Armagh: The hill fort of Ard Mhacha, around which modern Armagh city developed, became important in the 4th century. In the 5th century St. Patrick established his principal church in Ireland on the hill fort site, which later became a medieval ecclesiastical capital. Armagh’s capture by English (Protestant) forces in…

Ireland: Political and social organization: …king of all Ireland (árd rí Éireann). A division of the country into five groups of tuatha, known as the Five Fifths (Cuíg Cuígí), occurred about the beginning of the Christian era. These were Ulster (Ulaidh), Meath (Midhe), Leinster (Laighin), Munster (Mumhain), and

Fianna Fáil: Policy and structure: The Ard-Fheis (Annual Conference) is the supreme governing body but in practice cedes most of its authority to a much smaller Executive Committee, which oversees the organization, and to senior ministers or spokespersons (when the party is in opposition), who effectively determine policy. The Ard-Fheis elects…

Arda River, river in Bulgaria, rising in the central Rhodope Mountains near the town of Smolyan and following a 180-mile (290-kilometre) course eastward past Kŭrdzhali and Ivaylovgrad to enter the Maritsa just west of Edirne, Tur., after a 23-mile (37-kilometre) course in Greece. The Bulgarian

Artabanus I was the king of Parthia (reigned 211–191 bc) in southwestern Asia. In 209 he was attacked by the Seleucid king Antiochus III of Syria, who took Hecatompylos, the Arsacid capital (the present location of which is uncertain), and Syrinx in Hyrcania. Finally, however, Antiochus concluded a

Parthia: …I (reigned 171–138 bce) and Artabanus II (reigned 128–124 bce), all of the Iranian Plateau and the Tigris-Euphrates valley came under Parthian control. The Parthians, however, were troubled by nomad attacks on their northeastern borders as well as attacks by the Scythians. Mithradates II the Great (reigned 123–88 bce), by…

Artabanus III was the king of Parthia (reigned c. ad 12–c. 38). At first king of Media Atropatene, Artabanus III took the Parthian throne in ad 9 or 10 from Vonones and was proclaimed king about two years later in Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital on the Tigris River. Vonones fled to Armenia, but

ancient Iran: Dissolution of the Parthian state: …in 79 by the ephemeral Artabanus IV (80/81), who was then replaced permanently by Pacorus II. During his reign the country showed signs of a profound decomposition. The barons refused to obey the crown. In the provinces the army and the finances were in the hands of the nobility. Aristocrats…

Feodosiya, city, southern Ukraine. It lies on the southern coast of the Crimean Peninsula on the western shores of Feodosiya Bay. The city is located on the site of the ancient colony Theodosia, the native name of which was Ardabda. Terra-cottas show it to have been inhabited in the 6th century

Ardabīl, city, capital of Ardabīl province, northwestern Iran, 38 miles (61 km) from the Caspian Sea. It stands on an open plain 4,500 feet (1,400 metres) above sea level, just east of Mount Sabalān (15,784 feet [4,811 metres]), where cold spells occur until late spring. Persian historians have

Ardabīl Carpet, either of a pair of Persian carpets that are among the most famous examples of early classical Persian workmanship. The larger one measures 34 × 17.5 feet (10.4 × 5.3 metres), and both carpets have a silk warp and wool pile. The carpets were completed in 1539–40, during the reign of

Ardagh Chalice, large, two-handled silver cup, decorated with gold, gilt bronze, and enamel, one of the best-known examples of Irish ecclesiastical metalwork. It was discovered in 1868, together with a small bronze cup and four brooches, in a potato field in Ardagh, County Limerick, Ire. The

Saudi Arabia: The arts: …line dance known as the ʿarḍah, which includes lines of men, frequently armed with swords or rifles, dancing to the beat of drums and tambourines.

