Aberrant -
Adj. Straying from the right or normal way.
Abyss -
Noun. A distance or separation between two things.
The Animated Bestiary
Acquiescence -
Noun.
Agreement or consent by silence or without objection.
"The subordinate animal indicates acquiescence with a flattening of her ears."
Lawrence, R D. In Praise of Wolves. New York: H. Holt, 1986. Print.
Amanuensis -
Noun. A person employed to write what another dictates, or to copy what has been written by another.
"That is not what Red Peter was striving for when he wrote, through his amanusnsis Franz Kafka, the life history that, in November of 1917, he proposed to read to the Academy of Science." Coetzee p26
Definition Source: Dictionary.com
Ambivalence -
Noun. Simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings toward an object, person, or action.
-Merriam-Webster English Dictionary
Amniote -
Noun.
Any of a group (Amniota) of vertebrates that undergo embryonic or fetal development within an amnion. Includes birds, reptiles, and mammals.
-Merriam-Webster English Dictionary
Animal Marginalizing -
Verb. Treating as insignificant or peripheral.
"Why Look at Animals?"
Anthropocentric -
Adj.
Considering human beings as the most significant entity of the universe.
"That college grad is awfully anthropocentric."
Anthropomorphism -
Noun.
An interpretation of what is and is not human or personal in terms of human and personal characteristics.
Apogee -
Noun.
The highest point in the development of something; a climax or culmination.
"The animal represents the apogee of the character trait in question: the lion, absolute courage; the hare, lechery."
Definitions from Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford Dictionaries. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://oxforddictionaries.com/>.
Berger, John. "Why Look at Animals?" The Animals Reader. eds. Linda Kalof and Amy Fitzgerald. Oxford: Berg, 2007. Print.
Automata -
Noun.
Plural of automaton; something capable of acting automatically or without an external motive.
“You can animate all these and make them automata”
Source: Ruth Hayes (?)
Definition Source: Dictionary.com
Bestial Ambivalence -
Noun.
The schematic of how an animal is represented in an animated text. Accommodates the polar extremes of the irreconcilable differences between animals and the sociocultural assimilation of animals.
Split into four categories: "Pure Animal," "Aspirational Human," "Critical Human," and "Humanimal."
The term was coined by Paul Wells in "The Animated Bestiary," pg. 51
Blinkeredness -
Adj.
The state of being subjected or limited, as in point of view or perception.
Blithely -
Adv.
1. joyous, merry, or gay in disposition; glad; cheerful: Everyone loved her for her blithe spirit.
2. without thought or regard; carefree; heedless: a blithe indifference to anyone's feelings.
Brood -
Noun.
A family of offspring; the number of young hatched/produced at one time.
Found while researching the Natural history of my animal.
Burrow -
Noun.
A hole or tunnel dug by a small animal, esp. a rabbit, as a dwelling
The New Oxford American Dictionary
The Essential Hamster
Cacophony -
Noun.
Harsh or discordant sounds.
-The Merriam-Webster English Dictionary
Caricaturial -
Noun.
A picture, description, etc., ludicrously exaggerating the peculiarities or defects of persons or things
"The Animated Bestiary"
Dictionary.com
Carnassials -
Noun, Adj.
1. (of teeth) adapted for shearing flesh.
2. a carnassial tooth, especially the last upper premolar or the first lower molar tooth of certain carnivores.
ex: The carnassial teeth of raccoons are a physiological trait found among their family genus.
->as found in Raccoons: A Natural History
Chromatophore -
Noun.
1. (Zoology) A cell containing pigment, especially one that through contraction and expansion produces a temporary color, as in cuttlefishes.
2. (Botany) One of the colored plastids in plant cells.
“The skin of an octopus is dotted with cells called chromatophores. Each chromatophore contains one of four pigments: yellow, red, brown, or black. The pigment is visible only when the chromatophore is contracted. An octopus is able to vary in color by contracting only certain chromatophores at any one time.” “Octopus" 22 April 2008. AnimalPlanet.com. <http://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/octopus-info.htm> 14 May 2012
http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html
Chuffing -
Verb.
