Luxuriant forest lining the banks of waterways.

See diversity - gamma.

a bundle of nervous tissue containing many synapses and cell-bodies and contained within a sheath of connective tissue. Most ganglia (plural) occur outside of the central nervous system.

the process of exchanging gases from the environment with gases resulting from metabolism inside an animal's body across a gas exchange surface, such as the exchange surfaces of gills and lungs.

Cells lining the gastrovascular cavity. Synapomorphy of Scyphozoa+Cubozoa+Anthozoa.

a dormant, tough-coated cluster of cells produced by freshwater sponges for development in more favorable conditions.

A period of time characteristic of an animal species and/or population that can be calculated as: The average age of parents in the population (used in the criteria for the new (1996) IUCN Red Data List categories), or the average age at first breeding

Referring to the genetic make-up of an organism.

A taxonomic division that generally refers to a group of animals which are similar in structure and descent but are not all able to breed among themselves. For example, the lion, leopard and tiger all belong to the genus Panthera.

To begin to grow.

The process of carrying young inside the body before birth; the period from implantation of the embryo in the uterus to birth.

Large areas in Australia covered by small, rounded pebbles, rocky ranges and low scrubby vegetation.

Paired openings that allow movement of water from the pharynx to the exterior of the organism. Synapomorphy of the Chordata+Hemichordata.

pelvic and pectoral girdles are the portion of vertebrate skeletons made up of the pelvic bones (pelvic girdle) and the scapula and clavicle (pectoral girdle).

Any of the usually paired organs in animals that produce reproductive cells (gametes). These include female ovaries, which produce eggs, and male testes, which produce sperm. Gonads also secrete hormones that influence secondary sexual characteristics.

Animals in which the sexes are separate, each individual being unisexual, either male or female, such as in most vertebrates.

the medusae of some hydroids (Class Hydrozoa) which are reduced to gonadal tissue and do not detach.

the genital pore found in many invertebrates.

The Gran Chaco is a flat plain in the region of northern Argentina, southeastern Bolivia and western Paraguay and with a mosaic of vegetation types including thorn forest, savanna, marsh and gallery forest.

an animal that mainly eats seeds

An herbivore that feeds on grasses (compare browser).

Tending to associate with other animals of its kind; habitually living with other animals of its kind.

excrement of seabirds or bats

Part of the coat of some animals consisting of longer, stiffer hairs which lie outside and support the warmer, softer underfur.

The natural characteristics of the area where an organism lives; the particular location where an organism normally lives.

The single, backwards pointing toe possessed by many birds

Referring to an animal such as a seal pulling itself ashore.

An area dominated by low-growing shrubs with woody stems and narrow leaves (e.g. heather), which often predominate on acidic or upland soils.

the arm of a male cephalopod (Phylum Mollusca, Class Cephalopoda, including squid, cuttlefish, and octopi) which is used to transfer a spermatophore into a female's mantle chamber. This arm is specialized as an intromittent organ.

An animal, usually without young of its own, which contributes to the survival of the offspring of others by behaving parentally towards the offspring.

Metamorphosis in which the organism grows by continual molting to change from a young nymph into an adult without a pupal stage. Synapomorphy of the Pterygota.

the primary body cavity of most invertebrates, containing circulatory fluid.

Referring to a plant that has little or no woody tissue and usually persists for a single growing season.

An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.

an animal which possesses both male and female functioning sex organs and can, therefore, mate both as a male or as a female. Common in invertebrates but rare in vertebrates.

Having segments that differ in function and appearance. Synapomorphy of the Insecta, convergent in the Branchiopoda+Maxillopoda+Malocostraca.

having a body temperature that fluctuates with that of the immediate environment; having no mechanism or a poorly developed mechanism for regulating internal body temperature.

Sum the number of heterozygous individuals for each gene, divide this by the total number of individuals in the sample, and average over all genes.

Referring to an individual in which the alleles of a given gene are different.

the state that some animals enter during winter in which normal physiological processes are significantly reduced, thus lowering the animal's energy requirements. The act or condition of passing winter in a torpid or resting state, typically involving the abandonment of homoiothermy in mammals.

a distribution that more or less circles the Arctic, so occurring in both the Nearctic and Palearctic biogeographic regions.

Found in northern North America and northern Europe or Asia.

a pattern of egg cleavage in early development in which the entire egg is divided with each cell division. Contrast to meroblastic cleavage.

Complete metamorphosis during development, from a growing larvae to a differentiating pupa to a reproducing adult. Synapomorphy of the Holometabola.

The area in which an animal normally lives, whether or not it defends the area from other animals; the area that an animal learns thoroughly and habitually patrols.

see homoiotherm

animals that regulate their body temperature independently of ambient temperature fluctuations. Homeothermy is a synapomorphy of the Aves.

an organism that provides food or shelter for another organism; often refers to parasitic relationships.

Upper (proximal) bone in the forelimb of tetrapods. Synapomorphy of the Tetrapoda+Eusthenopteron.

The offspring of parents of different species.

Living or growing in moist places.