Islamic arts: Islamic art under European influence and contemporary trends: …Islamic architecture include the Iranians Nader Ardalan and Kamran Diba, the Iraqis Rifat Chaderji and Mohamed Makiya, the Jordanian Rasem Badran, and the Bangladeshi Mazharul Islam. A unique message was transmitted by the visionary Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, who, in eloquent and prophetic terms, urged that the traditional

Sikhism: The worship service: …and every service concludes with Ardas, a set prayer that is divided into three parts. The first part consists of a declaration of the virtues of all the Gurus, and the last part is a brief salutation to the divine name; neither part can be changed. The middle part of…

Ardashīr I was the founder of the Sāsānian empire in ancient Persia (reigned ad 224–241). Ardashīr was the son of Bābak, who was the son or descendant of Sāsān and was a vassal of the chief petty king in Persis, Gochihr. After Bābak got Ardashīr the military post of argabad in the town of Dārābgerd

Ardashīr II was the king of the Sāsānian empire in ancient Persia (reigned ad 379–383). During the reign of his brother Shāpūr II, he had been king of Adiabene (now a region of northeast Iraq), where he took part in the persecution of Christians. After Shāpūr’s death, he was set on the throne by

Artabanus V was the last king of the Parthian empire (reigned c. ad 213–224) in southwest Asia. He was the younger son of Vologases IV, who died probably in 207, and was ruling the Median provinces at the time of his rebellion (c. 213) against his brother, Vologases V. By 216 he had apparently

heron: …crested members of the genus Ardea—especially the 130-cm (50-inch) great blue heron (A. herodias) of North America, with a wingspan of 1.8 metres (6 feet) or more, and the similar but slightly smaller gray, or common, heron (A. cinerea), widespread in the Old World. Largest of all is the goliath…

Ardea, ancient town of the Rutuli people and now a modern village in the Lazio regione, west-central Italy. It lies 23 miles (37 km) south of Rome. In ancient times it was an important centre of the cult of Juno. Ardea developed into one of the most important Latin cities and was a member of the

heron: …the similar but slightly smaller gray, or common, heron (A. cinerea), widespread in the Old World. Largest of all is the goliath heron (A. goliath) of Africa, a 150-cm (59-inch) bird with a reddish head and neck. The purple heron (A. purpurea) is a darker and smaller Old World form.

heron: Largest of all is the goliath heron (A. goliath) of Africa, a 150-cm (59-inch) bird with a reddish head and neck. The purple heron (A. purpurea) is a darker and smaller Old World form.

great blue heron, (Ardea herodias), well-known species of large North American herons, classified in the bird family Ardeidae in order Pelecaniformes, recognized for its blue-gray plumage and graceful, stately demeanor, its large size, and its wide wingspan—which extends up to nearly 2 meters (6.6

heron: The purple heron (A. purpurea) is a darker and smaller Old World form.

Albert Kesselring: …civilian hostages in the so-called Ardeatine cave massacre of March 1944, an atrocity committed in reprisal for an attack by Italian partisans on German soldiers. Sentenced to death on May 6, 1947, Kesselring later won commutation to life imprisonment. In 1952 he was pardoned and freed, and he became active…

Rhône-Alpes: Isère, Drôme, and Ardèche. In 2016 the Rhône-Alpes région was joined with the région of Auvergne to form the new administrative entity of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Rhône River: Physiography: Although the tributaries—notably the Ardèche—rushing down into the Rhône from the Massif Central are formidable when in flood, the great Alpine rivers—the Isère and the Durance, joining the left bank—are the most important in their effect on riverbed deposits and on the volume of water. Below Mondragon the lower…

ciconiiform: Annotated classification: Ciconiiformes Family Ardeidae (herons, egrets, and bitterns) Loose-plumaged wading birds of moderate to large size, most with slim body and long neck; bill usually long, straight, and sharp; legs medium to long, lower tibiae bare; partial web between outer and middle (sometimes also between middle and inner)…

heron: Herons are subdivided into typical herons, night herons, and tiger herons. Typical herons feed during the day. In breeding season some develop showy plumes on the back and participate in elaborate mutual-courtship posturing. Best known of the typical herons are the very large, long-legged and long-necked, plain-hued, crested members…

Concrete Invention: In 1944 the artists Carmelo Arden Quin, Gyula Kosice, Rhod Rothfuss, Tomás Maldonado, and others collectively produced the first and only issue of the illustrated magazine Arturo, with texts and reproductions of work by many artists, including Joaquín Torres García, Lidy Prati, Wassily Kandinsky, and Piet

Elizabeth Arden was a Canadian-born American businesswoman who developed a successful line of cosmetics and a chain of beauty salons and spas. Florence Graham briefly pursued nurse’s training, worked as a secretary, and held various other jobs before moving from Canada to New York City about 1908.

