Biology Glossary

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Term Definition Link
Arthropod an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton (external skeleton), a segmented body, and jointed appendages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropod
Biodiversity the degree of variation of life forms within a given species, ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity
Bryophyte all embryophytes (land plants) that do not have true vascular tissue and are therefore called 'non-vascular plants' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryophyte
Chalcidoids superfamily Chalcidoidea is one of the largest groups of parasitoid wasps. The species are usually very small and have reduced wing venation. Many have iridescent or other striking coloration. Although some kinds of chalcidoids are plant feeders, most are parasitoids of other insects and are thus considered beneficial. Accordingly, many species are used in biological control programs.
Convergent Evolution the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_evolution
Fabaceae commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, are a large and economically important family of flowering plants http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabaceae
Fauna all of the animal life of any particular region or time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna
Flora the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous native plant life http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora
Gene Ontology major bioinformatics initiative to unify the representation of gene and gene product attributes across all species http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Ontology
Hemiptera an order of insects most often known as the true bugs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemiptera
Herbarium collection of preserved plant specimens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbarium
Herpetology branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and gymnophiona) and reptiles (including snakes, lizards, amphisbaenids, turtles, terrapins, tortoises, crocodilians, and the tuataras) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpetology
Holocene a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene (around 12,000 14C years ago) and continues to the present http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene
Hymenoptera one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenoptera
Lichens composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and a photosynthetic partner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichen
Locality the fact or condition of having a location in space or time; a particular place, situation, or location
Macro-organisms large enough to be seen by an unaided eye
Macrofungi the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushroom
Miocene a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.332 million years ago http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miocene
Morphology branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphology_(biology)
Mycology branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycology
Neogene a geologic period and system in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) Geologic Timescale starting 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and ending 2.588 million years ago http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neogene
Non-vascular Plant plants without a vascular system (xylem and phloem) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-vascular_plant
Oligocene a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present (33.9±0.1 to 23.03±0.05 Ma) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligocene
Ontology philosophical study of the nature of being, existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology
Ordovician a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordovician
Ornithology the study of birds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithology
Paleomammalogy the branch of zoology that studies the mammals of past geologic ages
Paleontology study of prehistoric life http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleontology
Parasitoids an organism that spends a significant portion of its life history attached to or within a single host organism in a relationship that is in essence parasitic; unlike a true parasite, however, it ultimately sterilises or kills, and sometimes consumes, the host http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitoid
Pennsylvanian in the ICS geologic timescale, the younger of two subperiods (or upper of two subsystems) of the Carboniferous Period. It lasted from roughly 318.1 ± 1.3 to 299 ± 0.8 Ma (million years ago) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvanian
Phenotype the composite of an organism's observable characteristics or traits, such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, phenology, behavior, and products of behavior (such as a bird's nest) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenotype
Phylogenetic study of evolutionary relation among groups of organisms (e.g. species, populations), which is discovered through molecular sequencing data and morphological data matrices http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phylogenetic
Semantic relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs, and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantics
Taxonomic defining groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics and giving names to those groups http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy
Vascular Plant plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vascular_plant
Zoology the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoology