Albino:

animal with no pigment, thus white skin or fur and pink eyes

Anthropoid:

man-like animal

Aquatic:

lives in the water

Arboreal:

lives in the trees

Autotomy:

"self cutting," as when a lizard allows its tail to fall off to escape a predator

Bilateral:

two even parts, such as a pair of lungs, or two eyes

Biology:

life study

Botany:

plant study

Browsing:

feeds on leaves - not grass

Canines:

long teeth of meat eaters, also refers to dogs

Carnivore:

meat eating animal

Carrion:

body or flesh of a dead animal

Cartilage:

soft, flexible bony material, like in one's ears or nose

Chiroptera:

hand winged animals - bats

Cloaca:

exit hole of urine, feces and eggs in birds, lizards and monotremes

Coniferous:

trees having cones, such as fir trees

Convergence:

two different types of animals evolve into similar looking animals; for example, mammals like dolphins and whales returning to the sea and forming flippers and fins like fish

Crepuscular:

active during twilight

Crest:

a prominent ridge of flesh or bone on the head

Cusp:

cutting edge of a tooth

Deciduous:

trees that lose their leaves in winter

Dermopteran:

skin winged animal - animal that glides with folds of skin

Diapause:

state of inactivity separating two parts of a life cycle

Diastema:

space, such as a gap between two teeth

Dichromism:

male is one color, the female another

Digitigrade:

animals that walk only on fingers and toes

Dimorphism:

physical differences between males and females, like color, size, facial features, etc.

Distal:

farthest from the body, like the tip of a tail

Diurnal:

active during the day

Dorsal:

on the back side

Embryo:

recently fertilized egg

Endemic:

typical of a specific area

Endocrine:

gland that secretes hormones

Epidermis:

outer later of skin

Estivate:

sleeping through hot times

Fallopian:

duct between uterus and ovary

Fauna:

animals

Fetus:

unborn baby still inside a viviparous animal

Flipper:

leg or arm transformed into a paddle for swimming

Flora:

plants

Fossil:

preserved evidence of extinct plants and animals

Fossorial:

burrowing animal

Frugivore:

fruit eating animal

Gamete:

egg or sperm which when united create a baby

Gene:

software of an animal determining physical appearance

Gestation:

pregnancy, time from conception to birth

Gills:

respiratory organ of most aquatic animals

Gonad:

ovary in females, or testes in men

Grazing:

feeds on grass

Habitat:

environment of an animal

Hallux:

big toe

Herbivore:

plant (herbs) eating animal

Hibernate:

sleeping through cold times

Hippopotamus:

"horse of the river" in Greek

Imbricate:

overlapping, like shingles (eg: lizard scales)

Incisors:

front teeth between the canine teeth

Insectivore:

insect eating animal

Larva:

life cycle stage after embryonic stage (eg: tadpole)

Mandible:

lower jaw

Marine:

lives in salt water (oceans)

Marsupial:

pouched animal; after birth, babies are kept in pouch until weaned

Maxilla:

upper jaw

Melanism:

opposite of albinism, everything is black

Metamorphosis:

"change form," (eg: caterpiller to a butterfly)

Mimetism:

assuming appearance of another animal

Molar:

rear crushing and chewing tooth

Monotreme:

one holed animals; most primitive egg-laying mammals

Montane:

mountainous

Niche:

small habitat of an animal

Nocturnal:

active during the night

Octopus:

literally "eight feet" in Greek

Omnivore:

eats anything, unlike a herbivore, carnivore or insectivore, etc.

Opossum:

also "possum", marsupial

Opposable:

thumb that folds toward fingers to grasp objects

Orangutan:

literally "man of the forest" in Malay

Ovary:

female egg producing area

Oviduct:

duct where egg leaves ovary

Oviparous:

egg-laying animal, not "viviparous"

Pachyderm:

thick skinned animal (Elephant, Hippo, Rhino)

Papilla:

nipple like projection - small bumps on a tongue

Parotid gland:

venom bearing gland in snakes

Parthenogenesis:

egg develops without being fertilized

Pelage:

coat or fur

Placenta:

protective sack around fetus in non egg-laying mammals

Plantigrade:

walks on soles of feet, unlike the "digitigrade" animals

Polymorphism:

same species but look different

Possum:

same as "opossum," marsupial

Predator:

hunter of prey for food (carnivore)

Prehensile:

tail that can grab tree branches

Premolar:

tooth between canine and molar

Primate:

animal of the first order (akin to man)

Proboscis:

nose (literally, an animal that eats with its nose)

Prosimian:

pre-apes, like lemurs

Rhinoceros:

literally "nose horn" in Greek

Riverine:

near or by a river

Rodent:

gnawing animal

Scrotum:

skin that holds testes

Simian:

ape

Species:

group of animals that can interbreed

Sphincter:

muscle that closes an opening

Symbiosis:

two different kinds of animals whose presence help one another

Taxonomy:

scientific names of animals in Latin, as opposed to "common" names

Teats:

nipples on mammary glands

Terrestrial:

lives on land

Territorial:

stay in a specific area and protect that area

Testes:

male reproductive organs

Tetrapod:

four feet and a backbone

Torpid:

sleep-like, dormant, hibernating

Tragus:

a cartiliginous flap of skin in front of ears, as in bats

Troglodyte:

animal living exclusively in a cave

Ungulate:

hoofed animal

Ursidae:

bears, like Ursa Major (Big Bear also known as Big Dipper)

Uterus:

place where fetus developes before birth

Ventral:

on the stomach side

Vertebrate:

has a back bone

Viviparous:

animal that gives live birth, not an egg-layer

Walrus:

literally "whale horse" in Germanic

Zoo:

animals

Zoology:

animal study