Enoch Arden, fictional character, protagonist of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s narrative poem Enoch Arden

Eve Arden was an American actress best known for her role as the title character of Our Miss Brooks on radio (1948–56) and television (1952–56). Arden said during her lifetime that she had been born in 1912; at her death, her family identified her year of birth as 1908. Arden began her theater

John Arden was one of the most important of the British playwrights to emerge in the mid-20th century. His plays mix poetry and songs with colloquial speech in a boldly theatrical manner and involve strong conflicts purposely left unresolved. Arden grew up in the industrial town of Barnsley, the

Ozzy Osbourne: Going solo: He then met and married Sharon Arden, who encouraged him to start a career as a solo artist. His first effort, achieved with the primary help of guitarist Randy Rhoads, was Blizzard of Ozz (1980). A multiplatinum success, thanks in part to the standout single “Crazy Train,” it was followed…

12 Contemporary Black Authors You Must Read: Kevin Young: His book Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels is a “part libretto” and “part captivity epistle” that tells the story of the Africans who rebelled on the slave ship Amistad in 1839. Young has also published nonfiction, including Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies,…

Ardennes, wooded plateau covering part of the ancient Forest of Ardennes, occupying most of the Belgian provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, and Liège; part of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; and the French département of Ardennes. It is an old plateau comprising the western extension of the Middle Rhine

electron microscope: History: German physicist Manfred, Freiherr (baron) von Ardenne, and British electronic engineer Charles Oatley laid the foundations of transmission electron microscopy (in which the electron beam travels through the specimen) and scanning electron microscopy (in which the electron beam ejects from the sample other electrons that are then…

Ardennes, wooded plateau covering part of the ancient Forest of Ardennes, occupying most of the Belgian provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, and Liège; part of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; and the French département of Ardennes. It is an old plateau comprising the western extension of the Middle Rhine

Champagne-Ardenne: Aube, Marne, and Ardennes and was roughly coextensive with the historical province of Champagne.

Battle of the Bulge, (December 16, 1944–January 16, 1945), the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II—an unsuccessful attempt to push the Allies back from German home territory. The name Battle of the Bulge was appropriated from Winston Churchill’s optimistic

encyclopaedia: Historical development of topical works: …Mirror”) of a French preacher, Raoul Ardent (a follower of Gilbert de La Porrée, a French theologian), was the Summa de vitiis et virtutibus (“Summa [Exposition] of Faults and Virtues”). Raoul’s intent was to provide a modern authoritative account of the Christian attitude to the world. His plan was different…

egret: The cattle egret, Bubulcus (sometimes Ardeola) ibis, spends much of its time on land and associates with domestic and wild grazing animals, feeding on insects that they stir up and sometimes removing ticks from their hides. It is a compactly built heron, 50 cm long, white…

bustard: The Arabian bustard (A. arabs) is found in Morocco and in northern tropical Africa south of the Sahara, as are a number of species belonging to several other genera. In Australia the bustard Choriotis australis is called turkey.

kori bustard, (Ardeotis kori), species of large bird whose adult males are notable for being the world’s heaviest living flying animals and the largest members of the bustard family, Otididae. The birds are found in two regions in Africa, one in East Africa (spanning parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, and

kori bustard: …one another geographically: the subspecies Ardeotis kori kori inhabits Southern Africa, and the subspecies A. kori struthiunculus is located in East Africa.

kori bustard: …Southern Africa, and the subspecies A. kori struthiunculus is located in East Africa.

great Indian bustard, (Ardeotis nigriceps), large bird of the bustard family (Otididae), one of the heaviest flying birds in the world. The great Indian bustard inhabits dry grasslands and scrublands on the Indian subcontinent; its largest populations are found in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

Jacinda Ardern is a New Zealand politician who in August 2017 became leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and then in October 2017, at age 37, became the country’s youngest prime minister in more than 150 years. She resigned as prime minister in January 2023. The second of two daughters born to a

Jacinda Ardern is a New Zealand politician who in August 2017 became leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and then in October 2017, at age 37, became the country’s youngest prime minister in more than 150 years. She resigned as prime minister in January 2023. The second of two daughters born to a

