• Trolltunga (iceberg)

    iceberg: Iceberg distribution and drift trajectories: …instance, a large iceberg called Trolltunga calved from the Fimbul Ice Shelf near the Greenwich meridian in 1967, and it became grounded in the southern Weddell Sea for five years before continuing its drift. If a berg can break away from the coastal current (as Trolltunga had done by late…

  • Trolösa (film by Ullmann [1999])

    Liv Ullmann: Kristin Lavransdatter (1995); Trolösa (1999; Faithless), for which Bergman wrote the screenplay; and Miss Julie (2014), which she adapted from August Strindberg’s play of the same name. In 2022 Ullmann received an honorary Academy Award, noted for a “bravery and emotional transparency [that] has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen…

  • tromba marina (musical instrument)

    trumpet marine, stringed musical instrument of medieval and Renaissance Europe, highly popular in the 15th century and surviving into the 18th century. It had a long narrow body and one or two strings, which the player’s left thumb touched lightly to produce the notes of the harmonic series, as on

  • Trombetas Formation (geological region, Brazil)

    Silurian Period: Tillites: Similarly, the widespread Lower Silurian Nhamunda Formation in the Amazon region of Brazil includes diamictite (a non-sorted conglomerate made up clastic material) beds consisting of highly diverse clastics related to tillites.

  • Trombetas River (river, Brazil)

    Trombetas River, river in northwestern Pará state, northern Brazil. Formed by the Poana, Anamu, and other headstreams flowing from the southern slope of the Serra Acaraí on the Guyana border, the Trombetas meanders generally southward for 470 mi (760 km). It forms several lakes, including Jamari

  • Trombicula (arachnid genus)

    chigger: …East Asia certain species of Leptotrombidium carry the disease known as scrub typhus.

  • Trombicula alfreddugesi (arachnid)

    chigger: …is Eutrombicula alfreddugèsi (also called Trombicula irritans). This species occurs from the Atlantic coast to the Midwest and southward to Mexico. The tiny larvae easily penetrate clothing. Once on the skin surface, they attach themselves and inject a fluid that digests tissue and causes severe itching. The surrounding tissue hardens,…

  • Trombicula irritans (arachnid)

    chigger: …is Eutrombicula alfreddugèsi (also called Trombicula irritans). This species occurs from the Atlantic coast to the Midwest and southward to Mexico. The tiny larvae easily penetrate clothing. Once on the skin surface, they attach themselves and inject a fluid that digests tissue and causes severe itching. The surrounding tissue hardens,…

  • Tromboncino, Bartolomeo (Italian composer)

    frottola: …important composers of frottola were Bartolomeo Tromboncino (d. c. 1535) and Marchetto Cara (d. c. 1530). At times the same person wrote both text and music.

  • trombone (musical instrument)

    trombone, brass wind musical instrument sounded by lip vibration against a cup mouthpiece. It has an extendable slide that can increase the length of the instrument’s tubing. The slide thus performs the function of the valves on other brass instruments. From the 19th century, some trombones have

  • Trommeln in der Nacht (play by Brecht)

    Bertolt Brecht: …der Nacht (Kleist Preis, 1922; Drums in the Night); the poems and songs collected as Die Hauspostille (1927; A Manual of Piety, 1966), his first professional production (Edward II, 1924); and his admiration for Wedekind, Rimbaud, Villon, and Kipling.

  • Tromostovje (bridge, Ljubljana, Slovenia)

    Ljubljana: …stone bridges, such as the Tromostovje (Triple Bridge), were constructed across the river.

  • Tromp, Cornelis (Dutch admiral)

    Cornelis Tromp was a Dutch admiral, the second son of Maarten Tromp. He commanded a series of actions against England, France, and Sweden. After serving as a lieutenant of his father’s ship in 1645, Cornelis became a captain in 1649. He fought the North African pirates in the Mediterranean (1650)

  • Tromp, Cornelis Maartenszoon (Dutch admiral)

    Cornelis Tromp was a Dutch admiral, the second son of Maarten Tromp. He commanded a series of actions against England, France, and Sweden. After serving as a lieutenant of his father’s ship in 1645, Cornelis became a captain in 1649. He fought the North African pirates in the Mediterranean (1650)

  • Tromp, Maarten (Dutch admiral)

    Maarten Tromp was a Dutch admiral, the highest ranking sea commander (from 1636) under the stadholder during the Dutch wars with Spain and England during the first half of the 17th century. His victory over the Spanish in the Battle of the Downs (1639) signalled the passing of Spain’s power at sea.

