HKB
LITHOGENOUS POLYPS. Animals which form coral.
LITHOGRAPHIC STONE. A slaty compact limestone, of a yellowish color and fine grain, used in lithography, which is the art of drawing upon and printing from stone Etym., [Greek: lithos], lithos, stone, and [Greek: grapho], grapho, to write.
LITHOIDAL. Having a stony structure.
LITHOLOGICAL. A term expressing the stony structure or character of a mineral mass. We speak of the lithological character of a stratum as distinguished from its zoological character. Etym., [Greek: lithos], lithos, stone, and [Greek: logos], logos, discourse.
LITHOPHAGI. Molluscous animals which form holes in solid stones. See "Lithodomi." Etym., [Greek: lithos], lithos, stone, and [Greek: phagein], phagein, to eat.
LITHOPHITES. The animals which form Stone-coral.
LITTORAL. Belonging to the shore. Etym., littus, the shore.
LOAM. A mixture of sand and clay.
LOPHIODON. A genus of extinct quadrupeds, allied to the tapir, named from eminences on the teeth.
LYCOPODIACEAE. Plants of an inferior degree of organization to Coniferae, some of which they very much resemble in foliage, but all recent species are infinitely smaller. Many of the fossil species are as gigantic as recent Coniferae. Their mode of reproduction is analogous to that of ferns. In English they are called club-mosses, generally found in mountainous heaths in the north of England.
LYDIAN STONE. Flinty slate; a kind of quartz or flint, allied to Hornstone, but of a grayish black color.
MACIGNO. In Italy this term has been applied to a siliceous sandstone sometimes containing calcareous grains, mica, &c.
MADREPORE. A genus of corals, but generally applied to all the corals distinguished by superficial star-shaped cavities. There are several fossil species.
MAGNESIAN LIMESTONE. An extensive series of beds, the geological position of which is immediately above the Coal Measures; so called, because the limestone, the principal member of the series, contains much of the earth magnesia as a constituent part.
MAMMIFEROUS. Mammifers. Animals which give suck to their young. To this class all the warm-blooded quadrupeds, and the Cetacea, or whales, belong. Etym., mamma, a breast, fero, to bear.
MAMMILLARY. A surface which is studded over with rounded projections. Etym., mammilla, a little breast or pap.
MAMMOTH. An extinct species of the elephant (E. primigenius), of which the fossil bones are frequently met with in various countries. The name is of Tartar origin, and is used in Siberia for animals that burrow under ground.
MANATI. One of the Cetacea, the sea-cow, or lamantine (Trichechus manatus, Lin.)
MARL. A mixture of clay and lime; usually soft, but sometimes hard, in which case it is called indurated marl.
MARSUPIAL ANIMALS. A tribe of quadrupeds having a sack or pouch under the belly, in which they carry their young. The kangaroo is a well-known example. Etym., marsupium, a purse.
MASTODON. A genus of fossil extinct quadrupeds allied to the elephants; so called from the form of the hind teeth or grinders, which have their surface covered with conical mammillary crests. Etym., [Greek: mastos], mastos, pap, and [Greek: odon], odon, tooth.
MATRIX. If a simple mineral or shell, in place of being detached, be still fixed in a portion of rock, it is said to be in its matrix. Matrix, womb.
MECHANICAL ORIGIN, ROCKS OF. Rocks composed of sand, pebbles, or fragments, are so called to distinguish them from those of a uniform crystalline texture, which are of chemical origin.
MEDUSAE. A genus of marine radiated animals, without shells; so called, because their organs of motion spread out like the snaky hair of the fabulous Medusa.
MEGALOSAURUS. A fossil gigantic amphibious animal of the saurian or lizard and crocodile tribe. Etym., [Greek: megale], megale, great, and [Greek: saura], saura, lizard.
MEGATHERIUM. A fossil extinct quadruped, resembling a gigantic sloth. Etym., [Greek: mega], mega, great, and [Greek: therion], therion, wild beast.
MELASTOMA. A genus of MELASTOMACEA, an order of exotic plants of the evergreen tree and shrubby kinds. Etym., [Greek: melas], melas, black, and [Greek: stoma], stoma, mouth; because the fruit of one of these species stains the lips.