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.