136 HERPETOLOGY AND ICHTHYOLOGY: GLOSSARY. 



FORMATION. Any group of rocks, or 

 mineral substances, of similar char 

 acter and age, is termed a forma- 

 tion in geology. 



FOSSA. Latin. From fodio, I dig. 

 A cavity of greater or less depth, 

 the entrance (o which is always 

 larger than the base or bottom. 



FOSSJE, Latin. Plural of fossa. The 

 nasal fossa, are two large, irregu- 

 lar cavities, situate between the 

 orbits below the cranium, and be- 

 hind the nose. The nostrils. The 

 temporal fossa, are the depressions 

 of the temples on the sides of the 

 cranium, towards its anterior upper 

 part. 



FOSSF.TTE'. Fop-sett. French. A 

 little fossa; a pit, a dimple. 



FOSSIL. An organised body, found 

 buried in the layers or strata of 

 the earth, from a date, the anti- 

 quity of which we can fo m no 

 certain estimate ; most fossils ap- 5 

 pear to belong to periods even 

 anterior to the existence of the | 

 human race. 



FRA'GILIS. Latin. Fragile; easily 

 broken. 



FUSIFORM. From the Latin, fusus, a 

 spindle, and forma, shape. Spindle 

 shaped. 



GADO'IDES. From the Greek, gadus, I 

 a certain fish, and eidos, resem- 

 blance. Systematic name of a j 

 family of fishes. 



GADUS. Generic name of the codfish. [ 



GANGE'TICA. Latin. Belonging or 

 relating to the Ganges. 



GASTROBRANCHUS. Gas-tro-brank-us. 

 From the Greek, gastcr, belly, and \ 

 bragchia, gills. Systematic name 

 of a genus of cartilaginous fishes ; 

 because the openings of their gills 

 are situate under the belly. 



GECKO. rfame given to a species of 

 saurian of India, in imitation of 

 its cry. 



GECKOTIDA. From gecko, and the 

 Greek eidos, resemblance. Syste- 

 matic name of a family of saurians. 



GECKOTIAN. Applied to animals of 

 the family of geckotida. 



GKLATI'NOUS Partaking of the nature 

 of gelatine or jelly. 



GENUS. Latin. A kindred, breed, 

 race, stock, lineage, or family. 



GE'NEKA. Latin. Plural of genus. 



GENE'HIC Belonging or relating to 

 genus. 



GEOLOGY. From the Greek, ge, the 

 earth, and logos, discourse. The 

 study or description of the btructure 

 of the earth, and the changes which 

 have taken place in it. 



GLADIUS. Latin. A sword. Syste- 

 matic name of a sword-fish. 



GLAND. From the Latin, glans, (in 

 the genitive, glandis,} an acorn. A 

 simple, soft, friable, spongy part of 

 the body, which bears some resem- 

 blance to nn acorn. Applied to 

 those softish, granular organs, com- 

 posed of numerous vessels, nerves, 

 and a peculiar structure, which 

 form pr culiar secretions. 



GLAND'ULAR. Composed of glands; 

 resembling a gland. 



GOBIO. Generic name of the Gud- 

 geon. 



GR.SCA. Latin Greek ; Grecian. 



GYMNODONTEs.-Jim-no-don-tes. From 

 the Greek, gumnos, naked, and 

 odous, (in the genitive odontos,) 

 tooth. Systematic name of a 

 family of fishes. 



GYMNOTUS. Jim-no-tus. Latin. The 

 generic name of the electric eel. 



GYMNOTJ. Latin. Plural of Gym- 

 notus. 



HAJE. Ha-jee. Specific name of a 

 coluber. 



HAR'ENGUS. Generic name of the 

 herring. 



HE' LENA. Specific name of a kind of 

 eel. 



HEPTA'TREMUS. From the Greek, 

 epta, seven, and trema, a hole or 

 perforation. Generic name of cer- 

 tain fishes of the order of cyclos- 

 tomi. 



HERBIVOROUS. From the Latin, 

 herba, grass, herb, and voro, I eat. 

 Grass-eating, herb-eating. Applied 

 to animals which feed on grass or 

 plants. 



