scaly anteater See pangolin Scamander River See Menderes River
scampi or Dublin Bay prawn or Norway lobster Edible lob¬ ster ( Nephrops norvegicus), widespread in the Mediterranean and north¬ eastern Atlantic. It is sold as a delicacy over much of its range. Scampi live in burrows on soft sea bottoms at depths of 33 to 820 ft (10-250 m). They grow to about 8 in. (200 mm) long and weigh about 7 oz (200 g). The slender claws may be almost as long as the body. Most scampi are trawled, but some are caught in baited lobster pots.
Scandinavia Region of northern Europe, usually defined as compris¬ ing Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. It is sometimes used more broadly to include Finland and Iceland. Norway and Sweden occupy the Scandi¬ navian Peninsula, though Denmark is part of the North European Plain. The Scandinavian peoples are linked by cultural similarities, and they speak a closely related group of Germanic languages.
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Scandinavian Peninsula ► Scarron I 1695
Scandinavian Peninsula Large promontory, northern Europe. Occupied by Norway and Sweden, it is about 1,150 mi (1,850 km) long, with an area of 290,000 sq mi (750,000 sq km), and it extends south from the Barents Sea. It is largely mountainous; its eastern side slopes gently to the Baltic Sea, while the western side has mountains reaching the coast and is deeply dissected by fjords.
scanner, optical Computer input device that uses a light beam to scan codes, text, or graphic images directly into a computer or computer sys¬ tem. Bar-code scanners are used widely at point-of-sale terminals in retail stores. A handheld scanner or bar-code pen is moved across the code, or the code itself is moved by hand across a scanner built into a checkout counter or other surface, and the computer stores or immediately pro¬ cesses the data in the bar code. After identifying the product through its bar code, the computer determines its price and feeds that information into the cash register. Optical scanners are also used in fax machines and to input graphic material directly into personal computers. See also OCR.
Scapa Flow Sea basin, Orkney Islands, Scotland. Located off of Scot¬ land’s northern tip, the basin is about 15 mi (24 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide. Its extensive sheltered waters served as a major British naval base during World Wars I and II. The Germans scuttled their fleet there after World War I. The base was fortified in World War II following Ger¬ man attacks and the sinking of the battleship Royal Oak in 1939. The base closed in 1956.
scapegoat In the Old Testament, a goat that was symbolically burdened with the sins of the people and then killed on Yom Kippur to rid Jerusalem of its iniquities. Similar rituals were held elsewhere in the ancient world to transfer guilt or blame. In ancient Greece, human scapegoats were beaten and driven out of cities to mitigate calamities. In early Roman law, an innocent person was allowed to assume the penalty of another; Chris¬ tianity reflects this notion in its belief that Jesus died to atone for the sins of mankind.
scar Mark left on the skin after a wound heals. Cells called fibroblasts produce collagen fibres, which form bundles that make up the bulk of scar tissue. Scars have a blood supply but no oil glands or elastic tissue, so they can be slightly painful or itchy. Hypertrophic scars grow overly thick and fibrous but remain within the original wound site. Scars can also develop into tumourlike growths called keloids, which extend beyond the wound’s limits. Both can inhibit movement when they result from serious bums over large areas, especially around a joint. Scars, especially those from unaided healing of third-degree bums, can become malignant. Treatment of serious scars is one of the most important problems in plas¬ tic SURGERY.
scarab \'skar-ob\ In Egyptian religion, a symbol of immortality much used in funerary art. It was inspired by the life cycle of the scarab beetle; the dung balls that the beetles con¬ sume, lay their eggs in, and use to feed their young represented a cycle of rebirth and were associated with immortality and with the passage of the sun across the heavens. Many scarabs were made of precious met¬ als and were worn as amulets or used as seals. First appearing c. 2575-c.
2130 bc, they were fashioned in great numbers during the Middle King¬ dom and New Kingdom.
scarab beetle Any of about 30,000 beetle species (family Scara- baeidae), found worldwide, that are compact, heavy-bodied, and oval. Each antenna terminates in three flattened plates that fit together to form a club. The outer edges of the front legs may be toothed or scalloped. Species range from about 0.2 to 4.8 in. (5 to 120 mm) long and include one of the heaviest known insects. One species of dung beetle, Scarabaeus sacer , was sacred to the ancient Egyptians. Many species are agricultural pests (e.g., chafer, Japanese beetle, June beetle); many are popular with insect collectors because they are large and have beautifully coloured, hard, highly polished fore wings.
Scarborough Town and borough (pop., 2001: 106,233), North York¬ shire, England. Located on the North Sea coast, Scarborough originated
as a 10th-century Viking fishing settlement at the site of a 4th-century Roman signal station. In the 12th century a Norman castle was built on the headland. After 1626, spa development made it a fashionable resort. It remains the most popular seaside resort in northeastern England. The borough of Scarborough extends far beyond old Scarborough town.
Scarborough Former city (pop., 2001: 593,297), southeastern Ontario, Canada. In 1998 it joined the cities of Etobicoke, York, North York, and Toronto and the borough of East York to become the City of Toronto. First called Glasgow, Scarborough was renamed in 1793 because its coastal bluffs reminded settlers of Scarborough, Eng. Originally a farming com¬ munity, it later became an industrial and residential urban area.
Scarborough Town (pop., 1990: 4,000) and deepwater harbour of Tobago island, Trinidad and Tobago. First named Port Louis, Scarborough is laid out on the steep slopes of a hill overlooking the harbour. It suc¬ ceeded Georgetown as Tobago’s capital in 1796. It is located in a coconut¬ growing area.
Scarlatti, (Pietro) Alessandro (Gaspare) (b. May 2, 1660, Pal¬ ermo, Sicily, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies—d. Oct. 24, 1725, Naples) Italian composer. He may have studied with Giacomo Carissimi in Rome. His first known opera (1679) was a success, and by 1680 he was chapel master in Rome for Queen Christina of Sweden. He left this secure posi¬ tion to become chapel master of the viceroy of Naples (1684-1702). Most of the operas produced in the city during this period were his own, and they were increasingly heard in other cities as well, including Leipzig and London. Most of his instrumental music comes from his late period, as do his comic operas. He wrote at least 70 and perhaps more than 100 operas, as well as some 600 secular cantatas; his opera overtures ( sinfo - nie) were important forerunners of the symphony. Domenico Scarlatti was his son.
Scarlatti \skar-'lat-e\, (Giuseppe) Domenico (b. Oct. 26, 1685, Naples—d. July 23, 1757, Madrid,
Spain) Italian composer and key¬ board player. Son of the composer Alessandro Scarlatti, he worked as his father’s assistant in Naples. By 1705 he was living in Rome. His father subsequently sent him to Ven¬ ice, where he stayed until about 1708. There he probably met George Frideric Handel and Antonio Vivaldi; he is said to have had a contest with Handel in which the German won at organ playing but Scarlatti won at the harpsichord. By 1723 he was tutor to the Spanish infanta (later crown princess) Maria Barbara, in whose service he remained for much of his life. Though he wrote operas, oratorios, cantatas, and other works, his reputation rests on the 555 bril¬ liant one-movement keyboard sona¬ tas he wrote for the princess, one of the greatest bodies of work by any Baroque composer.