Latin auriculāria (“ear-shaped things”).

(zoology) The larvae of the sea cucumber.


auriculars

The more inland, lighter race is distinguished from A. u. uropygialis in being much paler on the back, by the edgings of the forehead scallopings and auriculars being paler, and by having the brown of the forehead less deep and less rufescent.

1937, The Emu: Official Organ of the Australasian Ornithologists' Union:

(zoology) A circle of feathers surrounding the opening of the ear of birds.


auriculated

(zoology, rare) Having an angular projection on one or both sides, as in certain bivalve shells, the foot of some gastropods, etc.


aurited

(zoology) Having lobes like the ear; auriculate.


aurochs

aurochs (plural aurochs or aurochses or aurochsen)

aurochs (plural)
aurochses (plural)
aurochsen (plural)
auroch (alternative)
aurox (alternative)

Borrowed from German Aurochs, an early variant of Auerochse, from Middle High German ūrochse (“aurochs”), from Old High German ūrohso (“aurochs”), a compound consisting of ūro (“aurochs”) (from Proto-Germanic *ūraz, *ūrô (“aurochs”)) + ohso (“ox”). Akin to Old English ūr (“aurochs”), Old Norse úrr (“aurochs”), Middle Low German ūrosse (“aurochs”), Old English oxa (“ox”). More at ox.

(zoology) The European bison (Bos bonasus, or Europæus).


gorget

/ˈɡoɹ.d͡ʒɪt/

/ˈɡoɹ.d͡ʒɛt/

/ˈɡoɹ.d͡ʒət/

From Middle English gorget, from Old French gorgete, from gorge (“throat”).

There was […] the golden-winged woodpecker, with his crimson crest, his broad black gorget, and splendid plumage […]

1917, Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow:

(zoology) A crescent-shaped coloured patch on the neck of a bird or mammal.


gracile

en-adj

gracile (comparative more gracile, superlative most gracile)

more gracile (comparative)
most gracile (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-gracile.wav

/ˈɡɹeɪˌsaɪl/

Borrowed from Middle French gracil, gracile (“slender, thin”) (modern French gracile (“gracile”)), or directly from its etymon Latin gracilis (“slender, slim, thin; lean, meagre, scanty; simple, unadorned”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kerḱ- (“to become thin; to wane”). The sense “graceful or gracefully slender” was apparently influenced by the non-cognate word grace. The English word is cognate with Italian gracile (“delicate, frail; slender, thin”), Portuguese grácil, Spanish grácil (“graceful; delicate; slender”), and a doublet of gracilis.

cog

This tentative comparison, plus consideration of individual skulls, shows the Neolithic pre-Greeks more Mediterranean than the Greeks, with emphasis on intermediate or gracile Mediterranean rather more than on the rugged Basic White trend, [...]

1945, J. Lawrence Angel, “Neolithic Ancestors of the Greeks”, in American Journal of Archaeology, volume 49, number 3, →DOI, page 256:

Where stratified fossil sequences are known, "gracile" fossils precede robust ones. The extremely robust hominids do not appear on the scene until about 2 million years ago, followed shortly thereafter by an "advanced" gracile. Both the advanced gracile and robust forms probably evolved from earlier gracile australopithecines.

1981, Nancy Makepeace Turner, “Early Hominid Lifeways: The Critical Role of an Interpretive Framework”, in On Becoming Human, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 254:

At various times since Homo first appeared in Africa, it shared the continent with more robust hominids, perhaps several different species of them. [...] They seem to have evolved from more ‘gracile’ apes (gracile being the opposite of robust). The gracile apes are also placed in the genus Australopithecus, and we too almost certainly emerged from among gracile australopithecine ranks.

2004, Richard Dawkins, “Ape-men”, in The Ancestor’s Tale: The Dawn of Life, New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, pages 86–87:

We would also expect increasing home-range size in Neanderthals in 'edge' regions (bordering the MLB and the plains), such as south-west France, in response to habitat fragmentation during periods of expansion of open vegetation. A more gracile morphology would have been far more efficient over larger areas.

2004, Clive Finlayson, “Comparative Behaviour and Ecology of Neanderthals and Modern Humans”, in Neanderthals and Modern Humans: An Ecological and Evolutionary Perspective, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 117:

(chiefly zoology, anthropology, paleontology) Of an animal or skeletal element: having a slender frame.


baccivorous

baccivorous birds

(zoology) Eating, or having a diet based on, berries


saurian

en-adj

saurian (comparative more saurian, superlative most saurian)

more saurian (comparative)
most saurian (superlative)

From Sauria (suborder of lizards) + -an (suffix forming adjectives), under influence from earlier French saurien.

compound

(zoology) Of or related to the members of the suborder Sauria.


reticulum

en-noun

reticulum (plural reticula or reticulums)

Borrowed from Latin rēticulum (“net”). Doublet of reticle, reticule, and Reticulum.

doublet

As the young ruminant consumes forages, the reticulum, and particularly the rumen, develop rapidly.

2013 [1966], Robert E. Hungate, The Rumen and Its Microbes, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 162:

en:second compartment of stomach of ruminant

(zoology) The second compartment of the stomach of a cow or other ruminant.


polygastrian

(zoology, obsolete) One of the Polygastrica, an obsolete classification of microorganisms.


polygastric

(zoology) Pertaining to the Polygastrica.


polymeniscous

(zoology) Having numerous facets; said of the compound eyes of insects and crustaceans.


polymorphosis

(zoology) The assumption of several structural forms without a corresponding difference in function; said of sponges, etc.


exothermic

en-adj

exothermic (comparative more exothermic, superlative most exothermic)

more exothermic (comparative)
most exothermic (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-exothermic.wav

From French exothermique, from exo- (“outside”) + thermique (“of heat”), both ultimately from Ancient Greek. By surface analysis, exo- + -thermic.

(zoology) Of an animal: whose body temperature is regulated by external factors; cold-blooded.


endothermic

endothermic (comparative more endothermic, superlative most endothermic)

more endothermic (comparative)
most endothermic (superlative)

/ˌɛndəʊˈθəːmɪk/

Borrowed from French endothermique, from endo- (“inside”) + thermique (“of heat”), both ultimately from Ancient Greek. By surface analysis, endo- + -thermic.

(zoology) Of an animal whose body temperature is regulated by internal factors.

