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glossary
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| Glossary A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z The glossary explains some scientific terms used in the website. Adaptation: The features and behaviour of living things that help them better survive in their environment. Antennae: A pair of long, jointed, flexible structures on the head used to sense the surroundings. Compare with tentacle. Arthropods: Animals from the Phylum Arthropoda. Their bodies are supported by a hard outer casing (called the exoskeleton) instead of a back bone. They have jointed limbs. Arthropods include insects, spiders, crabs and prawns. Ascidians: Animals from the Class Ascidiacea. These animals belong to the same Phylum Chordata as us vertebrates. Vertebrates belong to the Subphylum Vertebrata while ascidians belong to Subphylum Urochordata. Bivalves: Animals from the Phylum Mollusca, Class Bivalvia. They usually have a hinged two-part shell. Examples include mussels, clams and oysters. Bryozoans: Animals from the Phylum Bryozoa. Byssus threads: Tough, adhesive fibres produced by bivalves to attach themselves to a firm surface. A gland in the foot produces these fibres. Examples of animals that produce byssus threads include mussels and Fan shells. Camouflage: An animal's shape, colour or pattern that allow it to blend in with its surroundings so it is less likely to be noticed by predators or prey. Carnivore: An animal that eats the flesh of other animals. Chlorophyll: See photosynthesis. Class: See about scientific names. Cnidarians: (Pronounced 'nai-day-rians', the 'c' is silent.) Animals from the Phylum Cnidaria. All are aquatic and one of the features unique to them are stinging cells used for protection and to catch prey. Examples include jellyfish, sea anemones and corals. Colonial animals: In cnidarians, ascidians and bryozoans, a colonial animal is made up of individual animals, called zooids, that are structurally joined to one another and share resources. Examples include hard corals and sea pens. See also polyp. Crustaceans: Animals from the Phylum Arthropoda, Subphylum Crustacea. Most are marine and most have two pairs of antennae. Examples include crabs, prawns and barnacles. Deposit feeder: An animal that collects food particles which settle on the sea bottom. For more details. Detritus: Dung and decaying matter. A detritivore is an animal that eats detritus. For more details on detritus. Dorsal fin: See fins of a fish. Echinoderms: (Pronounced 'ee-kai-no-derms'.) Animals from the Phylum Echinodermata. They are symmetrical along five axes and have tube feet and spines. Examples include sea stars, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, sand dollars and sea urchins. Ecosystem: Here are more details. Edible: In this website, it means the plant or animal is eaten by humans. These, however, must often first be properly processed and cooked before they can be safely consumed. Egg capsule: A protective 'container' for one or several eggs. Animals that lay egg capsules include snails and squids. Some examples of egg capsules: Drills, squids, Spiral melongena. Encrusting animals: Animals that grow as a thin, spreading crust or layer over hard surfaces such as rocks and shells. Barnacles are an example. Exoskeleton: See arthropods. Family: See about scientific names. Filter feeder: An animal that collects food particles which are suspended in the water by actively creating a current through its body or using body parts as a sieve. For more details. Fins of a fish: This diagram shows some of the types of fins on a typical fish.  Food chain: The transfer of energy as one living thing eats another and is in turn eaten. A food chain typically begins with the energy first created by a living thing that makes food through photosynthesis. Free-swimming larvae: See metamorphosis. Gastropods: Animals from the Phylum Mollusca, Class Gastropoda. They generally creep on a muscular foot. Many have a spiralled shell. Some gastropods such as slugs, however, lack shells. Genus: See about scientific names. Habitat: Here are more details. Herbivore: An animal that eats plants. Hermaphrodite: An animal with both male and female reproductive systems. In some animals, both systems are present at the same time. Other animals may change from one gender to another. Many marine animals are hermaphrodites. Intertidal zone: A coastal area that is covered by water at high tide and exposed at low tide. Why is the intertidal zone special?; More about tides; Tides on Chek Jawa Invertebrates: Animals that do not have backbones. Instead, their bodies are supported by an exoskeleton (as in arthropods) or body fluids (as in sea anemones). Invertebrates include insects, worms, snails, crabs, sponges and sea stars. More than 90% of all animals are invertebrates. Larva: See metamorphosis. Mantle: In molluscs, it is a part of the body that produces the shell. Metamorphosis: Animals that undergo metamorphosis have a life cycle in which they change shape abruptly and drastically. This shape change usually takes place during the larval stage of the life cycle, i.e., just after hatching from the egg. A larva looks very different from the adult and may go through several different shapes before eventually taking on the adult form. Many marine creatures have a free-swimming larval stage during which they disperse to colonise new places. Here is an example of metamorphosis in shrimps. Here are some examples of the typical larvae of animals commonly found on Chek Jawa.
Photosynthesis: A process that uses sunlight to make food from simple chemicals. Nearly all plants can carry out photosynthesis. Phylum: See about scientific names. Plankton: Microscopic plants and animals that drift in the sea. For more details. Poisonous: A poisonous living thing can harm if it is eaten because it produces toxic substances. Not all poisonous organisms are venomous. For example, you are unlikely to die if a pufferfish bites you, but you may if you eat it. Polyp: In cnidarians, a polyp is an animal with a cylindrical body which is attached at one end. The other end has a central mouth surrounded by tentacles. A sea anemone is a large, solitary polyp. A coral is made up of many small polyps that are structurally joined to one another as a colonial animal.
Predator: A carnivore (flesh-eating animal) that hunts, kills and eats other animals. Prey: An animal that is hunted, killed and eaten by a predator. Proboscis: A long, retractable extension of the head with the mouth at the end.
Stinging cells: In cnidarians, these are special cells used to gather food or for protection. See cnidarians for more about them and diagrams of how the stinging cells work. Subphylum: A sub-category of a Phylum. See about scientific names. Suspension feeder: An animal that collects food particles which are suspended in the water. For more details. Symbiosis: A relationship where two different species interact closely with one another. For more details. Symmetrical along five axes: An animal that has this feature, such as a sea star, has a body made up of five equal parts. All echinoderms have this feature. Here are some diagrams of symmetry along five axes in echinoderms. Tentacles: Long, slender, flexible structures used to sense the surroundings or to gather food. Compare with antennae. Threatened plants or animals: They are endangered (in immediate danger of extinction) or vulnerable (may become endangered in the near future). A list of threatened plants and animals of Singapore can be found in The Singapore Red Data Book. ( Ng, P. K. L. & Y. C. Wee, 1994. The Singapore Red Data Book: Threatened Plants and Animals of Singapore. The Nature Society (Singapore), Singapore. 343 pp.) Toxin: A substance produced by a living thing that can harm or kill other living things. See also poisonous and venomous. Tube feet: In echinoderms, these are tiny hollow tubes. An echinoderm changes the shape of its tube feet by adjusting the water pressure in the tube feet. Tube feet often end in suckers. Tube feet may be used to cling to things, gather food, excrete wastes, breathe and sense chemicals. Venomous: A venomous animal can harm by injecting a toxin. The toxin may be introduced by biting or stinging. Not all venomous animals are poisonous. For example, you may safely eat a venomous animal like a stingray. Warning colours: Bright colours or patterns that make an animal stand out from its surroundings in order to advertise its venomous, poisonous or otherwise unpleasant nature, thus deterring predators. Zooxanthellae: (Pronounced ‘zoo-zen-the-lay’.) Microscopic, single-cell algae that may live in symbiosis with animals such as corals and sea anemones. For more about symbiosis. Zooid: A colonial ascidian or bryozoan is made up of tiny individual animals called zooids that are structurally joined to one another and share resources. See also colonial animals. |
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