A C A 



[3] 



A C IT 



ACANTHOPTER'YGII. (from uicavda, a 

 thorn, and irrcpvg, a wing, Gr.) 

 Thorny-finned fish. Cuvier divi- 

 ded all recent bony fishes into two 

 great orders, the Malacopterygii, 

 and the Acanthopterygii. In the 

 acanthopterygii the rays are stiff 

 continuous spikes of bone, each 

 standing detached as a spear, with- 

 out joint or branch. The perch 

 will serve as a familiar illustration 

 of this order. 



ACANTHOPTERY'GIOTJS. (from aicavOa 

 and Trrcpvg, Gr.) A term applied 

 to those fish whose back fins are 

 osseous and prickly. The acan- 

 thopterygii are the first, and by far 

 the most numerous division of or- 

 dinary fishes. 



AcANTHoeE'pHALA. (from uKCLvQa and 

 /ce0aX9J, Gr,) An intestinal worm 

 belonging to the order Parenchy- 

 mata, class Entozoa. 



ACAN'TICONE. A sub-species of pris- 

 matoidal augite, occurring princi- 

 pally in primitive rocks, such as 

 mica-slate, gneiss, &c. Known 

 also as pistacite and epidote. 



A'CARUS. (uKapi, Gr. animal minu- 

 tissimum.) The tick or mite. A 

 genus of insects belonging to the 

 order Aptera. The Acarus has 

 eight legs, two eyes, and two 

 jointed tentacula. The female is 

 oviparous, and excessively prolific. 

 Authors estimate tlie number of 

 species variously; Linnseus enu- 

 merates 35, and Gmelin 82 species. 

 Most of these are very small and 

 almost microscopical. Some are 

 parasitical, living in the skin of 

 animals : some of the coleoptera 

 are found covered with them. 



ACATJ'LOTTS. (from a, priv, and KavXbs, 

 Gr.) A term applied to plants, 

 the flowers of which have no 

 pedicle or stalk. 



ACCI'PITRES. (Lat. from accipiendo.} 

 Rapacious birds ; the first order of 

 birds in the Linnsean system of 

 ornithology. The Accipitres are 

 known by their hooked beak and 

 talons j they feed upon other birds, 



as well as upon the weaker quad- 

 rupeds, and reptiles. They have 

 been divided into two families, the 

 diurnal and the nocturnal. 



ACCI'PITRINE. Belonging to the order 

 Accipitres ; rapacious. 



ACCLI'MATED. (acclimate), Fr.) Ac- 

 customed to a climate not natural 

 to it. 



ACCLIMA'TION. Neutralization to for- 

 eign climate. 



ACCLI'MATIZE. (acclimater, Fr.) To 

 accustom to foreign climate ; to 

 accustom to the temperature of a 

 new climate. A term applied both 

 to persons and things ; to animals 

 and plants. 



ACCRE'TIOST. (accretio, Lat.) Increase, 

 or growth, by the accession of new 

 parts. Bacon says, plants do nour- 

 ish ; inanimate bodies do not ; they 

 have an accretion, but no alimenta- 

 tion. 



ACCRE'TIVE. Increasing, or growing, 

 by the accession of new parts. 



ACE'PHALA. (a, priv. and Ke0aXi}, the 

 head, Gr.) 



1. A class of animals not having 

 any head, but merely a mouth, 

 concealed between, the folds of their 

 mantle ; the mouth is always eden- 

 tated : the oyster furnishes an ex- 

 ample. All the acephalae are aqua- 

 tic. 



2. In entomology, an order of in- 

 sects. 



ACE'PHALOUS. (acephale. Fr. a/ce0aXo9, 

 Gr.) Headless ; this term was given 

 by Cuvier to animals not having 

 any head. 



ACE'RB. (acerlus,^ Lat. acerle, Fr. 

 acerlo, It.) Acid with an addition 

 of roughness : the taste of an unripe 

 sloe is a familiar and good illustra- 

 tion. 



ACERBITY, (acerlitas, Lat. acer- 

 bite, Fr.) Sourness combined with 

 roughness of taste. 



ACERO'SE. V (acerosus, Lat.) 



A'cERoirs. j 1. Chaffy, branny. 

 2. In botany, leaves linear, needle- 

 shaped, everywhere of an equal 

 breadth, mostly acute, and rigid. 