эндатэрмічны

zoology: of animal with regulated temperature


rostrum

Learned borrowing from Latin rōstrum (“beak, snout”), from rōd(ō) (“gnaw”) + -trum, from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- + *-trom. The pulpit sense is a back-formation from the name of the Roman Rōstra, the platforms in the Forum where politicians made speeches. The Rōstra were decorated with (and named for) the beaks (prows) of ships from naval victories.

lbor

(zoology) The beak-shaped projection on the head of insects such as weevils.

rostrum

beak-shaped projection on the head of some insects


coelacanthine

en-adj

coelacanthine (comparative more coelacanthine, superlative most coelacanthine)

more coelacanthine (comparative)
most coelacanthine (superlative)

(ichthyology) Pertaining to, or having the properties of, a coelacanth (fish).


pecten

(zoology) One of the genus Pecten of scallops.


fettered

fettered (comparative more fettered, superlative most fettered)

more fettered (comparative)
most fettered (superlative)

(zoology) Of the feet: bent backward and apparently unfit for walking.


solen

(zoology) Any marine bivalve mollusk belonging to Solen; a razor clam.


amniotic fluid

en-noun

amniotic fluid (countable and uncountable, plural amniotic fluids)

(zoology) In placental mammals, a fluid contained within the amnion membrane that surrounds a developing embryo or fetus.

سُخْد

fluid that surrounds a developing embryo or fetus


kenning

From ken (“to beget, bring forth”), from Middle English kennen (“to beget, conceive (offspring); to give birth to”), from Old English cennan, gecennan (“to beget (offspring); to give birth to; to bring forth, produce”); see further at etymology 1.

inh

The ſtreine or kenning of the egge.

1585, “Oui vmbilicus”, in Iohn Higins, transl., The Nomenclator, or Remembrancer of Adrianus Iunius, London: Ralph Newberie and Henrie Denham, page 54:

(zoology, obsolete, rare) A chalaza or tread of an egg (a spiral band attaching the yolk of the egg to the eggshell); a cicatricula.


cuticula

From Latin cutīcula (“skin, cuticle”). Doublet of cuticle.

(zoology, botany) A tough protective covering outside the epidermis of many invertebrates and plants; cuticle.


cardo

Borrowed from Latin cardō (“hinge”). Doublet of kern.

(zoology) The basal joint of the maxilla in insects


flexure

en-noun

flexure (countable and uncountable, plural flexures)

(zoology) The last joint, or bend, of the wing of a bird.


planula

Borrowed from Latin plānula, diminutive of plāna (“plane”).

(zoology) The larva of a hydrozoan, which is free-swimming and covered in cilia.


frill

A large admiral lizard leapt up on a rail, stood on hind legs with fore legs raised like hands and watched for a moment […], then loped down the cess-path with arms swinging and iridescent frill flying out like a cape […]

1943, Xavier Herbert, chapter 14, in Capricornia, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton-Century, page 227:

She reminded Bojan of a desert lizard throwing up its frill to frighten predators.

1997, Richard Flanagan, chapter 54, in The Sound of One Hand Clapping, New York: Grove Press:

(zoology) The relatively extensive margin seen on the back of the heads of reptiles, with either a bony support or a cartilaginous one.


cirrus

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-cirrus.wav

(zoology) A thin tendril-like appendage.


mouthbrooder

However, [Franz] Steindachner (1875), in describing Arius planiceps, a catfish from Panama, found that at the breeding season the innermost edges of the ventral fins of the female are developed so as to form a kind of pocket. He conjectured that the eggs are extruded into this, fertilized by the male, and then taken into his mouth. He found a similar structure on the female of A. kessleri, the male of which is also a mouth brooder.

1918, E. W. Gudger, “Oral Gestation in the Gaff-Topsail Catfish, Felichthys felis”, in Papers from the Department of Marine Biology of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, volume XII, number III, Washington, D.C.: Published by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, →OCLC, page 33:

Mozambique mouthbrooders are native to coastal streams of southeast Africa, especially the Zambesi River, Mozambique.

1976, Peter B. Moyle, “Cichlid Family, Cichlidae”, in Inland Fishes of California, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Calif., London: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 330:

In almost all mouthbrooders, guarding the young is undertaken by the female (uniparental maternal family) though the male may participate exceptionally, notably in S. mossambicus [...] In S. galilaeus [...] and S. multifasciatus [...] the two sexes form a stable couple and both practice mouthbrooding. This seems, therefore, to be an intermediate stage between the biparental family of substrate-spawners and the uniparental family of mouthbrooders [...].

1982, J-Cl. Philippart, J-Cl. Ruwet, “Ecology and Distribution of Tilapias”, in R[oger] S. V. Pullin, R[osemary] H[elen] Lowe-McConnell, editors, The Biology and Culture of Tilapias: Proceedings of the International Conference on the Biology and Culture of Tilapias, 2–5 September 1980 […], Makati, Philippines: International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management, →ISBN, →ISSN, session 1 (Biology), page 48:

The very small Tanganicodus irsacae is a typical biparental mouthbrooder that collects eggs immediately upon deposition and retains them in the buccal cavity for about 14 days at which time fully formed young 11mm long are released and begin oral feeding.

1991, E[ugene] K[ornel] Balon, “Probable Evolution of the Coelacanths Reproductive Style: Lecithotrophy and Orally Feeding Embryos in Cichlid Fishes and in Latimeria chalumnae”, in John A. Musick, Michael N. Bruton, Eugene K. Balon, editors, The Biology of Latimeria chalumnae and Evolution of Coelacanths: […] (Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes; 12), Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media, →DOI, →ISBN, pages 252–253:

[A]lmost all mouthbrooding species are found in Africa, and many are restricted to one of the African Great Lakes. Among the few exceptions are Sarotherodon melanotheron, a paternal mouthbrooder which is widely distributed in West African rivers and estuaries, and S. galilaeus, a biparental mouthbrooder with an even broader distribution across North-central Africa [...].

1991, M[iles] H. A. Keenleyside, “Parental Care”, in Miles H. A. Keenleyside, editor, Cichlid Fishes: Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution (Fish and Fisheries Series; 2), London, New York, N.Y.: Chapman & Hall, →ISBN, page 205:

The cardinalfishes are interesting in their reproductive biology. They are mouthbrooders, in that the eggs are held, usually in the mouth of the male, until hatching; this is one of the only marine fish families to reproduce in this way.

