Abdomen – The lower body area
of an animal, usually containing most of the digestive tract and associated
organs, plus the reproductive organs.
Albinistic – Appearing white due
to lack of pigment in skin, hair, eyes, etc. (There can be other causes of
whitness, too.)
Annulated – Appearing to be
composed of rings or segments, such as certain antelope horns.
Antlers – Sharp weapons on an
animal's head for fighting, but only in the plant-eating members of the deer
family. They use antlers to protect themselves and their young against
predators, and males use horns to fight over girl friends. Except for reindeer,
only male deer have antlers. Antlers are temporary, growing out each year and
then falling off after a while. They are made of bone and grow directly from
the animal's skull. Antlers usually branch into more than one point. Being
temporary, bony, found only on males (except in reindeer), and often with more
than one point are ways in which antlers are different from horns.
Backbone – The big line of bones
that runs down your back and your other
bones are hooked to.
Beak – Especially hard jaws
found on certain animals to help them kill or break up their food. Beaks
usually have sharp edges for cutting and some have sharp, curving tips for
killing. Beaks are made out of the same stuff as your fingernails, but much
thicker. Beaks are normally found oi animals that don't have teeth, such as
birds, turtles, and even octopuses and squids.
Bill – Another word for a
beak, especially for one that is flat and/or soft instead of hard and/or
sharp.
Binocular – Also
"stereoscopic," a form of vision that lets an animal perceive depth
and distance because the eyes are side by side: since each eye sees a slightly different
angle, the brain can solve a geometry problem and tell how far away things are.
Blood – The red watery stuff
in animals' bodies that carries their food and air to all parts of their
bodies.
Bones – The hard things
inside your body that hold you up.
Brain – The part of you that
you think with: animals have brains, too, except for a few very simple ones
like jellyfish.
Camouflage – A color pattern or
odd shape that makes an animal blend in with its surroundings so that enemies
or prey cannot see it.
Canine
Tooth –
A long, sharp tooth found in most carnivores, that they use for catching and
killing prey. There are two canine teeth on each side of the animal's mouth,
one in the upper jaw and one in the lower. Humans and some other animals have
teeth that are called canine because of where they are in the mouth, but they
aren't long and sharp like they are in carnivores.
Cartilage – A tough, flexible
substance that is part of the skeletal structure of most vertebrates. Human
ears and the wiggly part of the human nose contain cartilage. Certain fishes,
the sharks and rays, have no bones at all and their whole skeletons are made of
cartilage.
Claw – A sharp toenail or
fingernail used for fighting, digging or clinging to rocks, trees, etc.
Cloaca – A term for an
anatomical canal that is used to carry both waste materials and reproductive
cells (eggs/sperm). Amphibians, reptiles and birds have cloacas.
Dentition – The total set of an
animal's teeth, the pattern of teeth. Dentition tells scientists a lot about
what an animal eats and how it secures food.
Dewlap – A dangling flap of
skin under the necks of certain herbivores (cattle and antelopes). Often useful
for identifying which species an animal belongs to.
Feathers – A special kind of
body covering found on all birds and only on birds, different from hair in that
each feather has a lot of branches like a tiny flat tree. Some feathers are
stiff for flying and some are soft for keeping the bird warm and dry.
Fin – A flat piece sticking
out of a water animal's body that he uses to swim or steer with. Fish and
whales and seals have fins, and so do submarines!
Fur – Animal hair that
grows in thick coats, as on dogs, cats.
Gills – Soft spongy or
feathery parts that water animals use to get oxygen from the water.
Hair
– Thin,
bendable things like threads that grow out of the skins of some kinds of
animals. Each hair is one thread with no branches. Touch your own hair to
illustrate.
Hoof
– A
large, hard toe covering found especially in plant-eating animals that walk
long distances or run to escape predators, e.g., deer, cows, antelopes and
horses.
