| To describe the specimens on
this site as accurately as possible we have used some terms
that are defined below. |
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| Anterior |
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Towards the front. |
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| aperture |
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Open end of the body chamber |
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| Aragonite |
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A crystalline form of calcium carbonate. |
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| Aristotole's Lantern |
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The five-sided feeding and locomotor structure sited around the mouth of sea urchins. |
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| Articular Bones |
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The bones incorporated in the articulation between the skull and lower jaw in some vertebrates. |
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| Axis |
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In trilobites, the ridge that runs from anterior to posterior, down the midline: in vertebrates, the first or second element of the backbone. |
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| body chamber |
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The last-formed chamber which contained the body |
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| Calyx |
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In crinoids, a cup-shaped structure to which the arms are attached; in plants, the outer circle of a flower made up of sepals. |
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| Carapace |
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In crustaceans and chelicerates, the external shield covering head and trunk; in vertebrates, the upper shell. |
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| Cartilage |
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Highly specialised tissue that is hard but flexible. |
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| Cast |
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The filling of a mould. |
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| Caudal Fin |
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The tail fin of a vertebrate. |
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| Centrum (pl. Centra) |
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The main body of a vertebra. |
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| Cephalon |
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The head of a trilobite. |
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| Cephalothorax |
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The combined head and trunk region of an arthropod. |
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| Cerci |
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The sensory appendages at the posterior of the abdomen of insects. |
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| Chitin |
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A horny substance, forming all or part of the skeleton of arthropods. |
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| Cirri |
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A tendril-like animal appendage; the jointed thoracic appendages of barnacles. |
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| Denticle |
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A small, tooth-like structure. |
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| Dentine |
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The bone-like substance that makes up the bulk of a tooth. |
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| Dorsal |
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The upper surface or back. |
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| Dorsal Fin |
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A midline, unpaired, vertical fin sited on the back of aquatic vertebrates. |
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| Elytra |
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The modified anterior wings that act as protective covers for the membranous hindwings in beetles. |
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| Exoskeleton |
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The hard outer casing of arthropods. |
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| External Mould |
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An impression of the outside of an organism. |
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| Glabella |
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In trilobites, the central region of the head; in vertebrates, the prominent front bone which joins the ridges above the eyes. |
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| Internal Mould |
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An impression of the inside of an organism. |
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| involute |
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Refers to a tightly coiled shell in which the inner whorls are largely concealed by the last whorl |
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| Macroconch |
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The larger form of a shell in a species in which males and females differ. |
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| Mandible |
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In vertebrates, the lower jaw, in invertebrates, the various mouth parts which hold or bite food. |
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| Neural Arch |
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The upper portion of a vertbra. |
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| operculum |
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The lid, horny or calcareous, which closes the aperture when the head and foot are withdrawn into the shell. |
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| Pectoral Fin |
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One of a pair of forward-pointing fins on fish. |
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| Phragmocone |
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In belemnites and other molluscs, the cone-like internal shell that is divided into chambers by speta and perforated by a siphuncle. |
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| Pyrite |
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Gold coloured mineral composed of iron sulphide. |
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| Sacral |
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Associated with the hip girdle. |
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| Sclerotic Ring |
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A ring of bony plates around the eye socket in reptiles and birds. |
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| Scute |
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The bony, scale-like structure found in reptiles. |
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| Septum (pl.Septa) |
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A thin dividing wall. |
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| suture |
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The spiral line along which all the whorls are contiguous |
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| Thorax |
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In certain arthropods, the middle of the three main divisions of the body; in vertebrates, the chest region. |
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| umbilicus |
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The cavity around the axis of coiling found in loosely coiled shells |
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| Vertebra (pl vertebrae) |
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One bone in the series that makes up the backbone in vertebrates. |
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