Aquarius
Aries
Cancer
Capricornus
Gemini
Leo
Libra
Pisces
Sagittarius
Scorpius
Taurus
Virgo
elements
Shield
Sextant
Telescope
Southern Triangle
Toucan
Sail
Constellations of the zodiac
actinium, aluminum, americium, antimony, argon, arsenic, astatine, barium, berkelium, beryllium, bismuth, bohrium, boron, bromine, cadmium, calcium, californium, carbon, cerium, cesium, chlorine, chromium, cobalt, copper, curium, darmstad- tium, dubnium, dysprosium, einsteinium, erbium, europium, fermium, fluorine, francium, gadolinium, gallium, germanium, gold, hafnium, has- sium, helium, holmium, hydrogen, indium, iodine, iridium, iron, krypton, lanthanum, lawrencium, lead, lithium, lutetium, magnesium, manganese, meitnerium, mendelevium, mercury, molybdenum, neodymium, neon, neptunium, nickel, niobium, nitrogen, nobelium, osmium, oxygen, palladium, phosphorous, platinum, plutonium, polonium, potassium, praseodymium, promethium, protactinium, radium, radon, rhenium, rhodium, roentge- nium, rubidium, ruthenium, rutherfordium, samarium, scandium, selenium, silicon, silver, sodium, strontium, sulfur, tantalum, technetium, tellurium, terbium, thallium, thorium, thulium, tin, titanium, tungsten, ununbium, ununhexium, ununpentium,
Flying Fish
English Equivalent
Water Bearer
Ram
Crab
Goat
Twins
Lion
Scales
Fishes
Archer
Scorpion
Bull
Virgin
ununquadrium, ununtrexium, uranium, vanadium, xenon, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc, zirconium.
evolution
allopatric a mode of speciation, through which one group of a population breaks away from another, becomes geographically isolated, and changes gradually over time due to differences in environmental pressures.
biased gene conversion unrelated to natural selection, a process that speeds up the rate of evolution in certain genes, through both positive and negative mutations, which may spread rapidly throughout a population.
catastrophism theory of evolutionary change brought about by a worldwide catastrophe, such as a collision with an asteroid and resulting climate change.
cladistics the classification of species according to evolutionary lineage. Also known as phylogenetics.
cladogram a diagram showing the branching off of life-forms as they evolved into different forms. Also called a family tree or tree of life.
classification in modern biology, a hierarchical arrangement of life-forms in related groupings, specifically by species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, and kingdom.
coevolution the ongoing adaptation of two or more animals in the same geographical range, through which changes in one lead to changes in the other, as predator and prey.
common ancestor the forebear from which two different species branched off and evolved their own traits.
convergence the independent development of the same useful trait in two or more different species, as wings are convergent in birds and bats.
creationism a religious explanation for all of Earth's diversity, through which an all-powerful god created all life-forms in their present state, a belief system
derived from the Bible and discredited by mainstream science.
Darwinism Charles Darwin's scientific theory that life continuously evolves and species change over time due to environmental pressures and natural selection.
exaptation a new use for a body characteristic or component that originally evolved for a different purpose.
extinction the dying off of an entire species.
eugenics a term coined in 1883 by Francis Gal- ton designating a scheme to manipulate evolution by allowing only strong, intelligent people to breed, thus creating a super race of humans, an idea that fell out of favor after World War II.
evolution, theory of a widely misinterpreted term. Not a hypothesis, as popularly believed, but an explanation of evolution, based on observed, proven, and verified facts, that remains open to adjustments and additional information.
fitness overall health, strength, and ability to mate and successfully raise offspring, a major component in evolution.
genetic drift changes in a gene pool, due merely to chance rather than forces in the environment.
gradualism a theory of gradual change over time, in contrast with catastrophism.
heredity the inheritance of genes and traits from one's parents and grandparents.
hopeful monster slang term for a mutant or mutated animal that, through major structural change, has the potential to spawn a new type or variation of a species. Major mutations, though, are more often harmful than beneficial.
intelligent design a religious explanation for life and all its complexity, through which an all-powerful god designed and created all, discredited by mainstream science because it cannot be tested or proven.
macromutation a large-scale mutation, resulting in significant change in an animal. Most macromuta- tions are of no benefit and usually cause more harm than good.
micromutation a small or microscopic mutation, many of which are needed to bring about significant change in an animal.
missing link an outmoded term for a transitional animal or fossil, a developmental form between two distinctly different species.
mutation a mistake or change in genetic material, due to various forces, that along with other mutations may result in a change in an animal's traits. Mutations are often detrimental, but they are occasionally beneficial enough to be passed on successfully to generations of offspring.
mutualism the development and adaptations of two species that evolve side by side and benefit from each other, as flowers and bees.
natural selection the natural law governing all life, through which organisms best adapted to their environments survive and pass on their successful traits to their offspring, while poorly adapted forms eventually die out.
phyletic gradualism in contrast to punctuated equilibrium, the theory that evolution proceeds gradually over time, without big jumps or rapid changes.
phylogenetic tree see cladogram.
phylogeny the study of the relationships between species, as in a family tree.
punctuated equilibrium a theory that maintains that evolution does not always follow a slow or gradual path, and that change can come quickly in bursts, for example, as a result of catastrophic environmental changes, as when a comet or asteroid strikes the Earth and radically alters the climate, or when a species lives in relative isolation and changes to fit its own microenvironment.
Scopes monkey trial the famous 1925 trial of the teacher John Scopes, who was convicted of illegally teaching evolution to his students and was fined $100, the long-term effect of which was to prevent evolution from being covered in school textbooks until the 1960s.
selective pressures any environmental stresses, such as change of climate, drop in food sources, increased predation, or others, that force a life-form to either change environments or develop new traits, as through evolution.
speciation the change of one species and branching off into another, usually due to differences in surroundings.