A noise made by tigers where short bursts of air are blown through the nostrils. Used in greeting and flirtation during rutting.
Definition Source: Asia talk, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Clandestine -
Adj.
Characterized by, done in, or executed with secrecy or concealment, especially for purposes of subversion or deception; private or surreptitious: Their clandestine meetings went undiscovered for two years.
Sample sentence: It was the prize model, the clandestine design that, in the early Oligocene fifty million years ago, changed the hunt.
Word Source: "Mountain Lion"
Definition Source: Dictionary.com
Classical Narrative Structure -
Noun.
The standard structural framework for a story. Divided into three main parts: Setup, Conflict, and Resolution.
Cockerel -
Noun.
A young male domestic chicken.
-Merriam-Webster English Dictionary
Colostrum -
Noun.
The first secretion from the mammary glands after giving birth, rich in antibodies.
"The fist milk (colostrum) is very healthful for newborn lambs."
Definitions from Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford Dictionaries. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://oxforddictionaries.com/>.
Juergenson, Elwood M. Approved Practices in Sheep Production. Danville, Illinois: The Interstate, 1973. Print.
Concolor -
Adj.
Of the same color; of uniform color.
Sample Sentence: I squinted through the crossed understory shadows, looking for concolor.
Word Source: "Mountain Lion"
Definition Source: Dictionary.com
Contrivances -
Noun.
Something contrived; a device, especially a mechanical one.
"The Animated Bestiary"
Source- Dictionary.com
Crest -
Noun.
The head or top of something.
Found while studying the description of my animal.
Critical Anthropomorphism -
Noun.
The middle ground between classical anthropomorphism and ethology. Carefully used anthropomorphism.
“In achieving this goal, such tools as introspection, reasoning by analogy, interpretive analysis and intuition should not be discarded simply because they are not currently in favor in certain scientific circles.” –Sanders and Arluke, pg. 67 in Speaking for Dogs.
“Critical anthropomorphism was introduced as a way of using various sources of information, including ‘natural history, our perceptions, intuitions, feelings, careful behavior descriptions, identifying with the animal, optimization models, previous studies and so forth in order to generate ideas that my prove useful in gaining understanding and the ability to predict outcomes of planned (experimental) and unplanned interventions.”- Burghardt, pg. 10 in The Cognitive Animal: Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives on Animal Cognition.
Encountered: "The Animals Reader"
Denouement -
Noun.
The final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work.
"Baker is careful not to create a spectacular denouement but rather a sense of continuum, reinforcing the enduring lore embedded in the natural/cultural." Wells pg 139
Definition Source: Merriam-Webster
Diction -
Noun.
A formal pronouncement of a principle, proposition, or opinion.
Didactic -
Adj.
Containing a political or moral message, trying to teach you something.
Source: Anne de Marcken
“This picture of a chicken in military supporting advertisements is a very persuasive and didactic image.”
Definition source: Microsoft Word dictionary and me
Efface -
Verb.
To rub or wipe out. Erase.
“The vandalizer effaces his crime during his sentence.”
Wells, Paul. The Animated Bestiary. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2009. Print.
Egalitarianism -
Noun.
A belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs
"Dictionary." Marriam-Webster. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2012. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egalitarianism>.
Ekphrasis -
Noun.
“Description” in Greek. An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of narrating and reflecting on the “action” of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning. -Poetry Foundation Glossary
Encountered: Writing Workshop
Embouchure -
Noun.
position of the lips and tongue when playing a wind instrument.
From Child’s "Coyote"
“My embouchure muscles began to ache.” (Coyote, pg 36)
Definition source: Microsoft Word dictionary
Endemic -
Adj.
Of a disease or condition regularly found among particular people or in a certain area. Of a plant or animal native or restricted to a certain place.
"Whereas in animals fear is a response to signal, in men it is endemic."
Definitions from Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford Dictionaries. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://oxforddictionaries.com/>.
Berger, John. "Why Look at Animals?" The Animals Reader. eds. Linda Kalof and Amy Fitzgerald. Oxford: Berg, 2007. Print.