  • Tromp, Maarten Harpertszoon (Dutch admiral)

    Maarten Tromp was a Dutch admiral, the highest ranking sea commander (from 1636) under the stadholder during the Dutch wars with Spain and England during the first half of the 17th century. His victory over the Spanish in the Battle of the Downs (1639) signalled the passing of Spain’s power at sea.

  • trompe de chasse (musical instrument)

    horn: The large circular French hunting horn, the trompe (or cor) de chasse, appeared in about 1650; the modern orchestral, or French, horn derives from it. Still played in modern France and Belgium by huntsmen, brass bands, and horn-playing clubs, it varies in diameter and number of coils but…

  • trompe l’oeil (painting)

    trompe l’oeil, in painting, the representation of an object with such verisimilitude as to deceive the viewer concerning the material reality of the object. This idea appealed to the ancient Greeks who were newly emancipated from the conventional stylizations of earlier art. Zeuxis, for example,

  • Trompe le Monde (album by Pixies)

    Pixies: …time of the release of Trompe le Monde (1991), which is generally considered the Pixies’ weakest effort.

  • trompete (musical instrument)

    trumpet, brass wind musical instrument sounded by lip vibration against a cup mouthpiece. Ethnologists and ethnomusicologists use the word trumpet for any lip-vibrated instrument, whether of horn, conch, reed, or wood, with a horn or gourd bell, as well as for the Western brass instrument. The

  • Trompeter von Säkkingen, Der (work by Scheffel)

    Joseph Victor von Scheffel: …popular humorous epic poem Der Trompeter von Säckingen (1854; “The Trumpeter of Säckingen”) and historical novel Ekkehard (1855) appealed to sentimental popular taste and made him one of the most widely read German authors of his time.

  • trompette (musical instrument)

    trumpet, brass wind musical instrument sounded by lip vibration against a cup mouthpiece. Ethnologists and ethnomusicologists use the word trumpet for any lip-vibrated instrument, whether of horn, conch, reed, or wood, with a horn or gourd bell, as well as for the Western brass instrument. The

  • Tromsø (Norway)

    Tromsø, town, northern Norway. It is located on two islands, Troms (Tromsøy) and Kval (Kvaløy), just west of the mainland. Because Tromsø is located well north of the Arctic Circle, the sun is visible continuously from late May to late July. The town was established about 1250 and received its town

  • Tromsø, University of (university, Tromsø, Norway)

    Norway: Education: …Technology, founded 1910), and the University of Tromsø (1968)—along with the University of Stavanger, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Ås, and the University of Agder. There are also six university-level specialized institutions (including the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in Bergen and the Norwegian Academy of…

  • Tromyegan (river, Russia)

    Ob River: Physiography: …and receives more tributaries: the Tromyegan (right), the Great (Bolshoy) Yugan (left), the Lyamin (right), the Great Salym (left), the Nazym (right), and finally, at Khanty-Mansiysk, the Irtysh (left). In its course through the taiga, the middle Ob has a minimal gradient, a valley broadening to 18 to 30 miles…

  • TRON (film by Lisberger [1982])

    Disney Company: Return to prominence: …animation for the live-action feature Tron (1982) and realized the technology’s potential with the enormously successful Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 2 (1999), films that Disney jointly developed and produced with Pixar Animation Studios. Live-action features also found success, especially 101 Dalmatians (1996), a remake of Disney’s own

  • Tron Kirk (church, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom)

    Edinburgh: The Old Town: …also the site of the Tron Kirk (built 1637–47), Edinburgh’s second post-Reformation church and now a tourist information centre, where the North and South bridges later cut across the crest of the ridge. Almost directly across from the kirk is Anchor Close, where Smellie printed the 1787 edition of the…

  • TRON: Legacy (film by Kosinski [2010])

    Jeff Bridges: …that success with the sequel TRON: Legacy (2010), in which he reprised his original role. His performance as the ornery U.S. marshal Rooster Cogburn in the Coen brothers’ western True Grit (2010) earned him his sixth Oscar nomination.