2000, Yvonne Sadovy, Andrew S. Cornish, “Cardinalfishes: Apogonidae”, in Reef Fishes of Hong Kong, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, →ISBN, page 93:

(zoology) Any animal that cares for its offspring, either eggs or juveniles, by holding them in its mouth for extended periods of time.

muilbroeder

animal that cares of its offspring by holding them in its mouth


caudal peduncle

caudal peduncle (plural caudal peduncles)

(ichthyology) The narrow part of a fish's body to which the caudal or tail fin is attached. Its proportions, such as the length and breadth, and attached organs, such as spines of surgeonfishes or caudal keels and finlets of Scombridae often are important in descriptions of fish species.


ventral fin

(ichthyology) A fin, usually paired, located ventrally below the pectoral fins of a fish.


adipose fin

(ichthyology) A soft, fleshy fin located behind the dorsal fin and just forward of the caudal fin, found fish of certain families, believed to have some sensory function.

rasvaevä

a soft, fleshy fin found on the back of a fish


finlet

(ichthyology) Small non-retractable fins, generally on the caudal peduncle between the last dorsal or anal fin and the caudal fin of some fishes. In some groups, such as tuna, finlets are rayless.


cephalic fin

(ichthyology) One of a set of fins that look like horns on either side of the broad head of a manta ray.


caudal keel

(ichthyology) A lateral ridge found just anterior to each side of the tail fin on the caudal peduncle of some types of fast-swimming fish. The keels improve the stability of the fish's attitude at speed in the water, and strengthen the support of the caudal fin.


excavate

From a substantivization of Latin excavātus through the associated taxon's name (Excavata), see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

(zoology) Any member of a major grouping of unicellular eukaryotes, of the clade Excavata.


LDA

LDA (countable and uncountable, plural LDAs)

(veterinary) Initialism of left-displaced abomasum.


azoturia

azoturia (usually uncountable, plural azoturias)

(veterinary medicine) A condition that affects the muscles of horses, ranging from stiffness and mild cramps to the horse becoming unable to stand, with discoloured urine


drench

From Middle English drench, drenche (“beverage, drink; cup of drink, specifically a poisoned drink; medicinal potion, specifically an emetic (?)”) [and other forms], from Old English drenċ (“drink; draft, potion; dose (of medicine, poison, etc.)”), from Proto-West Germanic *dranki, from Proto-Germanic *drankiz (“drink; potion; dose”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrenǵ- (“to draw, pull; to gulp; to sip”). Doublet of drink (noun).
Cognates
* Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌺 (draggk), 𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌺 (dragk, “beverage, drink”)
* Old Dutch *dranc, (Middle Dutch dranc, modern Dutch drank (“beverage, drink”))
* Old High German tranc, tranch (Middle High German tranc, modern German Trank (“drink; potion”))
* Old Saxon dranc

nb...

drænc, drænce, drenc, drencche, drence, dreinch, drenke, drunch

inh

O my ſvveet Harry ſaies ſhe! hovv manie haſt thou kild to day? Giue my roane horſe a drench (ſayes hee) and aunſvveres ſome foureteene, an houre after: a trifle, a trifle.

c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv], signature D3, recto:

It [siler] ſtaieth the gurrie or running out of the belly in foure-footed beaſts, vvhether it bee given ſtamped by vvay of a drench and ſo injected, or chevved drie among their meat vvith ſalt.

1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book XX.] Of the Serpentine Cucumber, Called otherwise the Wandering Cucumber: Also of the Garden Cucumbers, Melons or Pompions.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 2nd tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 41:

A Drench of VVine has vvith ſucceſs been us'd; / And through a Horn, the gen'rous Juice infus'd: / VVhich timely taken op'd his cloſing Javvs; / But, if too late, the Patient's [a horse's] death did cauſe.

1697, Virgil, “The Third Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 119:

(veterinary medicine) A dose or draught of liquid medicine administered to an animal.

annos

dose or draught of medicine administered to an animal


drench

en-verb

drench (third-person singular simple present drenches, present participle drenching, simple past and past participle drenched)

drenches (present singular third-person)
drenching (participle present)
drenched (participle past)
drenched (past)
drench (infinitive)
drench (first-person present singular)
drenched (first-person past singular)
drencht (archaic first-person past singular)
drench (present second-person singular)
drenchest (archaic present second-person singular)
drenched (past second-person singular)
drenchedst (archaic past second-person singular)
drencht (archaic past second-person singular)
drenches (present singular third-person)
drencheth (archaic present singular third-person)
drenched (past singular third-person)
drencht (archaic past singular third-person)
drench (plural present)
drenched (past plural)
drencht (archaic past plural)
drench (present subjunctive)
drenched (past subjunctive)
drencht (archaic past subjunctive)
drench (imperative present)
drenching (participle present)
drenched (participle past)
drencht (archaic participle past)

The verb is derived from Middle English drenchen, drench (“to drown; to flood, inundate; to consume (drink or food); to give (someone) a drink; to poison (someone) with a drink; to immerse, soak, drench; to descend, fall, sink; to penetrate, permeate; (figurative) to engulf, overwhelm”) [and other forms], from Old English drenċan (“to give (someone) a drink; to immerse, soak, drench”), from Proto-West Germanic *drankijan, from Proto-Germanic *drankijaną (“to cause (someone) to drink”), the causative of *drinkaną (“to drink”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrenǵ- (“to draw, pull; to gulp; to sip”). Doublet of drink (verb).
The noun is derived from the verb (sense 1.2).
Cognates
* Old High German trenchen (modern German tränken (“to give a drink; to water”))
* Old Norse drekkja, drenkja (Swedish dränka)
* Old Saxon dręnkian (Dutch drenke (“to get a drink”))

nb...

dreinche, dreinchen, drenche, drengen, drensche, drenshen, drinche, drynche

juottaa

to cause (someone) to drink; to provide (someone) with a drink; to administer a dose or draught of liquid medicine to (an animal), often by force

To cause (someone) to drink; to provide (someone) with a drink.

(specifically, veterinary medicine) To administer a dose or draught of liquid medicine to (an animal), often by force.


phoresy

phoresies (plural)
phoresis (alternative)

From French phorésie, from Ancient Greek φόρησις (phórēsis, “wearing, garment”), from φορέω (phoréō, “I wear, I bear”) + -σις (-sis, nominal suffix). See -phore.

af

(zoology) An association between two organisms in which one (e.g. a mite) travels on the body of another, without being a parasite.


Bessie

(cryptozoology) A lake monster supposed to exist in Lake Erie in the United States.


polygynandry

If you've never heard of polygynandry before, this isn't surprising because it is a very unusual mating system, found only in a tiny number of vertebrate species and in no other primates.

2016, David P. Barash, Out of Eden, Oxford, page 29:

(anthropology, zoology) A mating pattern involving multiple males and multiple females.


scur

(veterinary) A distorted horn, regrown after the disbudding operation of a goat, sheep, or cow.


hot-blooded

en-adj

hot-blooded (comparative more hot-blooded or hotter-blooded, superlative most hot-blooded or hottest-blooded)

more hot-blooded (comparative)
hotter-blooded (comparative)
most hot-blooded (superlative)
hottest-blooded (superlative)
hotblooded (alternative)

For my own part, judging from experiments ranging from the cold-blooded to the hottest-blooded animals—from the alligator to the common fowl—I am constrained to say, that after decapitation, the sensational phenomena and voluntary motion are far more strongly indicated in the headless body, than in the separated head.