Eocene -
Noun
Geological time period between the Paleocene and Oligocene epochs.
Epistemological -
Noun.
A branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge.
“I wasted my time looking at the stereo instructions from a epistemological perspective.”
Wells, Paul. The Animated Bestiary. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2009. Print.
Extol -
Verb.
Praise enthusiastically.
"The aspirational human use of animal implicitly extols the benefits of democracy, notions of dignity and mutual respect, the value of hard work and intellectual endeavor, and ultimately the sense of an English pastoral idyll, a highly specific and quasi-mythic version of the naturalcultural."
Definitions from Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford Dictionaries. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://oxforddictionaries.com/>.
Wells, Paul. The Animated Bestiary: Animals, Cartoons, and Culture. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2009. Print.
Facetious -
Adjective. Not meant to be taken literally.
“I factiously said I would help with the laundry. “
Wells, Paul. The Animated Bestiary. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2009. Print.
Forager -
Noun.
One who practices the act of searching for food or provisions.
Found when researching my animal.
Dictionary.com
Frugivorous -
Adj.
Describing an animal that feeds on fruit.
"'This change of man from a frugivorous to carnivorous animal must have produced a great change in character,' wrote [Lord] Monboddo."
Definitions from Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford Dictionaries. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://oxforddictionaries.com/>.
Cartmill, Matt. "Hunting and Humanity in Western Thought." The Animals Reader. eds. Linda Kalof and Amy Fitzgerald. Oxford: Berg, 2007. Print.
Galliformes -
Noun.
Pheasants; turkeys; grouse; partridges; quails; chickens; brush turkeys; curassows; hoatzins
Animal Classification
Dictionary.com
Gestation -
Noun.
The carrying of young in the uterus: pregnancy.
“The adult male stays with a tigress only during the rutting season, and incidentally perhaps, during the gestation period and briefly thereafter.” Boomgaard p21
Definition Source: merriam-webster.com
Grist -
Noun.
Grain that is ground into flour; a potential source of advantage or profit to somebody
“Yet children seem to relish the notion of the pets and toys sitting around after lights out, discussing their owners – all grist to the enormous mill of infant vanity.” (Animals in the Nursery, pg 299)
Source: Carter’s Animals in the Nursery
Definition source: Microsoft Word dictionary
Grooming -
Verb.
Clean the fur or skin of:
The New Oxford American Dictionary
The Essential Hamster
Grouse -
Noun.
1. any of numerous gallinaceous birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae. Compare black grouse, capercaillie, ruffed grouse, spruce grouse.
2. British. the red grouse
Sample sentence: In all its romping I cannot tell if it got meat or not, if grouse exploded from their small snow caves one after the next, going up around the coyote like fireworks.
Word source: "Coyote"
Definition Source: Dictionary.com
Guise -
Noun.
General external appearance.
"The guise of that man is startlingly sinister."
Wells, Paul. The Animated Bestiary. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2009. Print.
Hamster -
Noun,
A solitary burrowing rodent with a short tail and large cheek pouches for carrying food, native to Europe and northern Asia.
The New Oxford American Dictionary
The Essential Hamster
Hectocotylus -
Noun.
A modified arm of the male of certain cephalopods that is used to transfer sperm to the female.
“The male octopus has a modified arm called the hectocotylus, which is about a meter long and holds rows of sperm.”
Horton, Jennifer. "How Octopuses Work" 13 March 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/marine-life/octopus.htm> 14 May 2012.
http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html
Hemocyanin -
Noun.
(Biochemistry) A blue, copper-containing respiratory pigment in the plasma of many invertebrates.
“The blue color comes from hemocyanin, the copper-containing protein that binds oxygen in the octopus. Human blood is red because its oxygen-binding protein, hemoglobin, contains iron. In addition to being blue, octopus blood is a poor carrier of oxygen, which helps explain the animal's sometimes apparent laziness. To cope with the low oxygen levels, the octopus maintains a constant high blood pressure and has three hearts. Two of the hearts pump oxygen-rich blood through the gills, while the third circulates it through the rest of the body.”