Latin American music: The late 20th century and beyond: In Cuba, José Ardévol began to experiment with atonality and serialism after 1957; he profoundly influenced succeeding Cuban composers, most significantly Juan Blanco and Leo Brouwer. Blanco was particularly significant in the development of electronic music in his country; Brouwer was one of the most original figures…

Om Puri: Rise to prominence in Bollywood: …of others in the film Ardh Satya (1983; “Half Truth”), directed by Nihalani. In 1984 Puri appeared in Goutam Ghose’s Paar (“Crossing”), an examination of rural poverty and oppression, and T.S. Ranga’s Giddh (“Vulture”), a story of a couple’s fight against predatory practices threatening girls in their village. His other…

South Asian arts: Literature: …own, Pāli in Buddhism and Ardhamāgadhī in Jainism. These languages, usually called Prākrits—that is, derivative as well as more “natural” languages—produced a vast and, again, mostly sacred literature. In a further development of these dialects, the early beginnings can be seen of modern Indo-Aryan languages of northern India: Bengali (also…

Ardhanarishvara, composite male-female figure of the Hindu god Shiva together with his consort Parvati. As seen in many Indian and Southeast Asian sculptures, the right (male) half of the figure is adorned with the traditional ornaments of Shiva. Half of the hair is piled in a hairdress of matted

Arda River, river in Bulgaria, rising in the central Rhodope Mountains near the town of Smolyan and following a 180-mile (290-kilometre) course eastward past Kŭrdzhali and Ivaylovgrad to enter the Maritsa just west of Edirne, Tur., after a 23-mile (37-kilometre) course in Greece. The Bulgarian

Ardi, nickname for a partial female hominid skeleton recovered at Aramis, in Ethiopia’s Afar rift valley. Ardi was excavated between 1994 and 1997 and has been isotopically dated at 4.4 million years old. She is one of more than 100 specimens from the site that belong to Ardipithecus ramidus, a

Antonio Skármeta: He followed these with Ardiente paciencia, a novel that tells the story of an extraordinary friendship that develops between the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, living in exile, and his postman. Ardiente paciencia subsequently became Skármeta’s most popular work. It was translated into 20 languages and was adapted for the…

Tottenham Hotspur FC: Later history: 1973–present: …contributions of Ricky Villa and Osvaldo Ardiles, two Argentine players who had been part of the winning 1978 FIFA World Cup squad. Their arrival at White Hart Lane broke the nearly 50-year ban on foreign footballers playing professionally in England. In 1981 and 1982 the Spurs claimed back-to-back FA Cups.…

Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville was a French-Canadian naval hero and explorer, noted for his exploration and battles on behalf of the French in Hudson Bay and in the territory of Louisiana. The son of prominent Montreal fur trader Charles Le Moyne, Iberville spent his young manhood in raids against

African music: Harps: Examples are the ennanga (Uganda), ardin (Mauritania), kinde (Lake Chad region), and ngombi (Gabon).

Wilhelm Heinse: In Heinse’s famous novel Ardinghello und die glückseligen Inseln (1787; “Ardinghell and the Blessed Islands”), the hero is an artist and a dreamer who founds a utopia on a Greek island. Glorifying eroticism and the aesthetic life, it is a forerunner of the Künstlerroman (“artist novel”) of the Romantic…

Ardipithecus, the earliest known genus of the zoological family Hominidae (the group that includes humans and excludes great apes) and the likely ancestor of Australopithecus, a group closely related to and often considered ancestral to modern human beings. Ardipithecus lived between 5.8 million

Aramis: …that have yielded remains of Ardipithecus kadabba that date to between 5.2 and 5.8 million years ago. A toe bone recovered from this age range is unlike that of apes and has a diagnostically humanlike shape that indicates upright walking (bipedalism). This is part of the accumulating evidence confirming the…

Aramis: 4-million-year-old fossils of Ardipithecus ramidus found in 1992 and named in 1994.