1851 June, Bennet Dowler, Experimental Researches, Illustrative of the Functional Oneness, Unity, and Diffusion, of Nervous Action; in Opposition to the Anatomical Assumption, of Four Sets of Nerves, and a Fourfold Set of Functions, and Transmitted Impressions; […], New Orleans, La.: […] Joseph Cohn, […], pages 16–17:

By taking little or no exercise, in passing most of the time in sleep, and residing in a tropical climate, or in a temperate one during the hottest summer months, while the experiment lasts, it will be found that the system needs but little food, the waste of the tissues being reduced to a minimum, and there being but little need for the heat produced on account of the high temperature of the surroundings. By living in this way, man can transform himself almost into a cold-blooded or hot-blooded hibernating animal.

1887, Henry C[adwalader] Chapman, “Food”, in Treatise on Human Physiology. For the Use of Students and Practitioners of Medicine., Philadelphia, Pa.: Lea Brothers & Co., page 85:

Most hot-blooded animals cannot sweat as we do to get rid of excess body heat, so big “radiator” ears are a common desert adaptation.

1992, Diana Kappel-Smith, Desert Time: A Journey Through the American Southwest, Tucson, Ariz.: The University of Arizona Press, →ISBN, page 109:


ching

en-noun

ching (countable and uncountable, plural chings)

(zoology) A high-pitched mating call made by the male kakapo.


ching

en-verb

ching (third-person singular simple present chings, present participle chinging, simple past and past participle chinged)

chings (present singular third-person)
chinging (participle present)
chinged (participle past)
chinged (past)

(zoology, intransitive) Of the male kakapo: to make its high-pitched mating call.


whorl

(zoology) A volution, or turn, of the spire of a univalve shell.


decussate

en-adj

decussate (comparative more decussate, superlative most decussate)

more decussate (comparative)
most decussate (superlative)

Borrowed from Latin decussātus from decussāre (“to divide crosswise, arrange crosswise or mark with a cross”), from decussis (“a 10 asses coin”), from decem (“ten”) + as (“a Roman coin”). Based on the cross marking on the decussis coin.

(zoology) Having anatomical structures or markings crossing each other, typically in an X shape or at right angles.


acoel

From group name Acoela, from Ancient Greek ἄκοιλος (ákoilos, “not hollow”).

der

Acoels have no brain or ganglia but a network of nerves beneath the skin that is slightly more concentrated towards the front end.

2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, Granta Books, published 2013, page 89:

(zoology) A member of the Acoela group of marine flatworms, which lack a digestive cavity with definite walls.


paedophage

(zoology) An organism that eats or consumes the young of other species.


subsection

(taxonomy, zoology) An informal taxonomic category below section and above family.


cryptozoologist

From crypto- + zoologist or cryptozoology + -ist.

(cryptozoology) One who studies cryptozoology.


volute

From French volute, from Italian voluta, from Latin volūta, from the feminine of volūtus, perfect passive participle of volvō. Doublet of vault.

(zoology) The spirals or whorls on a gastropod's shell.

Common shells include frog-shells, distorsios, volutes, tulips, murex, cones, olives, marginellas, cowries, augers and the Florida horse conch, the state's official shell, which can grow up to 24in (6 1 cm) long.

2002, Don Philpott, Florida: Gulf Coast, page 16:

(zoology) Any marine gastropod of the family Volutidae.


murine

From Latin stem, mur-, of mus (“mouse”) + -ine.


loculus

(zoology) One of the spaces between the septa in the Anthozoa.


silverback

To be clear, there’s no reason to hate the actual Harambe. After the silverback gorilla was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2016, people used “RIP Harambe” to… comment on the irony of why we mourn animals but are quick to blame humans?

2019 December 31, AJ Willingham, “All the trends we loved and hated in the 2010s”, in CNN:

(mammalogy) A mature male gorilla leading a troop, so named from the silver streaking on its back.


receptive

en-adj

receptive (comparative more receptive, superlative most receptive)

more receptive (comparative)
most receptive (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-receptive.wav

From Late Middle English receptive, receptyue (“capable of receiving something; acting as a receptacle”), borrowed from Medieval Latin receptivus (“capable of receiving something”), from Latin receptus (“retaken, having been retaken; received, having been received”) + -īvus (suffix added to the perfect passive participial stems of verbs, forming a deverbal adjective meaning ‘doing; related to doing’). Receptus is the perfect passive participle of recipiō (“to regain possession, take back; to recapture; to receive; to accept, undertake”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards; again’) + capiō (“to capture, catch, take; to take hold, take possession; to take on; to contain, hold; to occupy; to possess; to receive, take in; to comprehend, understand; to captivate, charm”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-, *keh₂p- (“to hold; to seize”)).

der

(zoology) Of a female animal (especially a mammal): prepared to mate; in heat, in oestrus.

разгонена

of a female animal: prepared to mate — see also in heat


coxy

Phonetic respelling of a clipping of coccidiosis.

Now your laying birds, too, can have protection against cecal coccidiosis. AMPROL* SOLUTION can be safely given to all chickens at the first sign of coxy or when a diagnosis of coccidiosis has been made.

1967, Canadian Poultry Review, volume 91, page 6:

(veterinary medicine, informal) Coccidiosis.


virginal

en-adj

virginal (comparative more virginal, superlative most virginal)

more virginal (comparative)
most virginal (superlative)

/ˈvɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒɪnəl/

From Middle English virginal, from Middle French virginal, from Latin virginālis. The musical instrument is probably so called from being played by young girls.


pseudogamy

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pseudogamy.wav


trematode

From translingual Trematoda, from Ancient Greek τρημᾰτώδης (trēmătṓdēs, “having a vent to the intestinal canal”), from τρῆμᾰ (trêmă, “perforation, aperture”) + -ώδης (-ṓdēs, “full of, -like”).

af

He passed under the last of the bridges and around the bend in the river, through peaceful farmland, high fields tilted on the slopes and rich turned earth in patches of black corrugation among the greening purlieus and small cultivated orchards like scenes of plenitude from picturebooks suddenly pasted over the waste he was a familiar of, the river like a giant trematode curling down out of the city, welling heavy and septic past these fine homes on the north shore.

