Search

Search results

Displaying 1 - 10

metamorphosis

(Encyclopedia) metamorphosismetamorphosismĕtˌəmôrˈfəsĭs [key] [Gr.,=transformation], in zoology, term used to describe a form of development from egg to adult in which there is a series of distinct…

Merian, Maria Sibylla

(Encyclopedia) Merian, Maria SibyllaMerian, Maria Sibyllamärēˈä zĭbüˈlä māˈrēän [key], 1647–1717, German naturalist, entomologist, and painter of insects and flowers, b. Frankfurt; daughter of…

neoteny

(Encyclopedia) neotenyneotenynēŏtˈənē [key], in biology, sexual maturity reached in the larval stage of some animals. Certain environmental conditions can inhibit the completion of metamorphosis; low…

Grassi, Giovanni Battista

(Encyclopedia) Grassi, Giovanni BattistaGrassi, Giovanni Battistajōvänˈnē bät-tēˈstä gräsˈsē [key], 1854–1925, Italian zoologist. He demonstrated (1898) that the Anopheles mosquito carries the…

tadpole

(Encyclopedia) tadpole, larval, aquatic stage of any of the amphibian animals. After hatching from the egg, the tadpole, sometimes called a polliwog, is gill-breathing and legless and propels itself…

Tourneur, Cyril

(Encyclopedia) Tourneur, CyrilTourneur, Cyriltûrˈnər [key], 1575?–1626, English dramatist and poet. Little is known of his life. The Transformed Metamorphosis (1600), an allegorical satire, was his…

Harington, Sir John

(Encyclopedia) Harington, Sir John, 1560?–1612, English author. He spent most of his career at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, where he became known for his indelicate humor. His Rabelaisian…

axolotl

(Encyclopedia) axolotlaxolotlăkˈsəlŏtˌəl [key], a salamander, Ambystoma mexicanum, found in certain lakes in the region of Mexico City, which reaches reproductive maturity without losing its larval…

pupa

(Encyclopedia) pupapupapy&oomacr;ˈpə [key], name for the third stage in the life of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis, i.e., develops from the egg through the larva and the pupa…