Ardmore, city, seat (1907) of Carter county, southern Oklahoma, U.S., north of the Red River, near Lake Texoma and the Texas state line. Founded in 1887 in Chickasaw Indian Territory after the arrival of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, the town was named for the Philadelphia suburb that

Mordecai Ardon was an eminent Israeli painter who combined jewel-like, brilliantly coloured forms with virtuoso brushwork. He created modern, semiabstract paintings that are deeply moving. Ardon emigrated from his native Poland to Germany, spending the years 1921–25 at the Weimar Bauhaus, where he

Mordecai Ardon was an eminent Israeli painter who combined jewel-like, brilliantly coloured forms with virtuoso brushwork. He created modern, semiabstract paintings that are deeply moving. Ardon emigrated from his native Poland to Germany, spending the years 1921–25 at the Weimar Bauhaus, where he

Benin: History of Benin: …area was the kingdom of Allada (Ardra), but in the 18th and 19th centuries its place was taken by Dahomey. In the north, the largest group was the Bariba, the most important state being the kingdom of Nikki, which formed part of a confederacy including other Bariba states located in…

Ards, former district (1973–2015) within the former County Down, now in the Ards and North Down district, eastern Northern Ireland. The former district extended northward from just south of the village of Killinchy along the western shoreline of Strangford Lough (inlet of the sea) to the town of

MERS: Complications include acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), kidney failure, and pericarditis (inflammation of the membranous sac that envelops the heart). More than 60 percent of infected persons who develop serious illness require hospitalization, and individuals die in more than 30 percent of reported…

Ards and North Down, district, eastern Northern Ireland. It is bounded to the north by Belfast Lough, to the east by the Irish Sea, to the south by the Newry, Mourne and Down district, to the west by the Lisburn and Castlereagh City district, and to the northwest by the Belfast City district. Much

Henry II: …into northern Italy to subdue Arduin of Ivrea, who had styled himself king of Italy. His sudden interference led to bitter fighting and atrocities, and although Henry was crowned king in Pavia on May 15, 1004, he returned home, without defeating Arduin, to pursue his campaigns against Bolesław. In 1003…

Giovanni Arduino was the father of Italian geology, who established bases for stratigraphic chronology by classifying the four main layers of the Earth’s crust as Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary. From an early age, Arduino showed an interest in mining, establishing a reputation

ancient Iranian religion: Cosmography: …down which flowed the river Ardvī. The earth was divided into six continents surrounding the central continent, Khvaniratha, the locus of Aryāna Vaijah, the Aryan land (i.e., Iran).

Saraswati, Hindu goddess of learning, the arts, and music. She first appears in Vedic sources, as the personification of the sacred river Saraswati, which might have been a physical river, though later texts describe it as having disappeared. As Hinduism developed, Saraswati became identified with

Anāhiti, ancient Iranian goddess of royalty, war, and fertility; she is particularly associated with the last. Possibly of Mesopotamian origin, her cult was made prominent by Artaxerxes II, and statues and temples were set up in her honour throughout the Persian empire. A common cult of the various

Anatolia: The Cimmerians, Lydia, and Cilicia, c. 700–547 bce: Ardys, his successor on the Lydian throne (651–c. 615), again attacked Miletus and took Priene. During his reign Sardis was taken a second time, that time by the Treres, a Thracian tribe that operated in close connection with the Cimmerians. According to Assyrian sources, Ardys…

are, unit of area in the metric system, equal to 100 square metres and the equivalent of 0.0247 acre. Its multiple, the hectare (equal to 100 ares), is the principal unit of land measurement for most of the world. The are was the basic unit of area when the metric system was first decreed in France

You know you’re supposed to save for retirement, and if your employer offers a 401(k) plan, building a nest egg can be a cinch. But the fees charged by some 401(k) plans can take a toll on the returns your retirement account should be racking up, leaving you to wonder, “Where’d the money go?”

No, not all dairy cattle are female, but only female cattle (cows) produce milk. Milk production is a sex-limited character—that is, while both male and female cattle carry genes that influence milk production, only females express the trait. Male cattle, or bulls, play a crucial role in breeding.

