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A class of the asterozoan group of the phylum Echinodermata, often known as sea stars or starfish. Members of the class Asteroidea, that is, asteroids, are notable echinoderms with a star-shaped body plan (Fig. 1). Unlike members of their sister…

A large tropical plant of the genus Musa and its edible fruit. The banana belongs to the family Musaceae (order Zingiberales). The banana of commerce (Musa acuminata), which is believed to have originated in the Asian tropics, was one of the…

Any member of the mammalian family Ursidae, which contains the largest terrestrial carnivores. The bear family Ursidae comprises a number of carnivorous mammalian species. There are eight extant species of bears in three subfamilies: Ursinae…

The management and maintenance of colonies of honeybees for human purposes. Beekeeping is an ancient art. Although the commonly known honeybee species (Fig. 1) is native to Europe and Africa, humans have transported them to other continents. The…

One of the main extant classes in the phylum Mollusca. Members of the molluscan class Bivalvia (formerly, Pelecypoda) are known commonly as bivalves and include clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops. All bivalves are aquatic, living at all depths of…

A genus comprising yeasts that cause a variety of human diseases referred to as candidiasis. All Candida species are single-celled yeasts (fungal organisms) that are ovoid in shape and 3–5 μm in size, and they multiply by a process called budding.…

A biennial umbellifer (Daucus carota) of Asiatic and Mediterranean origin belonging to the plant order Apiales. The carrot (Daucus carota; Fig. 1) is grown for its edible roots, which are eaten raw or cooked. Cultivated forms of the root vegetable…

An aquatic mammalian order comprising approximately 90 living species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises and their fossil relatives. Like all other mammals, members of the order Cetacea (cetaceans) nurse their young with milk produced by the mother,…

The common name for numerous species of small to medium-sized lizards that comprise the family Chamaeleonidae (also Chamaeleontidae). Chameleons (see illustration) are members of the family Chamaeleonidae (also Chamaeleontidae) in the order Squamata…

An order of the class Reptilia, including the turtles, terrapins, and tortoises; also termed Testudines. The order Chelonia (often referred to as Testudines) comprises one of the oldest groups of reptiles on Earth. Members of the Chelonia…

A large, tawny brown wild cat, Puma concolor (family Felidae), once widespread over most of the Americas; also known as catamount, mountain lion, painter, and puma. The cougar (Puma concolor; see illustration) is a carnivorous member of the family…

An extremely diverse, species-rich group of arthropods that have inhabited marine environments since the beginning of the Cambrian Period. Crustacea is a notable taxon of invertebrates. Common members of the Crustacea, that is, crustaceans, are…

A class of the phylum Cnidaria, comprising the box jellyfish. Members of the Cubozoa are commonly known as box jellyfish or cubozoans. These cnidarian invertebrates are good swimmers, and their distribution is mostly tropical and subtropical. There…

A general term for a genus of tall forage grasses, of which the most important species is the deeply rooted perennial Paspalum dilatatum. Dallis grass (see illustration) is widely grown in the southern United States, mostly for pasture, and remains…

An order of green algae (Chlorophyceae) in which the plant body (thallus) is composed of a nonseptate axis, attached by rhizoids and bearing whorls of branches. The walls utilize a partially crystalline mannan (polymer of mannose) as the skeletal…

The date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, which is one of the oldest cultivated tree crops. The date palm provides a staple food for many populations in the Middle East and North Africa and is also highly valued for feed, fiber, and shelter. Beginning in…

A subclass of the true mosses (Bryopsida) largely limited to the South Pacific. The subclass consists of a single genus, Dawsonia, of nine species. The gametophytes are remarkably similar to those of the Polytrichidae, but the origin and structure…

One of the more highly specialized crustacean orders. Members of the order Decapoda, termed decapods, are prominent crustaceans (superorder Eucarida; class Malacostraca; subphylum Crustacea; phylum Arthropoda), including shrimps, crayfish, lobsters,…

Woody higher plants that regularly lose their leaves at the end of each growing season. Dropping of the leaves occurs at the inception of an unfavorable season characterized by either cold or drought or both. Many woody plants of temperate climates…

The name for any four-legged, hoofed, grazing animal in the mammalian family Cervidae. Deer are ruminant, even-toed ungulates (hoofed mammals) belonging to the order Artiodactyla. As members of the family Cervidae, they also are known as cervids. In…

An order of nematodes in which the variable stoma may or may not be armed with a dorsal tooth that may or may not be opposed by subventral denticles. The variable amphids (anterior sensory receptors) range from reniform to elongate loops to simple…

An order of nematodes in which the taxa are readily recognized by their conspicuous body annulation. The annuli of members of the order Desmoscolecida may be covered with concretion rings, or the cuticle may be ornamented with scales, warts, or…

An order of sea urchins (class Echinoidea) possessing an aulodont Aristotle's lantern (jaw apparatus) with unkeeled teeth that are U-shaped in cross section, and with the apophyses not meeting at the top of the lantern. In Diadematoida, the…

An order of flowering plants, division Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae), in the subclass Dilleniidae of the class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The order has only a single family, the Diapensiaceae, with about 18 species of herbs and dwarf shrubs in…

A large group of flowering plants (angiosperms) that for many years has been considered one of the two main categories of plants, the other being monocotyledons. Dicotyledons have two seedling leaves as opposed to the single one in most…