1979, Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, Random House, page 119:

(zoology) a parasitic flatworm of the class Trematoda


cornuate

en-adj

cornuate (comparative more cornuate, superlative most cornuate)

more cornuate (comparative)
most cornuate (superlative)

From Latin cornuātus (“horn-shaped”), from cornū (“horn”) + -ātus, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

[…] that in the higher apes, Troglodytes, Pithecus, the posterior cavity of the tricornate ventricle becomes of larger dimensions than in Cercopithecus, although far inferior in size and diverse in shape, from the much deeper, and more incurved cornuate bay which forms the digital cavity of man.

1863, Thomas Henry Huxley, “Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature”, in The Edinburgh Review: Or Critical Journal, volume 117, page 557:

Five species of cornuate osteostracans have been discovered at Devils Hole, and a further three or four species are probably represented by indeterminate fragmentary material.

1999, David L. Dineley, Fossil fishes of Great Britain, page 121:

Surgical treatment consisted of excision of the accessory tarsal navicular or medial protuberance of a prominent cornuate-shaped navicular combined with simple replication of the tibialis posterior tendon without altering its course.

1990 July 7, Bennett GL, Weiner DS, Leighley B., “Surgical treatment of symptomatic accessory tarsal navicular”, in Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics, volume 10, number 4, pages 445–9:

(medicine, zoology) Horn-shaped, as with a bicornuate uterus.


snowshoe hare

Lepus americanus
Lepus americanus#Translingual

(zoology) A North American hare (Lepus americanus) that has large, furry feet; its fur is white in winter and brown in summer.


splint

From Middle English splint, splent, splente, from Middle Low German splinte, splente or Middle Dutch splint, splinte. Cognate with Old High German splinza (“bar, bolt, latch”). All ultimately from Proto-Germanic *splintǭ, *splintō (“piece of wood, splinter”), from Proto-Germanic *splint-, *splind- (“to split”), from a nasalized form of *splītaną (“to split”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pley- (“to split, splice”).

der

(zootomy) A bone found on either side of a horse's cannon bone; the second or fourth metacarpal (forelimb) or metatarsal (hindlimb) bone.

(zootomy, veterinary medicine) A disease affecting the splint bones, as a callosity or hard excrescence.


scaled

(zoology) Covered with scales or scale-like structures.


indented

en-adj

indented (comparative more indented, superlative most indented)

more indented (comparative)
most indented (superlative)

(zoology) Notched along the margin with a different colour, like the feathers of some birds.


hatching

en-noun

hatching (countable and uncountable, plural hatchings)

We got a good hatching from the swallowtail eggs.

(zoology) A group of birds, reptiles, fish, insects, etc., which emerge from their eggs at the same time.

люпило

group which emerge from eggs at the same time

(zoology) The act of an egg hatching, eclosion.


aphtha

aphtha (countable and uncountable, plural aphthae)

From Ancient Greek ἄφθα (áphtha, “mouth ulcer”).

der

Foot-and-mouth disease
foot-and-mouth disease

(veterinary medicine) Foot-and-mouth disease.


tethered

(veterinary medicine) Tied, strapped, especially with tethers or hobbles.


ferine

en-adj

ferine (comparative more ferine, superlative most ferine)

more ferine (comparative)
most ferine (superlative)

From Latin ferīnus, from fera (“wild animal”). The zoological sense was coined by William Whewell in 1840.

(zoology, obsolete) Belonging to the proposed taxon of bats, carnivorans, and insectivorans.


ferine

(zoology, obsolete) A member of the proposed taxon of bats, carnivorans, and insectivorans.


palmated

From Latin palmātus (“embroidered with palms”).

der

(ornithology, zoology) Having digits connected by a thin membrane; webbed.

räpylä-

having digits connected by thin membrane

(zoology) Having broad, flattened parts with short extensions similar to a webbed appendage.


acarid

Circa 19th century; from New Latin Acaridae (“biological family”), from Acarus (“genus”), from acarus (“mite”), from Ancient Greek ἄκαρι (ákari, “mite”). By surface analysis, acar- + -id

(zoology) Any parasitic arachnid, such as mites and ticks, of the subclass Acarina.

acarídeo

any parasitic arachnid of the subclass Acarina


nodus

Borrowed from Latin nōdus (“a knot”). Doublet of knot, knout, and node.

(zoology) In the Odonata, a prominent crossvein near the centre of the leading edge of a wing.


chupacabra

chupacabras (plural)
chupacabras (alternative)

/ˌt͡ʃʰupəˈkʰabɹə/

Variant spelling of chupacabras used in English cryptozoological publications by misanalysis of the Spanish chupacabras as a plural.

(cryptozoology, sometimes proscribed) Alternative spelling of chupacabras.


sinistral

dextral

antonym(s) of “of, facing, or on the left side”

(zoology, of certain spiral shells) Having the whorls of the spire revolving or rising to the left; reversed.


specific name

Holonyms: species name (the binomial unit), binominal name, binomial name

(zoology) The second word in the scientific name of an animal species, following the name of the genus.


subspecific name

en-noun

subspecific name (plural subspecific names)

(zoology) The third word in the scientific name of an animal subspecies, following the name of the species.


ectogenous

(zoology, of a pathogenic organism) Able to survive outside of its host


ectothermic

(zoology) Of or relating to an ectotherm; having a body temperature that varies depending on the outside temperature.

بَارِد الدَّم

of or relating to ectotherm; having an unregulated body temperature — see also endothermic


spiculum

From Latin spīculum (“a little sharp point”), from spīcum, alternative form of spīca (“point, spike”).

(zoology) A sharp, needle-like structure, especially those making up the skeleton of a sponge.


infrasubspecific

Holonyms: infraspecific, subspecific < specific < generic < familial

(zoology, bacteriology) pertaining to a taxon at a rank lower than subspecies. The names of such taxa are not regulated by a nomenclatural code; they are not available names.


stot

Likely derived from Middle Dutch stoten (“to push”) or Middle Low German stôten, from Old Saxon stōtan, from Proto-West Germanic *stautan, from Proto-Germanic *stautaną (“to push, jolt, bump”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd-, from *(s)tew- (“to push, hit”).
Also compare Middle English steten (“to thrust, strike, push, knock down”), Old Norse stauta and steyta (whence Danish støde), Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌿𐍄𐌰𐌽 (stautan), Old Saxon stotan.

cog

(zoology, of quadrupeds) A leap using all four legs at once.


stot

en-verb

stot (third-person singular simple present stots, present participle stotting or stottin, simple past and past participle stotted)

stots (present singular third-person)
stotting (participle present)
stottin (participle present)
stotted (participle past)
stotted (past)
stott (alternative)

This vigorous and conspicuous leaping in front of a predator is analogous to bird alarm calls, in that it seems to warn companions of danger while apparently calling the predator’s attention to the stotter himself. We have a responsibility to explain stotting Tommies and all similar phenomena, and this is something I am going to face in later chapters.

