Camouflage – colors, tones, patterns, shapes or behavior an organism uses to blend with its surroundings; also concealment that alters or obscures the appearance; also protective coloration, a common animal defense

Carapace – a bony or chitinous shield or shell covering some or all of the dorsal (back) part of an animal, such as a turtle

Carnivore – any animal that consumes other animals that are living (predation) or dead (scavenging)

Cold-blooded – (ectothermic) – relating to an organism that regulates its body temperature by exchanging heat with its surroundings

Generalist – a species which can thrive in many environmental conditions with a variety of resources

Herbivore – a plant-eating animal

Jacobson’s Organ – either of a pair of blind, tubular, olfactory sacs in the roof of the mouth, no longer functional in humans but well-developed in many animals, especially reptiles

Nictating membrane – transparent inner eyelid in birds, reptiles and some mammals that closes to protect and moisten the eye; also called a third eyelid

Plastron – part of a turtle’s shell that covers the belly

Poikilothermic – refers to an organism whose temperature varies with the ambient temperature of the immediate environment; also known as cold-blooded

Scale – one of the thin, flat, horny plates that cover certain animals such as snakes, lizards and pangolins; or one of the hard, bony plates covering certain other animals such as fishes

Scute – a bony external plate similar to scales but derived from the epidermis; describes the scales of some armored mammals, such as the armadillo, and occasionally used as an alternative to scales in describing certain fishes, such as sturgeons

Specialist – a species that can only thrive in a narrow range of environmental conditions or has a limited diet

Venomous – able to inflict a poisoned bite, sting or wound