Horton, Jennifer. "How Octopuses Work" 13 March 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/marine-life/octopus.htm> 14 May 2012.
http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html
Hen -
Noun.
The female of the domestic fowl.
"Animal"
Dictionary.com
Hyper Illusionism -
Noun.
A keyed up technique of using pictorial methods in order to deceive
The Animated Bestiary, Wells. P
Incubation -
Noun.
The time in which eggs are being warmed, rotated and/or cared for by the parent(s).
Found while researching the Natural history of my animal.
Indexicality -
Adj.
In pragmatics (and other branches of linguistics and philosophy), the features of a language that refer directly to the circumstances or context in which an utterance takes place.
Source: Anne de Marcken
“Make sure you look at the Indexicality of the picture use choose for the rhetorical/non-rhetorical assignment.”
Definition Source: Wikipedia
Innocuous -
Adj.
Not harmful or injurious; harmless.
Boitani, Luigi, Paul C. Paquet, and Marco Musiani. The World of Wolves: New Perspectives on Ecology, Behaviour, and Management. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2010. Print.
Insouciance -
Adjective.
Lack of care or concern; a lighthearted attitude
Interminably -
Adverb.
1. incapable of being terminated; unending: an interminable job.
2. monotonously or annoyingly protracted or continued; unceasing; incessant: I can't stand that interminable clatter.
3. having no limits: an interminable desert.
Sample sentence: Not interminably lost, we just do not know exactly where we are-- besides being on an untrailed flank of the Teton Mountains, over our heads in jackstraw timber.
Word source: "Animal"
Definition source: Dictionary.com
Interstitial -
Noun.
Pertaining to, situated in, or forming interstices
"The Animated Bestiary"
Source- Dictionary.com
Interstitial Condition -
Noun.
Pertaining to, situated in, or forming interstices of primal feelings, pre human or non human codes of expression.
The Animated Bestiary, Wells. P
Intrinsic -
Adj.
1. belonging to a thing by its very nature: the intrinsic value of a gold ring.
2. Anatomy . (of certain muscles, nerves, etc.) belonging to or lying within a given part.
ex: The intrinsic relationship between raccoons and humans is seen as a core interaction in both species lives.
-> as found in Paul Wells, The Animated Bestiary
Kinetic -
Adj.
Of or relating from motion.
"The Animated Bestiary."
Lecherous -
Adj.
Given to excessive indulgence in sexual activity.
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD IN COLLEGE, Jafar. Afshan
Leptospirosis -
Noun. (Pathology, Veterinary Pathology)
An infectious disease of humans and of horses, dogs, swine, and other animals, caused by the spirochete Leptospira interrogans and characterized by fever, muscle pain, and jaundice, and in severe cases involving the liver and kidney.
ex: Within raccoon populations, leptospirosis can be a potential problem, spreading among a group and killing of a large number of individuals.
->as found in Raccoons: A Natural History
Lipid -
Noun.
Any of a group of organic compounds, including the fats, oils, waxes, sterols, and triglycerides, that are insoluble in water but soluble in common organic solvents, are oily to the touch, and together with carbohydrates and proteins constitute the principal structural material of living cells.
Definition from Medical Dictionary.com
Man-Eater -
Noun.
An animal, such as a tiger, that eats or is reputed to eat human flesh.
“The fear and loathing that many Europeans felt toward tigers were largely inspired by the existence of man-eating tigers, often called man-eaters…” Boomgaard p29
Definition Source: thefreedictionary.com
Mercurial -
Adjective.
Quick and changeable temperment.
Metamorphose -
Verb.
To change in form.
"The Animated Bestiary."
Métier -
Noun.
An area of activity in which one excels
"Dictionary." Marriam-Webster. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2012. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Métier>.
Metonymic -
Adj.
Pertaining to the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated.
Miscegations -
Noun.
Marriage or cohabitation between a man and woman of different races, especially, in the U.S., between a black and a white person.
Sample sentence: Sexual unawakedness is a feature of this primitive world, where extraordinary miscegenations take place.
Word source: Animals in the Nursery.
