GLOSSARY. 



47 



each foot. One genus only is known, 

 Equus. 



Solivagant. Wandering alone. 



Soluble. Susceptible of being dissolved 

 in a fluid. 



Somniferous. Causing or inducing sleep. 



Somnolent. Drowsy ; inclined to sleep. 



Soporific ; Sopor if erous. Causing sleep, 

 or tending to produce it. 



Soid. The spiritual, rational, and im- 

 mortal principle in man, which distin- 

 guishes him from, and elevates him 

 infinitely above, the brute creation. 



Spasmodic. Affected with spasms, or 

 involuntary contraction of muscular 

 fibres in animal bodies. 



Spathaceous. Having a sheath-like calyx. 



Spathiform. Resembling spar in form. 



Spatulate. Rounded and broad at the 

 top and becoming narrow like a spat- 

 ula. 



Spawner. The female fish. 



Spayed. Castrated, as a female beast. 



Specific. Designating the peculiar prop- 

 erties of an animal, which constitute 

 its species, and distinguish it from oth- 

 ers. The specific name of an animal 

 is appended to the name of the genus, 

 and constitutes the distinctive name of 

 the species. 



Species. The lowest link in the chain of 

 scientific classification, and that which 

 admits of no further division. A spe- 

 cies comprehends all those animals 

 which may reasonably be supposed to 

 be descended from one common, orig- 

 inal stock : thus, all horses compose 

 but a single species ; and in the same 

 manner, all oxen, sheep, goats, dogs, 

 &c. compose respective and appropri- 

 ate species ; and where a marked differ- 

 ence in any of them exists, they are 

 said to be varieties of the species. 



Speculum. The bright spot on the wings 

 of ducks. 



Spermatheca. A receptacle attached to 

 the oviducts of insects. 



Spermatozoa. The peculiar microscopic 

 moving filaments and essential parts 

 of the fertilizing fluid. 



Spermatophera. The cylindrical capsules 

 or sheaths in the Cephalopods which 

 convey the sperm. 



Sphacelus. Mortification of the flesh of 



a living animal : caries or decay of a 

 bone. 



Sphenoidal. Resembling a wedge ; re- 

 lating to the sphenoid bone at the basis 

 of the skull. 



Sphere. An orbicular body. 



Spherical. Globular ; as drops df water 

 take a spherical form. 



Spherulate. Having one or more rows of 

 minute tubercles. 



Spherule. A little sphere or spherical 

 body. 



Spicula. Fine pointed bodies like nee- 

 dles. 



Spicular. Having sharp points. 



Spine. A fine, long, rigid, pointed pro- 

 cess. 



Spinigerous (Elytra). When the Coleopte- 

 ra have a spine common to them both. 



Spinnaret. The articulated tubes with 

 which spiders fabricate their web. 



Spinous ; Spinose. Armed with spines. 



Spiracles. The external apertures of the 

 trachea in insects. 



Spiral. Twisted like a cork-screw. 



Spire (of a univalve shell). All the 

 whorls except the one in which the 

 aperture is situated, which is termed 

 the body. 



Spissitude. The denseness or compact- 

 ness which belongs to substances not 

 perfectly liquid nor perfectly solid ; as, 

 the spissitude of coagulated blood, &c. 



Spongiose. Pertaining to a soft elastic 

 substance resembling sponge. 



Spontaneous. Acting by its own impulse ; 

 as, spontaneous motion. 



Spumous. Consisting of froth or scum. 



Spur. A.spine that is not a process of 

 the crust, but is implanted in it 



Spurious. Not genuine or legitimate. 



Spurious or Bastard Wing. (Alula spu- 

 ria.) Three or five quill- like feathers, 

 placed at a small joint rising at the 

 middle part of the wing in birds. 



Squab. Unfledged ; young and unfeath- 

 ered ; as, a squab pigeon. 



S<juamiform. Having the form or shape 

 of scales. 



Squamose ; Squamous, Scaly ; covered 

 with minute scales. 



Squarrose. Cut into lacinice, or deep seg- 

 ments, that are elevated above the 

 plane of the surface. 