  • trona (mineral)

    trona, an evaporite mineral, hydrated sodium bicarbonate [Na3H(CO3)2·2H2O], occasionally encountered as a saline lake deposit or evaporation product and as an efflorescence on arid soil. Usually associated with natron, thermonatrite, halite, and gypsum, it occurs near Memphis, in the Lower Nile

  • Tronador, Mount (mountain, South America)

    Lake Llanquihue: …border towers the great, glaciated Mount Tronador (11,660 feet [3,554 m]). The setting of the lake and good fishing have made the lakeside towns, especially Puerto Varas, Llanquihue, and Puerto Octay, popular resorts. Sawmills and a beet-sugar factory are also on its shores. Its outlet is the Maullín River, which…

  • Tronc (American publishing company)

    Los Angeles Times: …company, which was eventually named Tronc.

  • Trøndelag (region, Norway)

    Trøndelag, geographical region, central Norway, surrounding Trondheims Fjord. Its area of 15,978 square miles (41,383 square km) embraces the counties of Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is very mountainous, with only small strips of lowlands along the coast, fjords, and interior river

  • Trondheim (Norway)

    Trondheim, historic port, central Norway. It lies on a sheltered peninsula on the southern shore of the deeply indented Trondheims Fjord at the mouth of the Nidelva (river), 23 miles (37 km) southeast of the Norwegian Sea. It was founded in 997 by King Olaf I Tryggvason as the village of Kaupangr;

  • Trondheim, University of (university, Trondheim, Norway)

    Trondheim: …in Trondheim, as is the University of Trondheim (founded 1968).

  • Trondheims Fjord (fjord, Norway)

    Trondheims Fjord, fjord, in the Norwegian Sea, indenting the coast of west central Norway. Extending some 80 miles (130 km) inland, it serves as a natural boundary between northern and southern Norway. Trondheims Fjord branches into many smaller fjords, the most important being Orkdalsfjorden in

  • Trondheimsfjorden (fjord, Norway)

    Trondheims Fjord, fjord, in the Norwegian Sea, indenting the coast of west central Norway. Extending some 80 miles (130 km) inland, it serves as a natural boundary between northern and southern Norway. Trondheims Fjord branches into many smaller fjords, the most important being Orkdalsfjorden in

  • Trongsa (Bhutan)

    Tongsa, town, fortress, and monastery, central Bhutan. It lies in the Himalayas on the Tongsa (or Mangde) River, about 5,500 feet (1,700 m) above sea level. It was the headquarters of the first hereditary maharaja of Bhutan and the historic seat of power over central and eastern Bhutan. The dzong

  • tronie (painting)

    Rembrandt: The Leiden period (1625–31) of Rembrandt: …to small-scale history paintings and tronies (single figures in historicizing, Middle Eastern, Asian, or imaginary costumes that connote old age, piety, soldierly bravery, Asia, the Middle East, transience, and so on). Tronies were not meant to be portraits, although individuals must have posed for them (among them Rembrandt himself, in…

  • Tronto (river, Italy)

    Abruzzi: The principal rivers (the Tronto, Pescara, Sangro, and Trigno) drain to the Adriatic, providing irrigation in their lower courses. The course of these streams is irregular, and, because of massive deforestation on the upper slopes, floods and landslides occur frequently during the spring and fall rains.

  • Troodon (dinosaur)

    dinosaur: Tetanurae: troodontids. Dromaeosaurs were medium-size predators with long, grasping arms and hands, moderately long legs, and a specialized stiffened tail that could be used for active balance control. Their feet bore large talons on one toe that were evidently used for raking and slicing prey. A…

  • Troodos Mountains (mountain range, Cyprus)

    Troodos Mountains, mountain range in southern Cyprus, beginning immediately inland from Cape Arnauti. It rises to its highest point at Mount Olympus, or Khionistra (6,401 feet [1,951 meters]), about 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Nicosia, and gradually descends to narrow coastal strips on the south

  • Troodos, Mount (mountain, Cyprus)

    Cyprus: Relief: The range’s summit, Mount Olympus (also called Mount Troodos), reaches an elevation of 6,401 feet (1,951 metres) and is the island’s highest point.