Definition source: Dictionary.com
Mnemonic -
Adj.
Assisting or intended to assist memory.
"…I wish to further argue that the animator has a specific empathy with the animal, possibly related to the autistic spectrum, demonstrated through the mnemonic tendency in animation as a form." Wells p144
Definition Source: Merriam-Webster
Narratology -
Noun.
The branch of literary criticism that deals with the structure and function of narrative themes, conventions, and symbols.
The Animated Bestiary
Source- Dictionary.com
Naturalcultural -
Noun
The degrees of animal and anthropomorphic within the discourse operating between and within nature and culture.
Portmanteau of the terms "Natural" (being in accordance with or determined by nature) and "Cultural" (of or relating to culture). Term coined by Donna Haraway.
-Wells, The Animated Bestiary, pg. 50.
Nebulous -
Adj.
Hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused.
Hunt, David. "The Face Of The Wolf Is Blessed, Or Is It? Diverging Perceptions Of The Wolf." Folklore 119.3 (2008): 319-334. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Apr. 2012.
Neonatalism -
Noun
The portrayal of a character or living being as child-like.
Nocturnal -
Adj.
Done, occuring, or active at night.
The New Oxford American Dictionary
The Essential Hamster
Noirly -
Adj.
(Informal) Awe-inspiring and impressive while influenced by or styled after the film noir genre.
Modern American English "noir" + "gnarly"
Oligocene -
Noun, adjective.
The Oligocene Epoch or Series.. Noting or pertaining to an epoch of the Tertiary Period, occurring from 40 to 25 million years ago.
Sample sentence: It was the prize model, the clandestine design that, in the early Oligocene fifty million years ago, changed the hunt.
Word source: Mountain Lion
Definition Source: Dictionary.com
Omnivore -
Noun.
An animal that eats meats (other living organisms) and vegetation.
Found while researching the Natural history of my animal.
Paddock -
Noun.
A usually enclosed area used especially for pasturing or exercising animals; especially : an enclosure where racehorses are saddled and paraded before a race
"Dictionary." Marriam-Webster. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2012. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paddock>.
Paleocene -
Noun, Adj.
The earliest epoch of the Tertiary period.
Of or relating to the earliest epoch of the Tertiary period.
-Merriam-Webster English Dictionary
Paloverde -
Noun.
A spiny, desert shrub, Cercidium floridum, of the legume family, of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, having green bark (dictionary.com).
Sample sentence: Paloverde trees held out sharp green spikes.
Word source: Mountain Lion
Definition Source: Dictionary.com
Papillae -
Noun.
1. Any small, nipplelike process or projection.
2. One of certain small protuberances concerned with the senses of touch, taste, and smell: the papillae of the tongue.
3. A small vascular process at the root of a hair.
4. A papule or pimple.
“Projections on the skin called papillae add to the disguise by changing textures to blend more readily with substances like coral or sand.”
Horton, Jennifer. "How Octopuses Work" 13 March 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/marine-life/octopus.htm> 14 May 2012.
http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html
Paradigm -
Noun.
A typical example or pattern of something; a model
Animated Bestiary
Source- Dictionary
Parturition -
Noun.
The action of giving birth to young; childbirth.
" Everything possible that can make the actual birth of a lamb easy and successful should be done early, as it may be too late after a ewe has paralysis or trouble begins to develop during parturition."
Definitions from Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford Dictionaries. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://oxforddictionaries.com/>.
Juergenson, Elwood M. Approved Practices in Sheep Production. Danville, Illinois: The Interstate, 1973. Print.
Phenomenological -
Noun - Philosophy
The science of phenomena as distinct from that of the nature of being.
An approach that concentrates on the study of consciousness and the objects of direct experience.
late 16th century Latin from Greek "phainomenon" ('thing appearing to view') + "ology"
Plasmaticness -
Adj.
The state of having a fluid, plastic form. A rejection to once-and-forever allotted form, freedom from ossification, the ability to assume any form.
