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egenerate; to pass from a higher to a lower type of structure; as, a family of plants or animals degrades through this or that genus or group of genera.

ty so as to emit seeds, etc.; also, the bursting open of follicles, as in the ovaries of animals, for the expulsion of their contents.

Free; nimble; sprightly; active. [Obs.] Wonderly deliver and great of strength. Chaucer.

Actively; quickly; nimbly. [Obs.] Swim with your bodies, And carry it sweetly and deliverly. Beau. & Fl.

Nimbleness; agility. [Obs.]

The distal bone of the lower jaw in many animals, which may or may not bear teeth.

The dense calcified substance of which teeth are largely composed. It contains less animal matter than bone, and in the teeth of man is situated beneath the enamel.

The system of teeth peculiar to an animal.

he vertical diameter shorter than the horizontal or transverse; -- said of the bodies of animals, or of parts of the bodies.

The integument of animal; the skin.

Pertaining to the integument or skin of animals; dermic; as, the dermal secretions.

A genus of coleopterous insects, the larvæ of which feed animal substances. They are very destructive to dries meats, skins, woolens, and furs. The most common species is D. lardarius, known as the bacon beetle.

A group of fishlike animals including the Marsipobranchiata and Leptocardia.

ations of an object, as regards genus and species; the referring of minerals, plants, or animals, to the species to which they belong; classification; as, I am indebted to a friend for the determination of most of these shells.

y, and usually sexual, zooids produced by budding or fission from the primary zooids, in animals having alternate generations. In the tapeworms, the joints are deuterozooids.

elops from a bud; the seed develops into a plant; the embryo develops into a well-formed animal; the mind develops year by year. Nor poets enough to understand That life develops from within. Mrs. Browning.

The series of changes which animal and vegetable organisms undergo in their passage from the embryonic state to maturity, from a lower to a higher state of organization.

ally, feelings toward God appropriately expressed by acts of worship; devoutness. Genius animated by a fervent spirit of devotion. Macaulay.

In any animal, esp. of the Herbivora, a rudimentary claw or small hoof not reaching the ground. Some cut off the dewclaws [of greyhounds]. J. H. Walsh.

mountains of India. It is remarkable for its propensity to hunt the tiger and other wild animals in packs.