Advertisement.

EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site.
As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages.
Click here to learn more.

ad
(Already a member? Click here.)


More Biomes
Enchanted Learning
All About Rainforests!

Geography
Introduction to Rainforests Layers or Strata Where are Rainforests? Animals of the Rainforest Rainforest Glossary Printables, Worksheets, and Activities

Rainforest Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Click on an underlined word for more information on that subject.
If the rainforest term you are looking for is not in the dictionary, please e-mail us.

E


EARTH

The Earth is the third planet from the sun.


ECDYSIS

Ecdysis is molting. When an insect molts it loses its old exoskeleton and grows a larger one to replace it. Caterpillars molt four to five times during their development.

ECOSYSTEM

An ecosystem is the interrelationships between all of the living things in an area.

ECOTOURIST

Ecotourists are people who visit the rainforest (or other ecologically sensitive areas) while on vacation.

ECTOTHERMIC

Ectotherms are animals whose internal temperature changes with the environment. They rely upon the external temperature and their behavior (like sunning themselves) to regulate their body temperature. Amphibians, most fish, and most reptiles are ectothermic.

EGG

Some animals hatch from eggs.


ELECTRIC EEL

A fish that can generate electricity, the electric eel lives in the Amazon River basin of South America.

EMBRYO

An embryo is a very young, unborn organism.

EMERALD TREE BOA

The emerald tree boa, Corallus caninus, is a green snake with white bands. It grows to be up to 7.25 feet (2.2m) long. It lives in trees and shrubs near water (like swamps and marshes in rain forests) in the lower Amazon basin (in Brazil) and in Guyana and Suriname. This snake catches food with its long teeth then squeezes it. It eats birds and rodents. This snake is nocturnal (it is most active at night) and bears live young. Neonates (newborn snakes) are deep brown-orange with white bars, and are about 1 ft long. This snake has a life span of 15-20 years.

EMERGENTS

Emergents are giant trees in a rainforest that are much higher (up to 270 feet or 81 m) than the average canopy height. The emergents house many birds and insects in a very dry environment.


ENDANGERED SPECIES

An endangered species is a group of animals that is dwindling in numbers and may go extinct soon.


ENDEMIC

Endemic means native to a specific region.

ENDOTHERMIC

Endotherms maintain a relatively constant internal temperature. Endothermic animals generate their own body heat to maintain their body temperature, which is usually higher than that of the surroundings. Heat from the bloodstream circulates through the body in order to maintain the animal's temperature. Birds and mammals are endothermic.

ENTOMOLOGIST

Entomologists are scientists who study insects.

ENVIRONMENT

The environment is the air, water, organisms, minerals, and other external objects that surround and affect an organism.

EON

Two or more geological Eras form an Eon, which is the largest division of geologic time, lasting many hundreds of millions of years.

EPICORMIC SHOOT

An epicormic shoot (also called a coppice shoot, sap shoot, water shoot, or water sprout) is a shoot (new growth) that arises from an adventitious or dormant bud on a branch or a stem of a plant (usually near the base of the plant). This fast-growing shoot often starts to grow when part of a forest canopy is removed or thinned (allowing light in).

EPIPHYTE

Epiphytes (also called air plants) are plants that live attached to a plant (or other structure like a telephone pole or a building) and not in the ground). Epiphytes include many orchids and bromeliads. Epiphytes are not parasites; they get water and nutrients from the air (and not from their host).

EPOCH

An epoch is a division of a geologic period; it is the smallest division of geologic time, lasting several million years.

EQ

The EQ (encephalization quotient) is a ratio of the mass of an animal's brain to the mass of its body. This helps determine the relative intelligence of extinct animals. Dromaeosaurid dinosaurs had the highest EQ among the dinosaurs.


EQUATOR

The equator is an imaginary circle around the earth, halfway between the north and south poles.


EQUATORIAL RAINFOREST

Tropical rainforests are warm, very wet forests that do not freeze (the temperature remains over 75°F=24°C) and do not get extremely hot. Tropical rainforests cover about 7% of the Earth's surface, in a band around the equator. They are also called tropical rainforests.

ERA

Two or more geological periods comprise an Era, which is hundreds of millions of years in duration.

ERUCIFORM

Eruciform means having a caterpillar-like shape (cylindrical with a well-developed head and legs). The larvae of butterflies and moths (caterpillars) are eruciform.


ESTUARY

An estuary is where a river meets the seas.

ETHNOBOTANY

Ethnobotany is the science which studies how plants are used in various cultures.


EVAPORATION

Evaporation is the process in which a liquid is transferred into gaseous form.

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Evapotranspiration is the process in which rain water evaporates from trees and returns to the atmosphere.

EVOLUTION

Evolution is a process in which the gene pool of a population gradually (over millions of years) changes in response to environmental pressures, natural selection, and genetic mutations. All forms of life came into being by this process.

EXOSKELETON

An exoskeleton is an external skeleton, a tough, structural body armor made of chitin. Arthropods (insects, arachnids, trilobites, crustaceans, etc.) have segmented exoskeletons.

EXTINCT

An animal species that is extinct has died out. Most animal species that ever existed have gone extinct, including all the dinosaurs.

EXTINCTION

Extinction is the process in which groups of organisms (species) die out.

EXTRACTIVE RESERVE

An extractive reserve is an area in a rain forest in which people are allowed to harvest crops, such as rubber or Brazil nuts.

EYE CAP

The eye cap is a hood that partly covers the eyes of some small moths. This cap is formed by the base of the antennae.

EYE SPOT

An eye spot is a circular, eye-like marking found on the wings of some butterflies or the body of some caterpillars. These eyespots make the insect look like the face of a much larger animal and may scare away some predators.

Zoom Rainforests
Rainforest Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Click on an underlined word for more information on that subject.
If the rainforest term you are looking for is not in the dictionary, please e-mail us.

Enchanted Learning®
Over 35,000 Web Pages
Sample Pages for Prospective Subscribers, or click below

Overview of Site
What's New
Enchanted Learning Home
Monthly Activity Calendar
Books to Print
Site Index

K-3
Crafts
K-3 Themes
Little Explorers
Picture dictionary
PreK/K Activities
Rebus Rhymes
Stories
Writing
Cloze Activities
Essay Topics
Newspaper
Writing Activities
Parts of Speech

Fiction
The Test of Time

Biology
Animal Printouts
Biology Label Printouts
Biomes
Birds
Butterflies
Dinosaurs
Food Chain
Human Anatomy
Mammals
Plants
Rainforests
Sharks
Whales
Physical Sciences: K-12
Astronomy
The Earth
Geology
Hurricanes
Landforms
Oceans
Tsunami
Volcano
Languages
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Japanese (Romaji)
Portuguese
Spanish
Swedish
Geography/History
Explorers
Flags
Geography
Inventors
US History

Other Topics
Art and Artists
Calendars
College Finder
Crafts
Graphic Organizers
Label Me! Printouts
Math
Music
Word Wheels

Click to read our Privacy Policy

E-mail


Enchanted Learning Search

Search the Enchanted Learning website for:



Advertisement.

Advertisement.


Copyright ©1996-2018 EnchantedLearning.com ------ How to cite a web page