1976, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Kindle edition, OUP Oxford, published 2016, page 14:

(intransitive, zoology, of quadrupeds) To leap using all four legs at once.


panzootic

(zoology) An extremely widespread outbreak of a disease or disorder in a population of non-human animals.


lordosis

en-noun

lordosis (countable and uncountable, plural lordoses)

From Ancient Greek λορδός (lordós, “bent backward”) + -osis.

suffix

(zoology) A body posture of some female mammals, indicating receptivity to copulation. It involves lowering of the forelimbs but with the rear limbs extended and hips raised, ventral arching of the spine and a raising, or sideward displacement, of the tail.


epiphysis

(zoology) A small upper piece of each half of an alveolus of a sea urchin.


pectinate

Borrowed from Latin pectinātus (“combed”), from pectinō (“I comb”), from pecten (“comb”). First attested in the mid-18th century.

bor+

The moth's antennae were pectinate in shape, set with long teeth along one edge only.

(anatomy, zoology, botany) Having narrow ridges or projections aligned close together like the teeth of a comb.


flabellate

en-adj

flabellate (comparative more flabellate, superlative most flabellate)

more flabellate (comparative)
most flabellate (superlative)

From Latin flābellum + -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

af

(botany, zoology) Fan-shaped; having parts or segments that are flattened and lengthened on one side, such that they are long and narrow.


tardigrade

/ˈtɑɹdɪˌɡɹeɪd/

(zoology) A member of the animal phylum Tardigrada.


water bear

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-water bear.wav

Calque of German Wasserbär, used to describe these animals by Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773. Equivalent to water + bear.


inocular

(zoology) Inserted in the corner of the eye, like the antenna of certain insects.


blooded

From Middle English bloded, equivalent to blood + -ed.

Mammals are warm-blooded.

Following a modifying word in a compound:

(zoology) Having a certain physiological characteristic, particularly in relation to blood or the circulatory system.

(zoology, of horses, cattle, etc.) Derived from ancestors of good blood; having a good pedigree.


cryptozoological

/ˌkɹɪptoʊˌzoʊəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkəl/

From crypto- + zoological or cryptozoology + -ical.

(cryptozoology) Of or pertaining to cryptozoology.


altricial

en-adj

altricial (comparative more altricial, superlative most altricial)

more altricial (comparative)
most altricial (superlative)

From New Latin Altrices (a former division of birds), plural of altrīx, the feminine of altor (“nourisher”), from alere (“to nourish”).

Altricial young are typical among carnivores, which might be expected to be hampered in their hunting behaviour if the pregnant mother has to carry its young for a long period.

2001, Gonyou, Keeling & Keeling, Social Behaviour in Farm Animals, CABI Publishing, published 2001, page 63:

First, humans are altricial, with immature newborns and a long childhood.

2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 281:

First, compared to other species, babies are altricial, meaning that they are weak, undermuscled, fat, and uncoordinated (sorry, babies, but it's true).

2016, Joseph Henrich, chapter 5, in The Secret of Our Success […] , Princeton: Princeton University Press, →ISBN:

(zoology) Helpless at birth (of young animals); or having young which are helpless at birth.


proliferous

proliferous (comparative more proliferous, superlative most proliferous)

more proliferous (comparative)
most proliferous (superlative)


phytophagous

phytophagous (comparative more phytophagous, superlative most phytophagous)

more phytophagous (comparative)
most phytophagous (superlative)

(zoology) Feeding on plants, herbivorous.


phytophagy

From phyto- (“plant”) + -phagy (“to feed on”).


vascular tissue

en-noun

vascular tissue (countable and uncountable, plural vascular tissues)

(zoology, anatomy) The arteries, veins, capillaries, and associated tissues in an animal.


unhinge

en-verb

unhinge (third-person singular simple present unhinges, present participle unhinging, simple past and past participle unhinged)

unhinges (present singular third-person)
unhinging (participle present)
unhinged (participle past)
unhinged (past)

Many snakes can unhinge their jaw joints to swallow large prey.


parid

(zoology) Any bird in the family Paridae, the tits or chickadees


latid

(zoology) Any fish in the family Latidae.


segment

From Latin segmentum (“a piece cut off, a strip, segment of the earth, a strip of tinsel”), from secāre (“to cut”).

jaoke

botany: portion of an organ derived from a single cell within the primordium

(zoology) One of several parts of an organism, with similar structure, arranged in a chain; such as a vertebra, or a third of an insect's thorax.

jaoke

zoology: one of several parts of an organism, with similar structure, arranged in a chain


polyphagia

en-noun

polyphagia (usually uncountable, plural polyphagias)

From poly- + -phagia, from Ancient Greek πολῠ́ς (polŭ́s, “many”) and ἔφᾰγον (éphăgon, “eat”).

(zoology) The eating of many different types of food

moniruokaisuus

zoology: eating of many different types of food


polypod

en-adj

polypod (comparative more polypod, superlative most polypod)

more polypod (comparative)
most polypod (superlative)


hemolymph

en-noun

hemolymph (countable and uncountable, plural hemolymphs)

hemolymphs (plural)
haemolymph (alternative)
hæmolymph (alternative)

(zoology) A circulating fluid in the bodies of some invertebrates that is the equivalent of blood.

hemolimfa

a circulating fluid in the bodies of some invertebrates


mesel

From Middle English mesel (“leprous, leper”), from Norman mesel (“leprous, leper”), from Old French mesel (“leprous, leper”), from Late Latin misellus (“leper”), from miser (“wretched, wretch”) + -ellus (“-elle”). Doublet of measles.

mesyl (alternative)
mesell (alternative)
mesall (alternative)
messel (alternative)
messell (alternative)
mesele (alternative)
mesale (alternative)
missel (alternative)
mesell (alternative)
misell (alternative)
missell (alternative)
missale (alternative)
missaell (alternative)
messelle (alternative)
messille (alternative)
mysal (alternative)
mysel (alternative)
mysale (alternative)
mysell (alternative)
myssaell (alternative)
myssale (alternative)
myssele (alternative)
myssell (alternative)
mesill (alternative)
mysill (alternative)
mezell (alternative)
mezill (alternative)
measell (alternative)
meazle (alternative)
meazel (alternative)

(zoology, obsolete) Synonym of diseased, particularly visibly displaying a diseased exterior.


sangsue

(zoology) A leech of the former genus Sanguisuga.


denticulate

[…]the mouth is formed by a rather strong tooth over a denticulate margin, confronting what may be called the upper jaw,

1904, Thomas R. R. Stebbing, “South African Crustacea. Part II.”, in Marine Investigations in South Africa, volume 2, page 80:

Selaginella tarda differs from S. sertata in that the plants are smaller and lacking flagelliform shoots, the leaves are denticulate, and the median leaves are not peltate.

