The MC&D Beastiary
If you've seen these animals mentioned here, but had no idea what they were, NOW you know...courtesy of the Grolliers Multimedia Encyclopedia...
(Further information has been gleaned from
http://www.encyclopedia.com)
Aardvark {ard'-vark}
The aardvark (or ant bear), Orycteropus afer, is the only species in the MAMMAL family Orycteropodidae, order Tubulidentata. Its name is derived from the Afrikaans for "earth pig," and this slow, massive animal somewhat resembles a pig. It is brown to yellowish, about 150 cm (5 ft) long, with a 60-cm-long (2-ft) tail, and weighs 45 to 77 kg (100 to 170 lb). It has a narrow head and a long snout. Its ears are large and rabbitlike, and hearing is acute. The short, stout legs, partially webbed feet, and long claws are well suited for burrowing its large sleeping dens and for tearing apart mounds of the ants and termites on which it feeds with its long, sticky tongue. Aardvarks are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, usually in open country. They are shy, nocturnal creatures. The female bears one or two young in October or November. Aardvarks live about ten years in captivity.
Wallaby {wahl'-uh-bee}
Wallabies are small-to medium-size members of the KANGAROO family,Macropodidae. They differ from the other small members of the family, the rat kangaroos, in a number of characteristics, including long, oval-shaped ears, rudimentary or no canine teeth, and relatively smaller upper front teeth (central incisors). Wallabies are found in grassy, brushy, or rocky terrain in Australia and New Guinea and in the Bismarck Archipelago, an island group northeast of New Guinea. Hare wallabies, Lagorchestes, grow to about 500 mm (20 in) long, plus a 450-mm (18-in) tail, and weigh up to about 2.7 kg (6 lb). The nail-tailed wallabies, Onychogalea, are larger and have a horny tip at the end of the tail; the function of this tip is not definitely known. The brush wallabies, Wallabia, are among the fastest in the kangaroo family. They grow to about 1 m (40 in) long, plus a 750-mm (30-in) tail, and weigh more than 23 kg (50 lb).
Zebu {zee'-byoo}
Domestic animal of the cattle family, Bos indicus, found in parts of East Asia, India, and Africa. The zebu characteristically has a large fatty hump (sometimes two humps) over the withers. It is usually fawn, gray, black, or bay. An inferior source of milk and meat, it has great endurance and comparatively long legs and has been used in India as a riding and draft animal. Zebus were first introduced into the United States, where they are called Brahman cattle, in the 19th cent. They are used in Central and South America and are well established in the Gulf states, where they are interbred with domestic cattle to produce an animal that has greater resistance to heat and to ticks than the ordinary domestic cattle and better flesh than the zebu. Zebus are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.
Pigeon {pij'-eon}
Common name for members of the large family Columbidae, land birds, cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical regions, characterized by stout bodies, short necks, small heads, and thick, heavy plumage. The names dove and pigeon are used interchangeably, though the former generally refers to smaller members of the family. The rock dove Columba livia of temperate Europe and W Asia is the wild progenitor of the common street and domestic pigeons. All pigeons have soft swellings (ceres) at the base of the nostrils, feed their young with "pigeon's milk" regurgitated from the crops of the parents, and have specialized bills through which they can suck up water steadily, unlike other birds. They eat chiefly fruits and seeds.
Moose {moose}
Largest member of the deer family, genus Alces, found in the northern parts of Eurasia and North America. The Eurasian species, A. alces, is known in Europe as the elk, a name which in North America is applied to another large deer, the wapiti. The Eurasian and the American moose are quite similar, but the American moose is somewhat larger and is considered by some to be a separate species, A. americana. It inhabits the coniferous forests of Alaska, Canada, and the northern conterminous United States. The moose has a heavy brown body with humped shoulders, and long, lighter-colored legs, the front pair longer than the hind ones. It has a thick, overhanging, almost trunklike muzzle and a short neck; a flap of skin covered with long hair and called the bell hangs from the throat. The male has broad, extremely flattened antlers, with a spread of up to 6 ft (180 cm). The largest variety is the Alaska moose; the adult male weighs from 1,000 to 1,800 lb (450-820 kg) and stands as much as 7 1/2 ft (2.3 m) high at the shoulder. Browsers rather than grazers, moose eat leaves, twigs, buds, and the bark of some woody plants, as well as lichens, aquatic plants, and some of the taller herbaceous land plants.
Armadillo {ar-ma-dil'-oh}
New World armored mammal of the order Edentata, a group that also includes the sloth and the anteater, characterized by peglike teeth without roots or enamel. Armadillos are found from Argentina to Panama, with one species reaching the southern United States. The head and body of an armadillo are almost completely covered by an armor of plates made of bone and horny material; the plates are separated by soft skin which bears a few hairs. The body armor, or carapace, hangs down on either side of the animal's body and is divided into flexible bands across the back. Members of some armadillo species can roll into a ball for protection. Armadillos are omnivorous, although insects form the bulk of their diet. Most are nocturnal, resting during the day in burrows that they excavate with their strong front feet and enormous claws; they can dig into the ground with amazing speed when threatened. There are 21 armadillo species, classified in 9 genera. The largest is the giant armadillo, Priodontes giganteus, which reaches 4 ft (120 cm) in length and may weigh 100 lb (45 kg). Members of this species have almost 100 teeth, more than any other mammal. Despite their great bulk, they are able to stand on their hind feet and sometimes walk in this position. This species inhabits the Amazonian forest; most other armadillos are grasslands dwellers. The smallest armadillos are the fairy armadillos, or pichiagos; the smaller of the two pichiago species ( Chlamyphorus truncatus ) is about 6 in. (15 cm) long and bright pink in color, with plumes of white hair about the face and undersides and between the front and back portions of the shield. The nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus, is the only species found in the United States; it ranges from Argentina to Texas and Louisiana. It is about 30 in. (76 cm) long and 6 in. (15 cm) high at the shoulder; it weighs about 15 lb (6.4 kg). It normally moves about slowly, but is very swift when threatened. Each animal has several burrows. Females of this species almost always give birth to identical quadruplets. Armadillos are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Edentata, family Dasypodidae.
--- GoldED/386 3.0.1
* Origin: CADB Calgary: Home of the Dwarven Demolition Squad! (1:250/306)