(Encyclopedia) polecat, carnivorous mammal of the weasel family. The name refers especially to the common Old World polecat, Mustela putorius, found in wooded areas of N Eurasia and N Africa. Similar…
(Encyclopedia) Shackleton, Sir Ernest Henry, 1874–1922, British antarctic explorer, b. Ireland. The first of his voyages to Antarctica was made as a member of the expedition (1901–4) of Robert F.…
(Encyclopedia) panda, name for two unrelated nocturnal Asian mammals of the order Carnivora, red pandas, genus Ailurus, and the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca.
Red pandas, also known as lesser…
(Encyclopedia) Marquesas IslandsMarquesas Islandsmärkāˈsäs [key], volcanic group (2002 pop. 8,712), South Pacific, a part of French Polynesia. There are 12 islands in the group, which lies c.930 mi (…
(Encyclopedia) Montrose, James Graham, 5th earl and 1st marquess ofMontrose, James Graham, 5th earl and 1st marquess ofmŏntrōzˈ [key], 1612–50, Scottish nobleman and soldier. He succeeded to the…
(Encyclopedia) Boyle, T. C. (Thomas John Coraghessan Boyle), 1948–, American writer, b. Peekskill, N.Y., grad. State Univ. of New York (B.A. 1968), Univ. of Iowa (M.F.A. 1974, Ph.D. 1977). He…
(Encyclopedia) Catiline (Lucius Sergius Catilina)Catilinekătˈĭlīn [key], c.108 b.c.–62 b.c., Roman politician and conspirator. At first a conservative and a partisan of Sulla, he was praetor in 68 b.…
(Encyclopedia) hickory, any plant of the genus Carya of the family Juglandaceae (walnut family); deciduous nut-bearing trees native to E North America and south to Central America except for a few…