1992, Rogers McVaugh, William R. Anderson, Flora Novo-Galiciana: Gymnosperms and Pteridophytes, page 430:

(botany, zoology) Finely dentate, as a leaf edge; bearing many small toothlike structures.


spadix

Via Latin spādīx from Ancient Greek σπᾱ́δῑξ (spā́dīx, “palm branch”).

der

However, the shells of modern nautiluses show the opposite pattern—males are somewhat larger than females, with a wider aperture to accommodate the spadix.

2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 57:

(zoology) A male sexual organ of certain cephalopods and hydrozoans (especially the nautilus), used to transfer sperm.


cuckoldry

en-noun

cuckoldry (countable and uncountable, plural cuckoldries)

(zoology) Among certain male fish, the practice of interrupting a mating pair to release sperm in an attempt to fertilize the female.


praenomen

praenomen (plural praenomens or praenomina)

praenomens (plural)
praenomina (plural)
prænomen (alternative)
prenomen (alternative)

From Latin praenōmen, from prae- (“pre-: before”) + nōmen (“name, family name”).

In the name Tyrannosaurus rex, "Tyrannosaurus" is the praenomen.

(zoology) The genus name in a binomial scientific name.


sloughing

If all sloughings were successfully recorded, which is not certain since rattle segments were not color-coded during this study, the interval between events averaged 246.1 days (1.5 sloughings per snake per year).

1995, Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History: Volume 38:

(zoology) The act of casting off the skin or shell; ecdysis.


palmarium

(zoology) One of the bifurcations of the brachial plates of a crinoid.


microspore

(zoology) One of the numerous tiny spore-like elements produced through the encystment and subdivision of many monads.


cremaster

From Ancient Greek κρεμαστήρ (kremastḗr, “suspender”).

uder

(zoology) In the pupae of certain species of butterfly, a hook-shaped protuberance from the rear of the chrysalis casing, by which the caterpillar fixes itself to the pad of silk it has cemented to the underside of a perch.


epiphragm

(zoology) A dry layer of mucus used by a snail or mollusk to seal itself inside its shell during hibernation.


horse

en-noun

horse (countable and uncountable, plural horses)

horses (plural)
hoss (alternative pronunciation-spelling regional)
hawss (alternative pronunciation-spelling regional)

Sranan Tongo: asi

→ Maori: hōiho

→ Quiripi: hosses (from the plural horses)

From Middle English horse, hors, from Old English hors (“horse”), from Proto-West Germanic *hors, *hross, from Proto-Germanic *hrussą (“horse”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós (“vehicle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”). Doublet of car and carrus. Cognate with North Frisian hors (“horse”), West Frisian hoars (“horse”), Dutch ros, hors (“horse”), German Ross (“horse”), Danish hors (“horse”), Swedish russ, hors (“horse”), Icelandic hross, hors (“horse”).

a camel is a horse designed by a committee

a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse

close the barn door after the horse has bolted

close the stable door after the horse has been stolen

close the stable door after the horse has bolted

lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen

lock the stable door after the horse has bolted

shut the stable door after the horse has bolted

you can't put the shit back in the horse

zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse

Also Horse harness on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

See Horse-drawn vehicles on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Note: Many of these were adapted into and/or gave their names to motor vehicle types

with the horse-drawn originals often being forgotten.

These bone features, distinctive in the zebra, are actually present in all horses.

Equus ferus caballus
Equus ferus caballus#Translingual

A hoofed mammal, Equus ferus caballus, often used throughout history for riding and draft work.

(zoology) Any current or extinct animal of the family Equidae, including zebras and asses.


mucro

Borrowed from Latin mucro. From 17th century.

(botany, zoology) A pointed end, often sharp, abruptly terminating an organ, such as a projection at the tip of a leaf; the posterior tip of a cuttlebone; or the distal part of the furcula in Collembola.


lorica

Borrowed from Latin lōrīca, literally "a corselet of thongs", probably from lorum (“thong”).

(zoology) The protective case or shell of a Loricifera, infusorian or rotifer


carene

From French carène (“keel”), from Latin carīna (“keel”).

(zoology, obsolete) The lower portion of a marine animal's shell, covering its mantle.


galline

en-adj

galline (comparative more galline, superlative most galline)

more galline (comparative)
most galline (superlative)

(zoology) of, or pertaining to, the chicken


scaleless

There are also some surprises such as Eurotamandua, a scaleless pangolin that looks astonishingly like a South American anteater.

2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 65:


autotomy

en-noun

autotomy (countable and uncountable, plural autotomies)

From auto- + -tomy, after German Autotomie or French autotomie.

She has dropped it by autotomy, like the tail or claw of a fleeing lizard, lobster, or starfish.

(chiefly zoology) The spontaneous removal of a limb, tail etc, especially by some invertebrates as a self-defense mechanism.


priapulid

From scientific Latin Priapulus (genus name) + -id.

Like Kimberella’s scrape marks that connect it to modern mollusks, these ancient burrows were certainly created, if not by true priapulids, then by something very similar indeed.

2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 30:

The holes that litter the seabed are entrances to the burrows of priapulids – ‘penis worms’, named for their appearance – and their armoured cousins, the palaeoscolecids.

2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 254:

(zoology) Any small marine worm of the phylum Priapulida.


papilio

(zoology) Any butterfly of the genus Papilio.


pye

(zoology) Ellipsis of pye-dog (“an Indian breed, a stray dog in Indian contexts”).


blistering

Inflammations are treated generally by allopathic practitioners by bleedings, blisterings, purgings, vomitings, Antimony and Mercury: and this is practised, more or less, with little variation, wherever the seat of the inflammation may be.

1852, The American Journal of Homoeopathy, volumes 7-9, page 99:

(medicine, veterinary) The practice of forming blisters on the skin, to promote blood flow and aid healing.


dioecious

/daɪ̯ˈiːʃəs/

diaecious (alternative)
diœcious (alternative)
dioicous (alternative)

(zoology, rare) Having two distinct sexes.


radiole

From Late Latin radiolus (“a fossil echinoid’s spine”), from Latin radius (“rod, staff”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *reh₁t- (“beam, pole, post”)) + -olus (diminutive suffix) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-lós). The word first appears in the works of Scottish natural historian and marine zoologist Charles Wyville Thomson (1830–1882).

der

Radioles or spines [...] are the appendages articulating upon the tubercles. The different parts of the spines are the socket by which it is articulated to the tubercles; the lower part of the radiole is called the head, and is separated from the neck, which is usually smooth or finely striated, by the milled ring,—a prominent ridge more or less deeply grooved, serving as an attachment for the muscles which are to move the spine; beyond the neck we have the body or shaft of the spine.