  • troop (animal behavior)

    macaque: Macaques live in troops of varying size. The males dominate the troop and live within a clear but shifting dominance rank order. The ranking of females is longer-lasting and depends on their genealogical position. Macaques are somewhat more arboreal than baboons but are equally at home on the…

  • Trooper Peter Halketh of Mashonaland (work by Schreiner)

    Olive Schreiner: …Cecil Rhodes and his associates, Trooper Peter Halkett of Mashonaland (1897), and a widely acclaimed “bible” of the Women’s Movement, Woman and Labour (1911).

  • Trooping the Colour (British military tradition)

    Trooping the Colour, traditional observance of the British monarch’s official birthday with a military ceremony and parade in London. Irrespective of the actual day upon which the sovereign was born, a Saturday in June is annually set aside to celebrate the monarch’s birth with pomp, pageantry, and

  • Tropaeolaceae (plant family)

    Brassicales: Akaniaceae and Tropaeolaceae: Akaniaceae and Tropaeolaceae both have large zygomorphic flowers with eight stamens and an ovary with three compartments, with the ovules at the apex of each. Geographically and morphologically they might otherwise seem an unlikely pair.

  • Tropaeolum (plant genus)

    Brassicales: Akaniaceae and Tropaeolaceae: Members of Tropaeolaceae, or the nasturtium family, are rather fleshy vines or herbs with a single genus, Tropaeolum (including Magallana and Tropheastrum), with 95 species distributed from Mexico to Patagonia. The petioles are twining, and the broadleaf blades have palmate venation and may be palmately lobed or divided, or peltate.…

  • Tropaeolum majus (plant, Tropaeolum majus)

    nasturtium, (Tropaeolum majus), annual plant of the family Tropaeolaceae, cultivated as an ornamental for its attractive leaves and flowers. The plant is native to the Andes Mountains of South America and is considered an invasive species in a few areas outside its native range. The peppery-tasting

  • Tropaeolum minus (plant)

    nasturtium: Other species: Dwarf nasturtium (Tropaeolum minus) has flowers 3 cm (1.2 inches) across or less. Shield nasturtium (T. peltophorum) is a climbing plant with orange-red flowers about 2.5 cm (1 inch) long. Canary creeper (T. peregrinum) is a climbing plant with frilly pale yellow flowers.

  • Tropaeolum peltophorum (plant)

    nasturtium: Other species: Shield nasturtium (T. peltophorum) is a climbing plant with orange-red flowers about 2.5 cm (1 inch) long. Canary creeper (T. peregrinum) is a climbing plant with frilly pale yellow flowers.

  • Tropaeolum peregrinum (plant)

    canary creeper, (species Tropaeolum peregrinum), annual climbing herb, of the family Tropaeolaceae, native to northwestern South America and introduced to other regions as a cultivated garden plant. It grows to a height of 1.8–3 m (6–10 feet). The leaves are round and deeply five-lobed. The

  • Tropaeum Trajani (monument, Romania)

    Western sculpture: Age of Trajan: …frieze of a great, circular Tropaeum Trajani, set up in the Dobruja (Romania) to commemorate victories over the Dacians, contains a series of metopes (a decoration in a Doric frieze) carved with figure scenes in a flat, linear style that suggests the hands of army artists of provincial origin.

  • tropaion (ancient Greek memorial)

    trophy, (from Greek tropaion, from tropē, “rout”), in ancient Greece, memorial of victory set up on the field of battle at the spot where the enemy had been routed. It consisted of captured arms and standards hung upon a tree or stake in the semblance of a man and was inscribed with details of the

  • troparion (vocal music)

    troparion, short hymn or stanza sung in Greek Orthodox religious services. The word probably derives from a diminutive of the Greek tropos (“something repeated,” “manner,” “fashion”), with a possible analogy to the Italian ritornello (“refrain”; diminutive of ritorno, “return”). Since the 5th

  • trope (music)

    trope, in medieval church music, melody, explicatory text, or both added to a plainchant melody. Tropes are of two general types: those adding a new text to a melisma (section of music having one syllable extended over many notes); and those inserting new music, usually with words, between existing

  • trope (philosophy)

    epistemology: Ancient Skepticism: …issue, are known as “tropes.” The judgment that a tower is round when seen at a distance, for example, is contradicted by the judgment that the tower is square when seen up close. The judgment that Providence cares for all things, which is supported by the orderliness of the…

  • trope (rhetoric)

    figure of speech: The five major categories: …simile, and irony, are called tropes.

