National Geographic Channel’s

“Animal Dictionary”

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Table of Contents
 A Baboon
Aardvark Beaver
African Elephant Black Mamba
Albatross Blue Whale
Ammonites Butterflyfish
Ankylosaurus
Magniventris

 B
H O M E
 Aardvark

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The Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) (afer: from Africa) is a medium-sized,
burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of
the order Tubulindentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of
Tubulidentata are known.
It is sometimes called "antbear", "anteater", or the "Cape anteater" after the Cape
of Good Hope. The name comes from the Afrikaans/Dutch for "earth pig" or
"ground pig" (aarde earth/ground, varken pig), because of its burrowing habits
(similar origin to the name groundhog). The aardvark is not related to the pig;
rather, it is the sole recent representative of the obscure
mammalian order Tubulidentata, in which it is usually considered to form one
variable species of the genus Orycteropus, the sole surviving genus in the
family Orycteropodidae The aardvark is not closely related to the South
American anteater, despite sharing some characteristics and a superficial
resemblance. 

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 African Elephant

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African elephants are the species of elephants in the genus Loxodonta (Greek
for 'oblique-sided tooth'[), one of the two existing genera in Elephantidae.
Although it is commonly believed that the genus was named by Georges
Cuvier in 1825, Cuvier spelled it Loxodonte. An anonymous author romanized
the spelling to Loxodonta and the ICZN recognizes this as the proper authority.
Fossil members of Loxodonta have only been found in Africa, where they
developed in the middle Pliocene.

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 Albatross

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Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to
the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the
order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern
Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic,
although fossil remains show they once occurred there too and
occasional vagrants turn up.
Albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and the great
albatrosses (genus Diomedea) have the largest wingspans of anyextant birds.
The albatrosses are usually regarded as falling into four genera, but there is
disagreement over the number of species.

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 Ammonites

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Ammonites are an extinct group of marine invertebrate animals in
the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs are more closely
related to living coleoids (i.e. octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish) than they are to
shelled nautiloids such as the living Nautilus species.
Ammonites are excellent index fossils, and it is often possible to link the rock layer in
which they are found to specific geological time periods. Their fossil shells usually
take the form of planispirals, although there were some helically-spiraled and non-
spiraled forms (known asheteromorphs).
The name ammonite, from which the scientific term is derived, was inspired by the
spiral shape of their fossilized shells, which somewhat resemble tightly-coiled rams'
horns. Pliny the Elder (d. 79 AD. near Pompeii) called fossils of these
animals ammonis cornua ("horns of Ammon") because the Egyptian god Ammon
(Amun) was typically depicted wearing ram's horns. Often the name of an ammonite
genus ends in -ceras, which is Greek (κέρας) for "horn".

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 Ankylosaurus

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Ankylosaurus (which is pronounced /ˌæŋkɨlɵˈsɔrəs/ [ANG-ki-lo-SAWR-us] or /æŋ
ˌkaɪlɵˈsɔrəs/ [ang-KIE-lo-SAWR-us], and which means "fused lizard") is
a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur, containing one species, A.
magniventris. Fossils of Ankylosaurus are found in geologic formations dating to the
very end of the Cretaceous Period (about 66.5–65.5 Ma ago) in western North
America.
Although a complete skeleton has not been discovered and several other dinosaurs
are represented by more extensive fossil material, Ankylosaurus is often considered
the archetypal armored dinosaur. Other ankylosaurids shared its well-known features
—the heavily-armored body and massive bony tail club—but Ankylosaurus was the
largest known member of the family.

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 Baboon

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Baboons are African and Asian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio,
part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the
largest non-hominid members of the primate order; only the Mandrill and
the Drill are larger. Previously, the closely related Gelada (genus Theropithecus) and
two species of Mandrill and Drill (genus Mandrillus) were grouped in the same
genus, and these Old World monkeys are still often referred to as baboons in
everyday speech. They range in size and weight depending on species. The Guinea
Baboon is 50 cm (20 inches) and weighs only 14 kg (30 lb) while the largest Chacma
Baboon can be 120 cm (47 inches) and weigh 40 kg (90 lb). A group of baboons is
collectively called a troop or congress

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 Beaver

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The beaver (genus Castor) is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-
aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver(Castor
canadensis) (native to North America) and Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber) (Eurasia).
Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges (homes). They are the
second-largest rodent in the world (after the capybara). Their colonies create one or
more dams to provide still, deep water to protect against predators, and to float food
and building material. The North American beaver population was once more than
60 million, but as of 1988 was 6–12 million. This population decline is due to
extensive hunting for fur, for glands used as medicine and perfume, and because
their harvesting of trees and flooding of waterways may interfere with other land
uses

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 Black Mamba

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 The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is the longest venomous snake in Africa,
averaging around 2.5 meters (8.2 ft), and sometimes growing up to 4.3 meters (14 ft).
Its name is derived from the black coloration inside the mouth; the actual color of the
skin varies, from dull yellowish-green to a gun-metal gray. It is the fastest snake in the
world, capable of moving at 4.5 to 5.4 metres per second (16–20 km/h, 10–12mph)

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 Blue Whale

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The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the
suborder of baleen whales (called Mysticeti).At over 33 metres (108 ft) in length
and 180 metric tons (200 short tons)or more in weight, it is the largest animal ever
known to have existed.
Long and slender, the blue whale's body can be various shades of bluish-grey
dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath. There are at least three
distinct subspecies: B. m. musculus of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m.
intermedia of the Southern Ocean and B. m. brevicauda (also known as the pygmy
blue whale) found in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean B. m. indica, found
in the Indian Ocean, may be another subspecies. As with other baleen whales, its
diet consists almost exclusively of small crustaceans known as krill.

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 Butterflyfish

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The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the
family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this
group. Found mostly on the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, there are
approximately 120 species in 10genera. A number of species pairs occur in the Indian
and Pacific oceans, members of the huge genus Chaetodon.
Butterflyfish look like smaller versions of angelfish (Pomacanthidae) but unlike these
lack preopercle spines at the gill covers. Some members of the
genus Heniochus resemble the Moorish Idol (Zanclus cornutus) of
the monotypic Zanclidae. Among the paraphyletic "Perciformes", the former are
probably not too distantly related to butterflyfish, whereas the Zanclidae seem far less
close.

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