Eisenstein: “An ability that I’d call ‘Plasmaticness’, for here we have a being represented in drawing, a being of definite form, a being which has attained a definite appearance, and which behaves like the primal protoplasm, not yet possessing a ‘stable’ form, but capable of assuming any form and which, skipping along the rungs of the evolutionary ladder, attaches itself to any and all forms as animal existence.” (Lecture and Eisenstein on Disney.)
“Plasmaticness understands the ‘poly-formic capabilities of an object’. Elasticity attracts—for it provides a palette of all possible forms for us. Eisenstein does not think it very possible that an archaic memory resides within us… but he does insist that there exists a universal feeling for a multiplicity of forms.”-Leslie pg. 233 Hollywood Flatlands
Encountered: Wells and lecture
Polemical -
Noun.
Of, relating to, or being a polemic : controversial
"I wasn’t to find a way of speaking to fellow human beings that will be cool rather than heated, philosophical rather than polemical, that will being enlightenment rather than seeking to divide us into the righteous and the sinners, the saved and the damned, the sheep and the goats." Coetzee p22
Definition Source: Merriam-Webster
Polygyny -
Noun.
(among male animals) the habit or system of having two or more mates, either simultaneously or successively.
1. the practice or condition of having more than one wife at one time.
2. (among male animals) the habit or system of having two or more mates, either simultaneously or successively.
3. (among social insects) the condition of having two or more functioning queens in a colony.
4. Botany . the state or condition of having many pistils or styles.
ex: Raccoons commonly practice polygyny within their social groups, with males usually having two females that they mate with.
Animal
->as found in Raccoons: A Natural History
Dictionary.com
Post-Modernism -
Noun.
The state, condition, or period subsequent to that which is modern; spec. in architecture, the arts, literature, politics, etc., any of various styles, concepts, or points of view involving a conscious departure from modernism, esp. when characterized by a rejection of ideology and theory in favour of a plurality of values and techniques. Also in extended use in general contexts, freq. used ironically.- Online OED
Meaning of no manifest with uses of reflexivity and multiplicity. Suggests that realities are only social constructs and are therefore subject to change. -Lecture
“Human-animal mergers are also central to the work of postmodern animal studies, particularly in motifs that reconfigure the animal form representing multiple meanings and blurred boundaries.”-Kalof and Fitzgerald, pg. 249 The Animals Reader
Encountered: Lecture, The Animals Reader
Prelapsarian -
Adj.
Characteristic of or pertaining to any innocent or carefree period: a prelapsarian youth.
Sample sentence: Which, maybe, goes to show that the prelapsarian world of wise talking beasts is really but a hop, skip, and a jump away from paranoia.
Word source: Animals in the Nursery.
Definition Source: Dictionary.com
Proprioception -
Noun
Sense of how one's limbs are oriented in space.
Proselytize -
Verb [ trans. ]
To convert or attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.
Late-middle English. From Greek "proseluthos" ("stranger, convert")
Oxford American Dictionary
Prosimian -
Noun.
Member of the primitive primate group Prosimii, which includes lemurs and tarsiers.
Lower order of primates.
-Merriam-Webster English Dictionary
Proustian -
Adj.
Of or relating to Marcel Proust, the French novelist, his style, or his works.
-thefreedictionary.com
Putative -
Adj.
Commonly accepted or supposed.
"It’s putative to say that most animals should be observed without interfering with their lives."
Linda Kalof, Amy Fitzgerald. The Animals Reader. Oxford: Berg, 2007. Print.
Radula -
Noun.
A chitinous band in the mouth of most mollusks, set with numerous, minute, horny teeth and drawn backward and forward over the floor of the mouth in the process of breaking up food.
“This beak is useful for breaking open clam shells and tearing apart flesh. Next to the beak is the radula, a barbed tongue the octopus uses to scrape an animal out of its shell once the shell is opened.”
Horton, Jennifer. "How Octopuses Work" 13 March 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/marine-life/octopus.htm> 14 May 2012.
http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html
Reflexive -
Noun, Adj.
a) Of a method, theory, etc.: that takes account of itself or esp. of the effect of the personality or presence of the researcher on what is being investigated.
b) Self-referential, self-reflexive; spec. (of a text, artwork, etc.) that consciously calls attention to itself or its process or production. -Online OED
Acknowledgement of the apparatus, the constructed nature of the viewed object. Pointing at oneself in order to unmask the construct.
