adapted Changed to fit into a new place or situation. Listen:  (ah-DAP-ted)
Africa Large continent in the eastern hemisphere south of the Mediterranean Sea. Listen: (AA-free-kah)
aloe Plants with thick, toothed leaves that grow out directly from the trunk. Listen: (AA-low)
anemone fish Any of several types of small fish that live in sea anemones without getting stung by the tentacles. Listen: (ah-NIM-oh-nee FISH)
aye-aye A type of lemur that hunts for insect grubs by tapping with its long thin finger. Listen: (AHEE-ahee)
bamboo Tall tropical plants with stiff, hollow stems. The stems are used to make furniture. The new shoots are used as food. Listen: (bam-BOO)
bamboo lemur Small, shy lemur that eats bamboo stems and leaves. Listen: (bam-BOO LEE-mer)
baobab Any of several types of trees with thickened trunks that store water and short limbs that look more like roots than branches. Listen: (BAY-oh-bahb)
beach The area at the edge of the ocean that changes width as the tide comes in and goes out. Listen: (BEECH)
binoculars Two telescopes connected side by side so that a person can use them with both eyes to look at distant objects.Listen: (bin-AHK-you-lers)
brown lemur Medium-sized lemur with brown fur and a black face that is important to the dry forest because it spreads seeds from the fruit it eats. Listen: (BRAUN LEE-mer)
burrow A hole or short tunnel dug by an animal for a place to hide and live. Listen: (BUR-oh)
camouflage Something like color or shape that protects an animal from predators by making it match the area around it. Listen: (KA-mah-flajh)
cancer A serious illness in which a tumor grows and spreads to other parts of the body. Listen: (KAN-ser)
canoe A narrow boat that is pointed at both ends, usually moved with a paddle. Listen: (kah-NEW)
chameleon A lizard rotates its eyes and changes colors to match what it is on. Listen: (ka-MEE-lee-un)
civet A small striped mammal that sleeps during the day and hunts at night for smaller mammals, reptiles, birds, frogs, and insects. Listen: (SIH-vit)
cocoon A silk covering that a caterpillar spins around itself to protect it while it is changing into a moth or butterfly. Listen: (kah-KOON)
continent One of the six or seven great divisions of land on the globe, such as Africa, North America, and Europe. Listen: (KON-tin-nent)
coral Sea animal with a stony skeleton, soft body and tentacles that usually lives in groups. Listen: (KOH-rel)
crested Having extra feathers sticking up on the head. Listen: (KRES-ted)
crested tern A sea bird with gray on the wings and a black feather above the eye. Terns catch fish by diving into the ocean. Listen: (KRES-ted TURN)
crowned lemur Medium-sized lemur with an orange mark just above the eyes shaped like a crown. Boy and girl crowned lemurs are different colors, but both have the crown mark. Listen: (KRAUND LEE-mer)
cure Something that makes someone healthy again after being ill. Listen: (KYUR)
down Soft fuzzy feathers on baby birds and the bottom feather layer on some adult birds. Listen: (DAOWN)
drongo Any of several black birds with long, forked tails that eat insects and live in Africa, Asia, or Australia. The crested drongo in Madagascar has feathers above its beak that stick up. Listen: (DRON-goh)
dugout A small boat made by cutting or scooping out the center of a large tree trunk. Listen: (DUHG-aut)
dwarf lemur A small lemur with big eyes that hunts at night for bugs to eat. Listen: (DWARF LEE-mer)
eggshell The hard outside covering of an egg. Listen: (EHG-shehl)
endemic Only living and growing in one location. Listen: (en-DEM-ik)
epiphyte Plant that grows on top of other plants and gets moisture and nutrients from rain. Listen: (EH-pih-fite)
evaporation The action of water turning into vapor as it dries up. Listen: (ee-Vap-oh-RAY-shun)
extinct Not existing anymore. If a kind of animal once lived in a place, but none of the animals live there now, then that animal is extinct there. Listen: (eks-STINKT)