1874, Alexander Agassiz, “Terminology”, in Revision of the Echini (Illustrated Catalogue of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, at Harvard College; VII), part IV (Structure and Embryology of the Echini), Cambridge, Mass.: University Press; Welch, Bigelow, & Co., →OCLC, page 636:

The radioles of the second size are about 8 millims. in length and 2 millims. in width, very much compressed and flattened, rounded at the end and finely striated longitudinally. They are articulated in a single row to the small tubercles round the edge of the areola, and in their natural attitude they lean over the naked part of the areola and cover the muscles and the head of the large radiole like a frill.

1874 April 9, [Charles] Wyville Thomson, “XXI. On the Echinoidea of the ‘Porcupine’ Deep-sea Dredging-expeditions”, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, volume 164, part II, London: Printed by Taylor and Francis, […], →OCLC, part I, page 725:

Archæocidaris sp. b. [...] This form, which is very imperfectly known, is based on two specimens. One of these shows the distal end of the radiole, which is seen to expand rather abruptly from a very slender shaft having a diameter of about three-fourths mm. into a subspherical end which has a diameter of 2 mm. The terminal portion and the shaft adjacent appear to be armed with short spinules. Associated with the foregoing is the proximal portion of a radiole, showing a long, slender, smooth, cylindrical shaft, which has a diameter of about three-fourths mm., with the usual subterminal collar near the lower end.

1908, George H. Girty, “Echinoidea”, in The Guadalupian Fauna (Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey Professional Paper; 58), Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 110:

The species P. wellmanae would here be synonymised with P. duncani if only the holotype test was known. The younger Te Piki test fragments are indistinguishable from P. wellmanae (and P. duncani), but the radioles differ from those of P. duncani (i.e., P. wellmanae is here being distinguished by features not seen in this holotype). Discovery of topotype radioles will be necessary to confirm the present interpretation and usage.

1982 November 26, G. M. Philip, “A Pleistocene Occurrence of the Cidaroid Echinoid Genus Phyllacanthus in New Zealand”, in Robert P. Lynch, editor, New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, volume 25, number 3, Wellington: Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 366, column 1:

Fabricia bikinii, n. sp. [...] The tentacular crown is composed of three pairs of symmetrical radioles; in addition there are shorter, entire, paired filamentous processes, or palpi, at the ventral end of the crown [...]. Each radiole has 6 to 8 pairs of slender filaments that arise along the basal half of the radiole; these filaments extend distally not quite as far as the radioles to which they are attached.

1954, Olga Hartman, “Systematic Descriptions”, in Marine Annelids from the Northern Marshall Islands: Bikini and nearby Atolls, Marshall Islands (Geological Survey Professional Paper; 260-Q), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 641, column 1:

The anterior segments of sabellid and serpulid worms are modified in two important ways: the head has a crown of pinnate radioles arranged in two spirals or semicircles above the mouth, and some of the anterior segments form a thoracic region [...]. In the Serpulidae, one (sometimes two) of the radioles is modifed as an operculum, which blocks the mouth of the tube when the worm retreats.

1990, Vernon A. Harris, “Tube-dwelling Worms (Annelida – Polychaeta)”, in Sessile Animals of the Sea Shore, London, New York, N.Y.: Chapman and Hall, →ISBN, section 7.2 (Structures Related to a Tubicolous Life Style), page 119:

Family Sabellidae [...] Head with a characteristic crown of 2 groups of pinnate projections called radioles [...], which sometimes bear eyes, and project from the tube when the worm is feeding.

2011, J. D. Fish, S. Fish, “Annelida”, in A Student’s Guide to the Seashore, 3rd edition, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 170–171:

(zoology) A heavily ciliated feather-like tentacle occurring in clusters on the crowns of certain tubeworms, especially those of the order Canalipalpata (fan-head worms), used for feeding and respiration.


Siberian Husky

en-noun

Siberian Husky (plural Siberian Huskies)

(zoology) A medium-sized spitz breed of dog originally used for herding reindeer and pulling sleighs.


glossa

From the Ancient Greek γλῶσσᾰ (glôssă, “tongue”). Doublet of gloss.

They wished to see what Holy would do with the glossa. “The innocent will tell no lies.” The organ eventually had been divided into nineteen sections, distributed, and ingested. “We swallow your lies and cause them to build our powers.”

2016, Dr. Jol, Suburban Brand, Charlotte Publishing Press, →ISBN:

Her swollen “button” hitting his glossa tip provided wave after wave of full body pleasure.

2016, Dr. JD Philip, “The Wedding”, in Victoria: A Pirate Romance, Charlotte Publishing Press, →ISBN, page 230:

It was his glossa, strange that; when dead men had no need to verbalize.

2018, Gloria Trubbshore, Băṭluptă, Xlibris, →ISBN:

In the Paragiina, the proximal region of the glossa is elongated, and the paraglossae are long and reach the bifid apex of the glossa.

2019, Harald W. Krenn, Insect Mouthparts: Form, Function, Development and Performance, page 452:

(zoology) The tongue, or lingua, especially of an insect.


tunicate

Borrowed from Latin tunicātus, see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

(zoology) Having each joint buried in the preceding funnel-shaped one, as in certain antennae of insects.


angiogenesis

Some of the most promising new cancer drugs block this process of ‘angiogenesis’, or blood-vessel formation.

1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial, published 2004, page 238:

(medicine, zoology) The formation and development of new blood vessels.


peduncle

From Late Latin pedunculus, from pedis, genitive of pēs (“foot”).

(zoology) A collection of nerves in the appendage of an animal (such as the tip of a dolphin's tail).

hermokimppu

zoology: collection of nerves in the appendage of an animal


carnivoran

...the earliest carnivoran diversity appears in the early Miocene rift sediments of East Africa...

1996, John L. Gittleman, Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution Vol.2, page 486:

These creatures are so anatomically similar it’s proven hard to figure out their relationships, both with one another and with later carnivoran groups.

2016 November 26, Elsa Panciroli, “Rifling through the 'wastebaskets' of palaeontology reveals surprises”, in The Guardian:

(zoology) Of or pertaining to the order Carnivora.


carnivoran

(zoology) Any member of the order Carnivora.