“Reflexivity points toward our assumptions and expectations about the world around us”-Nichols pg. 128 Representing Reality.
Encountered: Wells, many of the films screened (for example: Windsor McCay's Gertie The Dinosaur)
Rhetoric -
Noun.
The art of speaking or writing effectively.
The study of principles and rules of composition.
The study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion.
-Merriam-Webster English Dictionary
Rodent -
Noun.
A gnawing mammal of an order that includes rats, mice, squirrels, hamsters, porcupines, and their relatives, distinguished by strong constantly growing incisors and no canine teeth. They constitute the largest order of mammals.
The New Oxford American Dictionary
The Essential Hamster
Rooster -
Noun.
The male of domestic fowl and certain game birds; cock.
Animal
Dictionary.com
Rutting -
Noun.
An annual period of sexual activity in mammals, during which the males fight each other for access to the females.
“The adult male stays with a tigress only during the rutting season, and incidentally perhaps, during the gestation period and briefly thereafter.” Boomgaard p21
Definition Source: merriam-webster.com
Sagacity -
Noun.
Level-headedness, wisdom, prudence
“For just as we pointed out resemblances in the physical organs, so in a number of animals we observe gentleness and fierceness, mildness or cross-temper, courage or timidity, fear or confidence, high spirits or low cunning, and, with regard to intelligence, something akin to sagacity.” (Why Look at Animals, pg 255)
Source: Animal Reader
Definition source: Dictionary.com
Saguaro -
Noun.
A tall, horizontally branched cactus, Carnegiea (or Cereus) gigantea, of Arizona and neighboring regions, yielding a useful wood and bearing an edible fruit: still locally common, though some populations have been reduced.
Sample sentence: Saguaro cctus mixed with the illuminated white spines of cholla cactus.
Word source: Mountain Lion
Definition Source: Dictionary.com
Salivary Papilla -
Noun.
Papilla that produce a viscid, watery fluid that functions in the tasting, chewing, and swallowing of food, and starts the digestion of starches.
“And if these tools don't do the trick, it also has a tooth-covered organ called the salivary papilla that it can use to drill into shells. The papilla's bodily secretion also erodes the shell and then weakens the prey so it can be consumed.”
Horton, Jennifer. "How Octopuses Work" 13 March 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/marine-life/octopus.htm> 14 May 2012.
http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html
Seladang -
Noun.
Bos gaurus, a large wild ox of Southeast Asia, having a humplike ridge on the back.
“Occasionally, tigers also attacked the larger ungulates, like buffalo, seladang, and benteng, but in the Malay area this was…” Boomgaard p23
Definition Source: thefreedictionary.com
Semiplantigrade -
Adj.
An animal that is occasional plantigrade in it’s movements.
ex: Raccoons have been found to be semiplantigrade, moving at a plantigrade waddle normally, but capable of a digigrade run if the need arises.
->as found in Raccoons: A Natural History
Sessile -
Adj.
Fixed in one place; immobile. The Reef Guide.
Merridian-Webster <http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/sessile>
Simulacrum -
Noun.
An image or representation of someone or something. An unsatisfactory imitation or substitute. (pural Simulacra)
"The use of animation can dilute the implications of meaning - after all, this the artifice of drawings, puppets, objects, virtual simulacra, etc. - or it can amplify it - the illusion providing exaggeration and fabricated emphasis, throwing the ideas and issues into relief."
Definitions from Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford Dictionaries. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://oxforddictionaries.com/>.
Wells, Paul. The Animated Bestiary: Animals, Cartoons, and Culture. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2009. Print.
Subpopulation -
Noun.
A population that is part of a larger population.
"The subpopulation of goats in the Olympic mountain was established in the early 20th century."
Surmise -
Verb.
To infer something without conclusive evidence.
Swayback -
Noun.
Excessive inward or downward curvature of the spine.