feather One of the soft growths that cover the bodies of birds instead of hair. A feather has a stiff center stem with many soft, fuzzy barbs sticking out along it to the left and right. Listen: (FEH-thur)
fisherman Someone whose main job is catching fish, either to sell them or just for fun. Listen: (FISH-ur-Man)
flycatcher Any of several small birds that live by catching flying insects. Listen: (FLY-kat-chur)
flying fox A large bat that eats fruit and has reddish fur and a face like a fox. Listen: (FLY-ing FAHKS)
fossa A cat-like endemic mammal of Madagascar that is the main predator of lemurs. Listen: (FOOSH or FOOS-a)
gangplank A movable bridge used in getting onto or leaving a ship at a pier. Listen: (GAYNG-plank)
gecko A type of tropical lizard with no eyelids. It licks its eyes to keep them moist. Listen: (GEH-koh)
habitat The type of place where a plant or animal normally lives or grows. Listen: (HAA-bih-tat)
iguana A type of lizard with spines on its back and tail. Listen: (ihg-WAH-na)
indri The largest type of lemur. It is about the size of a four year old child. It is black and white, has a loud, wailing call, and has a short tail. Listen: (IN-dree)
inflatable An object like a boat or mattress that requires air pumped in before using it. Listen: (in-FLAY-tah-bul)
isalo A small shrub with long, thin leaves that grows only in the dry forests of Madagascar. Listen: (ih-SAH-loh)
island Land that is completely surrounded by water. Listen: (EYE-land)
leaf-tailed An animal with an enlarged and flattened tail in the shape of a leaf. Listen: (LEEF-tayld)
lemurs A group of mammals related to monkeys and apes that live only on the island of Madagascar. Lemurs come in many sizes and colors but all live in trees. Listen: (LEE-merz)
leukemia A disease in people and animals in which larger than normal numbers of white blood cells are made by the body. Listen: (loo-KEE-mee-ah)
lizard A group of reptiles with four legs and movable eyelids. Listen: (LIH-zerd)
Madagascar The fourth largest island on earth. Madagascar is near the southeast coast of Africa and is the home of many unusual plants and animals including baobab trees and lemurs. Listen: (Ma-duh-GAS-car)
Malagasy The people or the language of Madagascar. Listen: (mah-lah-GAH-see)
millipede An animal related to insects. Its long body has a hard covering and many sections, each with two pairs of legs. Listen: (MILL-uh-peed)
mongoose Any of a group of quick-moving mammals with long bodies and tails, some with stripes, that eat small animals. Listen: (MAHN-goose)
mouse lemur Very small lemur about the size of a mouse, but with eyes looking straight ahead and hands with thumbs like other lemurs. Listen: (MAUSS LEE-mer)
nocturnal Animals that are most active throughout the night and that hide and sleep throughout the day. Listen: (nahk-TUR-nul)
nutrients Substances such as minerals, vitamins, proteins, and carbohydrates that plants and animals need to grow, develop, and function. Listen: (NEW-tree-unts)
octopus A sea animal with eight long tentacles or a plant with many long branches that looks like an octopus. Listen: (AHK-ta-puss)
orchid Any of a group of plants that grow attached to trees and have colorful flowers. Listen: (OHR-kid)
pachypodium Plant group with thickened trunks and a few leaves growing at the end of each branch. Listen: (Paa-kee-POH-dee-um)
periwinkle A small pink or red flower with five petals. Listen: (Peh-ree-WEEN-kul)
pirogue A small boat made by digging out the center of a large log. Some pirogues have a sail and an outrigger for balance. Some have no sail and are paddled or poled to move them along. Listen: (pih-ROHG)
predator An animal that lives by catching and eating other animals. Listen: (PREH-dah-ter)
radiate Having long streaks like sunbeams. Listen: (RAY-dih-at)
red collared brown lemur Lemur related to the crowned lemur that has reddish longer fur like a collar sticking out on both sides below its chin. Listen: (RED KAH-lerd BRAUN LEE-mer)
