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rail Shy dwellers of the marshlands, rails are slender, somewhat chicken-shaped birds with short, rounded wings, short tails, and long-toed feet. The name rail sometimes includes gallinules and coots (also called marsh hens, mud hens, or water hens), which belong to the same family as the true rails. Smaller, short-billed species are often called crakes. Rails and their relatives are ground-dwelling birds that are distributed worldwide, except in polar regions. They can all swim and dive. Although they are relatively weak flyers, they may migrate long distances. Many rails are popular game birds because they are easily overtaken and shot when flushed, they take wing reluctantly, flying a short distance and then dropping to the ground. The birds are mostly dull gray and brown in color, and many are barred in patterns that blend with the marsh background. They vary in length from 5 1/2 to 20 inches (14 to 51 centimeters).

range The geographical area over which an animal is distributed

rat Rats belong to the rodent order, Rodentia, of gnawing mammals. Together with mice, hamsters, voles, lemmings, and gerbils, rats make up the Old World family Muridae. In number of species, the true rat genus, Rattus, is one of the largest of all mammalian genera. They are similar to, but generally larger than, mice. In everyday usage, rat refers specifically to the black and Norway rats, the most feared of all rodents. These are aggressive, omnivorous, adaptable, and prolific animals. They often live with humans and have accompanied them hitchhiking with early land travelers or stowing away on ships throughout most of the world. The senses of these rats are highly developed, and their ability to gnaw, climb, jump, or burrow gains them entry to places inaccessible to many other small mammals.

reef Coral reefs. This aquatic biome is restricted to warm tropical waters. These structures, which are primarily calcium carbonate in composition, are built by corals, living organisms in the Phylum Cnidaria. They provide habitat for some of the most diverse communities on earth.

relic A persistent remnant of an otherwise extinct flora or fauna.

reptile (rep' til) - n. any air-breathing vertebrate of the class reptilia, characterized by a 3-chambered heart, a completely boney skeleton, and a covering of dry scales or horny plates: includes snake, lizards, turtles, crocodilians, and various extinct species.

restinga An area containing scrubby vegetation typical of sand marine barrier islands .

rice . "The staff of life" normally refers to bread, or specifically to wheat, in Europe and North America. For fully half the population of the world, however, it is rice upon which people depend for fundamental, daily nutrition. In East Asia, Central Asia, the islands of the western Pacific, and much of Latin America rice is the basic component of most meals. The name rice is applied both to the edible, starchy cereal grain and to the plant from which it is produced. The commonly cultivated rice plant is Oryza sativa. The plant known as wild rice, a distant relative of the cultivated rice plant, is Zizania aquatica. It grows in northeastern North America and its grain, now often considered a delicacy, has long been a staple food of North American Indians. Both belong to the grass family, Gramineae

riparian Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).

river Rivers are also a principal natural force in shaping land surfaces. They drain surplus water to the sea, deposit soil and rocks to build new acreage, and erode land formations. Rivers have created such natural wonders as the Nile Delta in Egypt and the Grand Canyon in the United States.

rodents Probably more than half of the mammals living on Earth are rodents. Rodents, gnawing animals of the order Rodentia, are found on all the major landmasses except Antarctica and on most islands. The order includes various species of rats and mice, squirrels, chipmunks, voles, gerbils, hamsters, lemmings, beavers, pocket gophers, guinea pigs, and porcupines. Rodents are generally among the smallest animals, though the largest rodent, the South American capybara, is about the size of a half-grown pig. Although they appear in many diverse forms, all rodents have the same kind of jaws and incisors. When the hinged lower jaw is pulled back, the grinding, or cheek, teeth come into contact for grinding food; when the jaw is pulled forward and down, the tips of the large upper and lower incisors meet for gnawing. These incisors grow throughout the animal's life. If they are not used enough they will grow past each other and eventually cause the animal's death, either by making the rodent incapable of eating or by actually growing back into the skull. Rodents affect humans in several ways. Many species compete for agricultural crops or carry diseases, such as bubonic plague and tularemia, that can infect humans. On the other hand, beavers, muskrats, and chinchillas are highly valued for their pelts, and much medical research has been done using mice and rats.

rose . Among the best-loved and most widely grown flowers is the rose, America's national flower. Its clear, delicate colors, its often rich fragrance, and the beauty of its form have made the rose a favorite garden flower since ancient times. As early as the 4th century BC, instructions were set down on the cultivation of roses. Since then breeders have succeeded in creating some 20,000 cultivars, including bush, shrub, climbing, pillar, and trailing or creeping varieties. Although a full-flowered cultivated bloom may bear little resemblance to the simple, five-petaled flower of a prairie rose, nevertheless all present-day roses are descendants of wild roses. Many wild-rose species tend to bear double blooms flowers with more than five petals and from such species a skillful breeder can, over a period of years, produce rose plants that will consistently bear handsome double flowers.

ruminant An animal with a specialized digestive system which includes chewing the cud.

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Graphic images concept from Pia Belardo . Since 04.03.1996 Updated 10.30.2001
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