Tautology -
Noun.
Needless repetition of an idea, especially in words other than those of the immediate context, without imparting additional force or clarity.
"For, seen from the outside, from a being who is alien to it, reason is simply a vast tautology." Coatzee p25
Definition Source: Dictionary.com
Theriocephalic -
Adj.
Having the head of an animal.
From the Greek "Therion" (beast) and "Cephaly" (head).
Totemism -
Noun.
The polar opposite to the “other dimension” which seeks to define the primordial relationships between animal and humankind more precisely. -A summary of Eisenstein
Eisenstein: “The first stage: the unity of man and animal (the evolutionary stage). ‘Factual’ metemypsychosis, and the belief in the migration of souls. The second stage: the unity of man and animal in totemistic belief. The third stage: the comparison of man with animal—the metaphoric series” (Leyda 1988, 49)
Encountered: Wells & lecture
Trotter -
Noun.
A pig's foot.
Tyrosinase -
Noun.
(Biochemistry) An oxidizing enzyme, occurring in plant and animal tissues, that catalyzes the aerobic oxidation of tyrosine into melanin and other pigments.
‘The octopus can shoot the ink out in little blobs that serve as decoys, or it can shoot it out in one big mass to obscure a quick getaway. To top it off, the ink contains tyrosinase, a compound that impairs smell and taste, which further confuses the predator.’
Horton, Jennifer. "How Octopuses Work" 13 March 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/marine-life/octopus.htm> 14 May 2012.
http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html
Ubiquity -
Noun.
Existence or apparent existence everywhere at the same time; omnipresence.
“Ubiquity would be godly. “
Wells, Paul. The Animated Bestiary. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2009. Print.
Umwelt -
Noun.
How you perceive the world, literal translation of "World View" from German.
Unspeakableness -
Noun.
Incapable of expression in words.
"There is a presence of unspeakableness within the non-human animal."
Verisimilitude -
Noun.
The appearance of being true or real.
"This new demand for verisimilitude in animal toys led to different methods of manufacture."
Definition from Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford Dictionaries. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://oxforddictionaries.com/>.
Berger, John. "Why Look at Animals?" The Animals Reader. eds. Linda Kalof and Amy Fitzgerald. Oxford: Berg, 2007. Print.
Vestige -
Noun.
1) A mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence. 2) A surviving evidence or remainder of some condition, practice, etc. 3) A very slight trace or amount of something. 4) A degenerate or imperfectly developed organ or structure that has little or no utility, but that in an earlier stage of the individual or in preceding evolutionary forms of the organism performed a useful function.
The Animated Bestiary, Wells. P
Vicissitudes -
Noun.
A change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.
"When they are rounded up at night they are protected from the vicissitudes of the more abstract, ambiguous, and ambivalent predicament of the natural world." Wells p138
Definition Source: Merriam-Webster
Virtual Simulacra -
Noun.
Visual representation of something.
“Currency is a simulacra of labor.”
Wells, Paul. The Animated Bestiary. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2009. Print.
Vociferous -
Adj.
crying out noisily; clamorous.
“In typical tiger areas her vociferous announcements will attract several adult male tigers…” Boomgaard p21
Definition Source: dictionary.com
Wattle -
Noun.
A fleshy lobe or appendage hanging down from the throat or chin of certain birds, as the domestic chicken or turkey, also known as a dewlap.
Word Source: Animal
Definition Source: Dictionary.com
Wunderkammer -
Noun.
A collection of curiosities or rarities.
German "wonder + chamber"
Oxford American Dictionary
Zoomorphic -
Noun.
In animal form.
“These zoomorphic pictures show us one way people combine humans and other animals.”
Source: Anne de Marcken (?)
Definition Source: me/ Anne de Marcken
Zygomatic -
Adj.
1. of, pertaining to, or situated near the zygoma.
noun
2. zygomatic bone.
Sample Sentence: Animals with instantaneous jaw force-- snaping turtles, alligators, and mountain lions-- have enlarged zygomatic arches for intense crushing power.
Word Source: Mountain Lion
Definition Source: Dictionary.com