Terms (but no conditions)

Did you happen to see a bolded word that you don't recognize in one of my posts? Well, here I just so happen to have a handy list of terms and definitions.

Apoptosis - programmed cell death, usually for a rogue or compromised cell - a self-destruct switch, if you will.

Autotomy - the ability to detach a body part (lizards dropping their tails is an example of this)

Cerata - Sea slug appendages (see Fun Sea Slugs).

Clade - A group of organisms that all stem from one common ancestor.

Cnidosac - Parts of a sea slug that store nematocysts.

Cultivar - A cultivated variety. Not a unique species or subspecies, but a distinct strain.

Cultivated variety - See cultivar.

Epiphytic - Something that climbs on or leeches off of something else.

Eutherian - A kind of mammal characterized by their highly developed placentas.

Marsupial - A kind of mammal that gives birth to immature young (ex. wombat, kangaroo) which continue to develop in a pouch of some sort, supplied with milk.

Monotypic family - A family (taxonomical classification) that only has one species.

Monotypic genus - A genus that only has one species (the Venus Flytrap, Dionaea muscipula belongs to a monotypic genus).

Monotypic taxon - A taxonomic group that only has one species.

Nematocyst - A stinging cell, such as that of a jellyfish.

Order - The taxonomical classification below class and above family.

Oviparous - Refers to an organism that lays eggs that develop outside of the maternal body. 

Phylogenetic tree - A graph that depicts how closely related organisms are.

Reference genome - A "template" genome assembled with multiple individuals' genomes, meant to be as complete as possible.

Semiaquatic - Refers to an organism that lives in both aquatic and terrestrial environments.

Senescence - natural cell death after a certain number of replications. This helps prevent cancer.

Serotype or Serovar - Cultivar but for bacteria.

Specific epithet - The second part of a standard scientific name, as in, the bit that tells you what species it is. That is why it is called "specific."

Tetrapod - A four-limbed vertebrate belonging to the superclass Tetrapoda.

pssst! The picture at the top is of my dog, Steve. He like to read ;)