reef An underwater mound or wall made up of dead corals, with live corals and other sea animals living on its top and sides. Listen: (REEF)
reef crab A brightly colored type of sea animal that lives on a coral reef and has a round shell, ten legs and pincers. Listen: (REEF KRAB)
ring-tailed lemur Fairly large lemur whose bushy tail has dark and light rings. It also has dark rings around its eyes. Ring-tails live in big groups and spend more time walking on the ground than most lemurs. Listen: (REENG-tayld LEE-mer)
rodent Any mammal, usually small, with only two teeth in its upper and in its lower jaw, which keep growing so that the animal must gnaw to keep its teeth worn down. Listen: (ROH-dent)
ruffed Having a ring of longer fur that sticks out stiffly around the face. Listen: (RUHFT)
ruffed lemur Big lemur with a stiff mane of hair around its neck. This lemur group includes both black and white ruffed and red ruffed lemurs. Listen: (RUHFT LEE-mer)
sand crab A type of sea animal with ten legs and pincers that lives on the beach. Listen: (SAND KRAB)
scorpion An animal related to a spider that has ten legs, pincers on the front legs, and a tail that curves up and has a poisonous stinger at its tip. Listen: (SKOHR-pee-un)
sea anemone A sea animal with tentacles that sting and a mouth in the center. Listen: (SEE uh-NIM-oh-nee)
sea urchin A sea animal related to a sea star that has a round shell covered with spines and a mouth on the bottom with five teeth. Listen: (SEE ER-chin)
sifaka Tall, slender lemurs who make a "see-FAK" sound that gives them their name. Most sifakas are white with dark or rusty-colored markings down the arms and legs. Sifakas stand up straight while holding a tree trunk or leaping to another tree trunk. Listen: (see-FAHK or see-FAHK-ah)
silkworm A caterpillar that eats tree leaves, then spins a silk cocoon and changes into a moth. Listen: (SILK-wurm)
snorkel A tube used for breathing air while floating with your face in the water. Listen: (SNOR-kul)
spine A stiff, pointed part sticking out of a plant or animal. Listen: (SPYN)
sprout To begin to grow, like leaves sprouting from a seed. Listen: (SPROWT)
starfish Sea animal (also sea star) with a tough, bumpy skin and five or more arms. Listen: (STAR-fish)
stridulation Rubbing special body parts together to make a shrill creaking sound, such as the sounds made by crickets and grasshoppers. Listen: (Strid-yu-LAY-shun)
tapia A fire-resistant tree with rounded leaves and yellow fruit that grows in the dry forests of Madagascar. Listen: (TAH-pee or TAH-pee-uh)
tenrec A small nocturnal mammal with spines on its back like a hedgehog. Listen: (TEN-rek)
thorn A short, pointed part sticking out of a plant. Listen: (THOHRN)
tortoise A reptile that lives on land and has a thick shell protecting its back and belly so that only its head and legs stick out. Listen: (TOR-tus)
tropical A region or climate warm enough to have no frost and let plants grow all year round, usually located near the equator. Listen: (TRAH-pih-kal)
tropicbird One of three types of sea birds that have long, single feather tails and spend most of their time flying over open ocean looking for fish. Listen: (TRAH-pik-Burd)
vanilla A type of orchid with a white flower. Its beans are used to make vanilla flavoring. Listen: (vah-NILL-ah)
Verreaux A scientist and collector of plants and animals. Verreaux sifakas were named for him. Often the scientific names of plants and animals honor a scientist in this way. Listen: (ver-OH)
Veso A group of people in Madagascar who usually make their living by fishing. Listen: (VAY-so)
woolly lemurs Fuzzy lemurs related to indris and sifakas who sleep snuggled close together during the day and look for food at night. Listen: (WUH-lee LEE-merz)
zodiac A type of inflatable boat with a flat bottom that is often used to carry groups of people into shallow water and to land on a beach. Listen: (ZOH-dee-ak)
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