Horns – Sharp weapons on an
animal's head for fighting. Many plant-eating animals such as cattle and
antelopes use horns to protect themselves and their young against predators.
Sometimes both males and females have horns, but males often have larger ones
and sometimes only males have horns. Males in many species also use horns to
fight over girl friends. A few insects and reptiles have horns, but mainly horns
are found on mammals. Horns are permanent and are made of the same stuff as
claws and fingernails, though they often are attached to short bony bumps on
the skull. Usually an animal has only two horns and each horn has one point.
Being permanent, made of claw stuff, being on females in some species, and
usually having only one point are ways in which horns are different from
antlers. (A few animals have different kinds of horns from those described
here: rhinoceroses have horns on their noses that are different from the kind
cows have on their heads, and giraffes have horns that are covered with skin
and fur.)
Incisors
– Sharp
cutting teeth in the very front of the mouth, used for biting food off before
swallowing or chewing it.
Keratin – A substance in the
protein group that is found in skin and forms the basic material for hard
outgrowths of skin such as hair, feathers, claws, nails and some kinds of
scales and armor.
Legs/Feet – The things animals
walk with.
Lungs
– Soft
spongy parts inside land animals including people that take oxygen out of the
air when the animals breathe. (Have them breathe deeply and notice how their
chests get bigger as their lungs fill up.)
Mane – A thick growth of
hair on an animal's neck, sometimes growing all around the nexk (lion) and
sometimes growing as a distinct row of hair down the back of the neck (horses).
Melanistic – Appearing black (used
of animals from species that normally are not black)
Molars – Teeth in the side of
the mouth. Most animals have molars that are rough but flat on top for chewing
(grinding or mashing food before swallowing it). Carnivores have sharp molars
for cutting meat.
Morph – A term used for
different forms or colors of animals that are known in different patterns,
e.g., a so-called black panther is a color morph of a leopard. Similar to
"phase" but seems to be used more for mammals.
Nail – A flat toenail or
fingernail that protects the end of the toe/finger but is not especially useful
for fighting, digging or clinging to things.
Phase – A given color pattern
in an animals (especially a bird species) that is usually one color pattern but
occasionally shows up in other colors, e.g., a "white-phase reddish
egret." Also used for a stage in the life of an animal that metamorphoses.
Prehensile – Can grasp like a
hand. Used especially of monkey tails, but also of elephant trunks, etc.
Proboscis – A fancy word for
nose, especially a long nose such an anteater's nose or elephant's trunk.
Retractile – Capable of being
pulled in or back, commonly used to describe the claws of most cats.
Scales – Small, thin, hard
things that are lined up sort of like bricks to cover the skin in some kinds of
animals, such as lizards and turtles.
Segmented – Divided into distinct
parts. Insects are segmented into three distinct and different body parts
(head, thorax and abdomen). Millipedes, centipedes and certain worms have
bodies that are segmented into numerous short segments that are the same or
almost identifical in design and function.
Shell – A hard thing around
an animal or plant or egg to protect it from getting broken or eaten.
Skin – Flexible stuff that
covers an animal's body.
Skull – The bone inside your
head that protects your brain.
Snout
– A
large thing sticking out the front of an animal's face that includes the
animal's nose and mouth. Sometimes used as another name for a nose, especially
a big one.
Spines – Thin sticklike things
growing out of a plant or animal body, usually hard and pointed. Usually is
there to protect the plant or animal from being attacked and eaten.
Talon
–
Especially large, sharp claws such as those on an eagle or other bird of prey.
Teeth – Hard things that
animals have in their mouths to eat with. Some are sharp for killing or cutting
and some are flat for squashing food with.
Thorax – The chest part of an
animal, usually containing such key organs as the heart and lung.
Tissue – The different kinds
of materials that animals and plant bodies are made from, such as muscles,
bones, skin, etc.
Wings – Broad, flat things that flying animals flap
to fly with. On bats and birds, the wings take the place of front legs; but on
insects, the wings are in addition to legs.