826 GLOSSARY 



Invertebrata, or Invertebrate Animals.— Those ani- 

 mals which do not possess a backbone or spinal column. 



Lacuna.— Spaces left among the tissues in some of the 



lower animals, and serving in place of vessels for the 



circulation of the fluids of the body. 

 Lamellated.— Furnished with lamellae or little plates. 

 Larva (pi. Larvae). — The first condition of an insect at its 



issuing from the egg, when it is usually in the form of a 



grub, caterpillar, or maggot. 

 Larynx.— The upper part of the windpipe opening into the 



gullet. 



Laurentian. — A group of greatly altered and very ancient 

 rocks, which is greatly developed along the course of the 

 St. Laurence, whence the name. It is in these that the 

 earliest known traces of organic bodies have been found. 



Leguminos^.— An order of plants represented by the com- 

 mon Peas and Beans, having an irregular flower in which 

 one petal stands up like a wing, and the stamens and pis- 

 til are inclosed in a sheath formed by two other petals. 

 The fruit is a pod (or legume). 



Lemurid^. — A group of four-handed animals, distinct from 

 the Monkeys and approaching the Insectivorous Quadru- 

 peds in some of their characters and habits. Its members 

 have the nostrils curved or twisted, and a claw instead of 

 a nail upon the first finger of the hind hands. 



Lepidoptera. — An order of Insects, characterized by the 

 possession of a spiral proboscis, and of four large more 

 or less scaly wings. It includes the well-known Butter- 

 flies and Moths. 



Littoral. — Inhabiting the sea-shore. 



Loess.— A marly deposit of recent (Post-Tertiary) date, 

 which occupies a great part of the valley of the Rhine. 



Malacostraca.— The higher division of the Crustacea, 

 including the ordinary Crabs, Lobsters, Shrimps, etc., 

 together with the Woodlice and Sand -hoppers. 



