Zoology Terminology

Question 1

Activity space

Answer 1

The entire range of climatic and environmental conditions suitable to normal functions, processes and activities of a living organism.

Question 2

Aerial Behavior

Answer 2

Communicative or playful behavior. Common in whales and dolphins when they surface above water to either jump, leap, or flit across.

Question 3

After-Shaft

Answer 3

A small supplementary feather, growing from the underside of the base of the shafts of a body feather. It is found in many birds and essential to keep them warm.

Question 4

Aigrette

Answer 4

A tuft of long and loose feathers used by breeding herons and egrets, during courtship displays.

Question 5

Air Sac

Answer 5

A thin walled air filled structure part of the respiratory system of birds. Air passed through aids in their breathing and temperature regulation.

Question 6

Airfoil

Answer 6

Structure designed to lift & control airflow by making use of different levels of air waves. Birds in flight use the concept to control their speed.

Question 7

Allopatric

Answer 7

Organisms that occur, originate or occupy in separate geographical areas.

Question 8

Alula

Answer 8

Set of quill-like feathers near the base of the primary feathers that help increase or decrease the bird’s lift.
(By affecting the airflow of the wings.)

Question 9

Ambulacra

Answer 9

Refers to echinoderm’s five part radial (underside) areas from where the tube feet protrude & withdraw.

Question 10

Amnion

Answer 10

Innermost delicate embryonic or foetal membranes of higher vertebrates.

Question 11

Amniotic Egg

Answer 11

Eggs with water impermeable amniotic membrane & filled with fluid in the amniotic cavity. Enables them to develop on land without dehydrating themselves.

Question 12

Amphibians

Answer 12

Cold blooded vertebrates that can survive and live on land as well as in water.

Question 13

Amplexus

Answer 13

Mating position of frogs & toads, in which the female sheds the eggs into the water and the male fertilizes them, taking place outside of the female’s body.

Question 14

Anapsid

Answer 14

Extinct subclass of reptiles except for the turtles. Have no opening in the temporal region of the skull.

Question 15

Animalia

Answer 15

Taxonomic kingdom of multicellular, eukaryotic & heterotrophic animals.

Question 16

Annelida

Answer 16

Taxonomic group of animals including coelomates, and elongated & segmented invertebrates such as leeches, earthworms etc.

Question 17

Antler

Answer 17

Pair of bony, deciduous & branched structures found on the head of a deer, moose, elk, etc.

Question 18

Apomorph

Answer 18

New specialized trait in an evolving organism which is completely different from its ancestral line.

Question 19

Aposematic

Answer 19

Color construct (colour changing) characteristics in animals used as a self defence mechanism by warning predators.

Question 20

Arboreal

Answer 20

Animals adapted to live and move in the trees.

Question 21

Arthropod

Answer 21

Group of invertebrates characterised by an exoskeleton and a segmented body with jointed appendages.
Eg. insects, crustaceans, arachnids, centipedes, etc

Question 22

Auriculars

Answer 22

Set of feathers found near a bird’s ear openings.

Question 23

Autotroph

Answer 23

Organism capable of creating it’s own source of food.

Ie. Photosynthetic & chemosynthetic

Question 24

Aves

Answer 24

Class of vertebrates comprising of the entire bird family.

Question 25

Baleen

Answer 25

Whales use fibbrous baleen plates to filter plankton from large quantities of water for ingestion.

Question 26

Barbel

Answer 26

Slim, whiskerlike tactile organ located near the mouths of fish. Some also contain the taste buds, and assist the fish to locate food in murky water.

Question 27

Barbicels

Answer 27

Tiny curved structures on barbules connecting contiguous barbules to form the firm, mesh like structure of the feather vane.

Question 28

Barbs

Answer 28

Attached to the main shaft of a feather, making up its vanes.

Question 29

Barbules

Answer 29

Tiny interlocking structures emerging from the barbs of a bird's feather with overlap and knit together, making the feather solid and stiff.

Question 30

Basic Plumage

Answer 30

Feathers worn throughout the year by bird species which molt once a year. Amongst most species who moly twice per year, they are feathers that grow after the first complete molt, and are present at the time of the bird's non-breeding season.

Question 31

Batesian Mimicry

Answer 31

Where a harmless species has evolved to replicate the warning signal given by a harmful species (directed at a common predator)

Question 32

Benthic

Answer 32

Refers to the ecological region encompassing the bottom most level of any body of water & any creatures who live there.

Question 33

Bilateral Symmetry

Answer 33

Symmetry exhibited where if a line were drawn down the middle of the body, both sides would be equal and symmetrical.

Question 34

Binocular Vision

Answer 34

Vision resulted from forward facing eyes, in which the field of view overlaps, enabling judgement of depth.

Question 35

Biome

Answer 35

Region defined based on its climate and geography, which has ecologically similar communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms. Similarity is based on plant structures (ie. trees, grasses and shrubs), plant spacing (forest, savanna, woodland), leaf types (ie. needleleaf and broadleaf), and climate.

Question 36

Biota

Answer 36

Living components (flora and fauna) of an ecosystem, biome or habitat.

Question 37

Book Lung

Answer 37

Organ located inside the ventral abdominal cavity used for respiration in arachnids, such as spiders and scorpions.

Question 38

Bow Riding

Answer 38

Swimming or drifting along the crests of waves in the ocean by cetaceans (most commonly dolphins)

Question 39

Breeding System

Answer 39

Includes all the different breeding behaviors (polygyny, outcrossing, or selective mating) of a population, and the methods in which the members of the population adapt to them.

Question 40

Brilles

Answer 40

Transparent, immovable layer of scale/skin that covers & protects the eyes of some creatures, such as snakes and lizards.

Question 41

Bristles

Answer 41

Long, stiff strands of hair or feathers. | In birds, they are situated near the mouth or eyes to assist in eating and protect the eyes.

Question 42

Brood Parasite

Answer 42

An organism which manipulates another individual to raise its offspring.

Question 43

Brood Patch

Answer 43

Part of the lower abdomen used to incubate eggs and keep young warm. It develops by the shedding of feathers in this area & consequent thickening of the skin, after which it becomes densely populated with blood vessels.

Question 44

Brooding

Answer 44

Practice where parent birds provide warmth for their young when they’re unable to maintain their own body temperatures.

Question 45

Caching

Answer 45

Storing of food for later use, when food is not available or is short in supply.