Natural History of Vertebrates
List of Terms
Chapter 15 - The Evolution of Birds

The following are terms that you should look up. You should be able to define each term and give a clear, specific example of each. Most of these terms are in your textbook, some will be presented in lecture, and others may come from your previous course work. A good investment at this point in your career would be the investment in one or more dictionaries which are specific to biology. One dictionary that I would recommend is "A Dictionary of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics" (second edition) by Lincoln, Boxshall and Clark. It is published by Cambridge University Press and the ISBN number is 0 521 43842 for the paperback version.

Taxonomic terms may be the scientific names or common names associated with various groups of organisms. Generic names are capitalized and in italics. Scientific names for families or higher are capitalized. Common names start with lower case letters.

I will use these terms in lecture at various times throughout the semester and will expect you to know them. They may also appear on tests. It would be a very good idea to include a section in your notes where you write out the definitions to these terms.

List of Terms		Taxonomic Terms
arboreal theory tereestrial theory Eocene Miocene Pliocene pterylae apteria calamus rachis vane barb barbule contour feather down feather powder down bristle filoplume aspect ratio wing loading camber angle of attack stalling angle pectoralis major supracoracoideus foramen triosseum dynamic soaring static soaring air sac parabronchial lung crop gizzardybr> proventriculus urate ansiodactylus zygodactylus		Ambiortus Enaliornis

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Last updated on 13 April 2003
Provide comments to Dwight Moore at mooredwi@emporia.edu
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