Bats are idiosyncratic creatures, with habits that humans find incredibly odd—like occasional bloodsucking, sleeping upside down, and staying up all night. We characterize bats as supernatural, associating them with vampires and even superheroes. With their talent for echolocation, that’s no

With their fuzzy noses and rounded ears, bats are often called “rats with wings” or “flying rodents” by people who misunderstand them. But are they really related to the rodent family? Flatly, no. Bats are not even remotely related to mice or rats. Bats belong to the order Chiroptera, which is

Color, in terms of pigment, is every shade and hue found in a brand new box of crayons (and any combination you could make from them). To put it in scientific terms, however, color is simply the range of visible light that humans can see. Different colors, such as red and orange, and other

Black caimans (Melanosuchus niger) are the largest members of Alligatoridae, a family of reptiles made up of eight living species. Even though American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) have a reputation for being large and menacing, black caimans—the dominant predators of the Amazon River

Cheetahs are cats, not dogs. They belong to the family Felidae, which includes all cat species, from the domestic cat to large wild cats such as lions, tigers, and leopards. Cheetahs are specifically classified under the genus Acinonyx, making them distinct from other big cats but still firmly

For years, no one knew why female chimpanzees prefer to give birth alone. Chimpanzee births in the wild are rarely spotted by researchers, largely because expectant mothers often take a “maternity leave” from their family unit, hiding away by themselves until their child is born. On December 2,

It’s a common belief that cows are unable to walk down stairs. Many people think that you can get a cow up stairs but getting it back down isn’t going to happen without getting pretty creative. But is there actually any truth to this? To put it simply: it is very difficult for cows to walk down

In film and television, whenever the perspective of a dog is shown, the scene is usually edited to be in black, white, and grey—bright red roses look dull and dark, and fresh-cut grass seems more artificial than natural. But is this common portrayal of a dog’s-eye view true to reality? Is man’s

The ongoing quarrel about whether dogs or cats are smarter has divided pet lovers throughout history—and scientific research has provided fuel for the debate. Some studies suggest biological differences in intelligence between cats and dogs. Research reveals that the cerebral cortex, the layer of

Donkeys are intelligent animals, though they’re often thought to be slow and stubborn. Studies suggest that donkeys show signs of intelligence through cognitive traits such as memory, problem-solving, learning from their environment, and adapting to new challenges. Donkeys may appear stubborn, but

When potatoes are stored in a warm bright place, the tubers detect that they might be in a suitable growing location and prepare to sprout. Chlorophyll production increases, which slowly tints the peel, and eventually some of the flesh, green. While chlorophyll is a harmless chemical, its presence

Hyenas are neither cats nor dogs. While they possess features that lead to this common confusion and share more recent ancestry with cats, hyenas are classified in their own distinct family, Hyaenidae. The family Hyaenidae diverged from the cat group about 30 million years ago. This divergence led

Iguanodons (genus Iguanodon) and iguanas (subfamily Iguaninae) are related only insofar as both are reptiles—but so are turtles and snakes. Iguanas are in the lizard family and are only distantly related to dinosaurs like iguanodons on the evolutionary tree. Although their similar names suggest

Koalas are not aggressive by nature, and they usually avoid humans and other potential threats. There are exceptions, however, such as when a koala is startled or is approached during the mating season or when it is injured or distressed. In these instances, a koala may hiss, snarl, or grunt as a

Like ruminants, a llama chews its cud, which consists of plants it has eaten and then regurgitates and rechews to break down the cellulose in it. But unlike the so-called true ruminants—a type of mammal that includes cattle, sheep, and goats, among others—llamas have a three-chambered stomach. True

One of the most controversial topics in finance is the efficient-market hypothesis, introduced by economist Eugene Fama in a study as part of his 1965 doctoral dissertation. The theory—formalized in a 1970 paper—holds that the financial markets are efficient, meaning no investor can gain an edge by

Giant pandas, more commonly called pandas, are currently listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. After being classified as endangered for nearly three decades, their status was changed to “vulnerable” in 2016 by the IUCN. However, the threats they face have not been

Penguins tend to be monogamous and many species form long-term pair bonds. For instance, macaroni penguins are mostly monogamous and engage in what researchers call an “ecstatic display,” which includes neck arching and beak thrusting, when reuniting with their partners. Galapagos penguins are also

Porcupines are not aggressive. Their behavior is rooted in self-preservation. When faced with a threat, they turn their rear, where their quills are most concentrated, toward the perceived danger. These quills, which detach upon contact and embed in an attacker, are a passive defense mechanism

Sand dollars are indeed alive. They are fascinating marine invertebrates that make up the order Clypeastroida (a group of echinoderms in class Echinoidea). Sand dollars are closely related to sea urchins and heart urchins, with which they share a similar flat, disk-shaped body structure and radial