GLOSSARY. 9J9 



Metamorphism, or \the change induced in strata by exposure to a high tem- 

 Metamorpiiosis ...J perature. 



Mica a simple mineral, one of the component parts of granite. 



Micaceous containing mica. 



Miocene middle tertiary series. 



Molares grinding teeth. 



Molecules microscopic particles. 



Mollusca soft animals, destitute of a bony structure, as Shell-fish. 



Monads the minutest infusorial animalcules. 



Monitor a genus of lizards inhabiting the tropics. 



Monocotyledonous.. plants having seeds with but one lobe, as Wheat. 



Moraine an accumulation of dehris formed in valleys by glaciers. 



Multilocular many-chambered shells, as the Nautilus. 



Multivalve shells composed of many pieces, as the Chiton. 



Muschelkalk a shelly limestone of the Triassic system. 



Nacreous pearly. 



Neuroptera insects having wings finely nerved, as the Dragon-fly. 



Nodule a rounded mineral mass, as a chalk-flint. 



Normal natural, or original condition. 



Nucleus a kernel, or point round which other materials collect. 



Obsidian glassy lava. 



Occiput the back part of the skull. 



Oolite limestone composed of an aggregation of spheroidal particles. 



Operculum a lid ; applied to the gill-covering in fishes, and the plat 



that closes the aperture in univalve shells. 



Ophidians the snake tribes. 



Ornithorhynchus... a genus of animals having the mouth produced into a beak 



like a bird. 



Ossicula small bones. 



Ovate egg-shaped. 



Oviparous animals which bring forth eggs. 



Outlier a detached or isolated mass of strata. 



Oxide the combination of oxygen with any metallic substance. 



Pachydermata thick-skinned animals, as the rhinoceros, elephant, &c. 



Paleontology the science which treats of extinct animals and vegetables. 



Parietes the walls of the cavities in animals. 



Pectinated toothed like a comb. 



Pediform shaped like a foot. 



Peduncle a stalk, or support. 



Pelagic or Pelagian, belonging to deep seas. 



Peperino a volcanic conglomerate. 



Petroleum mineral oil. 



Pinnate shaped like a feather or fin. 



Pisolitic pea-like; resembling peas, agglutinated together. 



Plexus a bundle of vessels. 



Pliocene the newer groups of the tertiary formations. 



Plumose feather-like. 



Polyp aria corals. 



Porphyry an ancient igneous rock. 



Pozzuolana volcanic asbes. 



Precipitate the chemical separation, and deposit in a solid form, of a 



substance held in solution by water. 

 Ptychodus wrinkle-tooth fish. 



Pumice light, spongy or porous lava. 



Pyriform pear-shaped. 



Pyrites sulphuret of iron. 



Pyrogenous igneous, applied to ancient melted rocks. 



