BASILISK 



BATRACHOPtJS 



perly a royal residence ; but also used for 

 any spacious, roofed building supported by 

 columns. 



Basilisk, (baz'il-isk). [Basilislcos, the Greek 

 name.]=Basiliscus rnitratus: a small Saurian 

 reptile. 



Basilosaurus, (ba-sil-o-saw'rus). [Gk. basileus, 

 king; saurus, a lizard.] =Zeuglodon: a large 

 whale, known only by fossil remains in 

 Eocene strata in Alabama. Its name is 

 owing to its having been supposed, when 

 first discovered, to be a huge reptile. 



Basin, (ba'sn). [Bassin, the French name.] 

 1. In geology=Syncline, a depression in the 

 surface, caused by sinclinal dip's. 2. All the 

 land drained by all the rivers entering any 

 given sea is called the basin of that sea. 



Basioccipital, (ba-si-ok-sip'it-al). [L. basis, 

 base; occipitium, back of head.] The centre 

 of the first cranial segment of the skull; the 

 base of the occipital bone. B. tooth: a tooth 

 on the basioccipital bone, as in the Tench. 



Basisphenoid, ( ba-si-sfe'uoid ). [ L. basis, 

 base ; Sphenoid, q.v. ] The centre of the 

 second cranial segment of the skull ; the 

 posterior portion of the sphenoid. 



Basket of lamprey. A cartilaginous basket- 

 like process supporting the gills. 



Basking sharks Selachus maximus: the larg- 

 est known shark, found in Northern seas, 

 and named from its habit of floating in the 

 sunlight. 



Basque language, (bask). [The French word.] 

 Spoken in the Basque provinces and in 

 Navarre. 



Bass, (bas) Basse=Labrax lupus=Perca la- 

 brax^Sciaeua labrax: afish of the perch kind. 



Basset, (bas'set). [F. bassette, low.]=Outcrop: 

 the portion of an inclined stratum that 

 comes to the surface. 



Bassia, (bas'si-a). A plant of Africa and In- 

 dia. B. butyracea= Indian butter tree. 



Bassic acid=Stearic acid, q.v. 



Bassinet, (bas-si-nef). [The French word.] 

 =Ranunculus: from the shape of the flower, 

 like a small basin. 



Basso-relievo, (bas-so-re-le'vo). Sculpture in 

 which the figures are detached in only a 

 small degree. 



Bassorin, (bas'so-rin). [Bassoragum.]=Salep 

 =Tragacanth=;rC6HioO5=Mucilage : a gum 

 found in many seeds. 



Bass-relief, (ba-re-lef). [F. 6as,low; relief, 

 raised work. ]= Basso-relievo : in sculpture, 

 figures which do not stand out far from the 

 surface. 



Bastion, (bast-yun). [The French name.] A 

 projecting portion 

 of a fortified inclos- 

 ure. 



Bastite, (bas'tit). 

 [Basti, in Hart* 

 Mountains. ] A 

 green mineral,!?^; 

 chiefly silicate of A, Bastion, 



magnesium and iron. 



Bast-tree, (bast). [Bout, the A.-S. name.]= 

 Lime tree=Tilia Europsea: inner bark used 

 for matting. 



Basyl, (bas'il). [Gk. basis, base; liyle, ma- 

 terial. ]= Base: the electro-positive ingredient 

 of any chemical compound, usually either a 

 metal or a substance equivalent to it. 



Basylous, (ba'sil-ous). [Base, Q.v.]=Base-like: 

 fulfilling the functions, or having the pro- 

 perties, of a base. 



Bat, (bat). [ Sc. backe, bird. ]=Cheiroptera 

 = Vespertilio : a 

 mouse-like animal, 

 with membranes 

 connecting its front 

 legs enabling it to 

 fly. Besides this 

 there are Lyre B. 

 = Megaderma lyra 

 Bulldofi .B.=Molossus longicaudatus. Long- 

 cared -B.=Galeopithecus. 



Batara, (ba-ta'ra). A name for Bush-shrikes 

 =Thamnophilus . 



Batatas, (ba-ta'tas). [The Malay name.] A 

 plant belonging to Convolvulaceje=Convol- 

 vulus batatas, the root of which is edible. 

 B. cdtdis=S\veet potato. 



Bath-bird=Vanellus cristatus: a bird of the 

 plover kind. 



Bath-metal. An alloy of brass with zinc. 



Bathstone. [Bath, in west of England.] 

 Great Oolite freestone : a shelly limestone 

 much used for building: one of the great 

 Oolite strata. 



Bathybios, (bath'ib-i-os). [Gk. bathys, deep; 

 bios, life.] Mere specks of living gelatinous 

 matter, found at bottom of Atlantic, often in 

 large sheets of amorphous protoplasm. "Or- 

 ganisms without organs," formed by Hseckel 

 iato a class of Rhizopoda, under the name of 

 Monera. 



Bathygnathus, (bath-yg-na'thus). [Gk. bathys, 

 deep ; gnathos, jaw.} A fossil reptile. B. 

 borealus, found in New Bed Sandstone of N. 

 America. 



Bathymetrical zones, (bath-I-met'ri-kal). [Gk. 

 lathys, deep; metron, measure.] According 

 to depth, comprising littoral, sea-weed, and 

 deep sea regions. 



Bathyptilum, (bath-ip'ti-lum). [Gk. bathys, 

 deep.] B. Carpenteri, a remarkable sea-pen 

 found at bottom of N. Atlantic in G50 fa- 

 thoms, and formed into a new genus. 



Batides, (bat'i-dez). [Gk. batit, thornhack, a 

 fish.]=Rays, &c. : fishes forming a sub-divi- 

 sion of Plagiostoini. 



Batikin, (bat'i-kin). [Native name.]=Ento- 

 myza cyanotis=;Blue-faced honey eater: a 

 bird living in the nest of another bird. 



Batrachia, (bat-rii'ki-a). [Gk. batrachos, frog.] 

 = Frogs and Toads: animals forming a divi- 

 sion of Amphibia, q.v. 



Batrachians, (ba-tra'ki-anz).=Batrachia, q.v. 



Batrachite, (bat'ra-kit). [Gk. batrachos, frog.] 

 A mineral of a greenish colour, somewhat 

 resembling a frog; chiefly a silicate of lime 

 and magnesia, a vai'iety of olivine. 



Batracholites, (ba-tra'ko-lits). [Gk. batracJios, 

 frog; lithos, stone.] Fossil remains of frog- 

 like animals, found in Tertiary strata. 



Batrachopus, ( ba-tra'ko-piis ). Fossil foot- 

 prints of frog-like animals. 