  • trope nominalism (philosophy)

    universal: Trope nominalism: Other nominalists, so-called “trope” nominalists, follow the American philosopher Donald Cary Williams in positing an extra kind of part for things. Williams held that a round red disk, for example, has parts in addition to its concrete spatial parts, such as its upper…

  • Tropenmuseum (museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands)

    museum: History museums: …Museum in London, and the Tropenmuseum (Museum of the Royal Tropical Institute) in Amsterdam. Restructuring of such collections in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, however, suggested efforts to move away from the self-other dichotomy of colonialism. Specialized ethnography museums are also to be found in provincial cities. Normally,…

  • trophallaxis (zoology)

    Hymenoptera: General features: Trophallaxis, or the mutual exchange of food between larvae and adults of bees, ants, and wasps, has been of special interest to hymenopterists. Hyperparasitism—the parasitic habit of one species upon another parasitic species—has also attracted attention. Polyembryony, the development of many individuals (as many as…

  • Trophées, Les (work by Heredia)

    José Maria de Heredia: …longer pieces were published as Les Trophées (1893). These poems capture in verse a fugitive moment of history (usually classical or Renaissance) or else some objet d’art (a vase, a coin, an ornate book binding), usually in one startling image. A selection of his poems in English translation was published…

  • trophic cascade (ecology)

    trophic cascade, an ecological phenomenon triggered by the addition or removal of top predators and involving reciprocal changes in the relative populations of predator and prey through a food chain, which often results in dramatic changes in ecosystem structure and nutrient cycling. In a

  • trophic factor (biochemistry)

    human nervous system: Neuronal development: …a target cell releases a trophic factor (e.g., nerve growth factor) that is essential for the survival of the neuron synapsing with it. Physical guidance cues are involved in contact guidance, or the migration of immature neurons along a scaffold of glial fibers.

  • trophic hormone (endocrinology)

    hormone: Hormones of the pituitary gland: The action of such tropic hormones can be understood only in the light of the mode of function of the endocrine glands they regulate.

  • trophic level (ecology)

    trophic level, step in a nutritive series, or food chain, of an ecosystem. The organisms of a chain are classified into these levels on the basis of their feeding behaviour. The first and lowest level contains the producers, green plants. The plants or their products are consumed by the

  • trophic pyramid (ecology)

    trophic pyramid, the basic structure of interaction in all biological communities characterized by the manner in which food energy is passed from one trophic level to the next along the food chain. The base of the pyramid is composed of species called autotrophs, the primary producers of the

  • trophism (biology)

    human disease: Health versus disease: …(the process is known as hypertrophy). This occurs in certain forms of heart disease, especially in those involving long-standing high blood pressure or structural defects of the heart valves. A large heart, therefore, may be a sign of disease. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for athletes to…

  • trophoblast (embryology)

    blastocyst: …now referred to as the trophoblast. It does not contribute directly to the formation of the embryo but rather serves to establish a connection with the maternal uterus. It is a precursor of the placenta.

  • trophogenic zone (ecology)

    inland water ecosystem: Population and community development and structure: …photosynthesis occurs, also called the trophogenic zone. In this zone the production of biochemical energy through photosynthesis is greater than its consumption through respiration and decomposition. Animals and decomposers are found in both the photic and aphotic zones. In the aphotic zone, also called the tropholytic zone, the consumption of…

  • trophy (ancient Greek memorial)

    trophy, (from Greek tropaion, from tropē, “rout”), in ancient Greece, memorial of victory set up on the field of battle at the spot where the enemy had been routed. It consisted of captured arms and standards hung upon a tree or stake in the semblance of a man and was inscribed with details of the

  • tropic bird (seabird)

    tropic bird, any member of three seabird species that constitute the family Phaethontidae (order Pelecaniformes or Phaethontiformes). Tropic birds are characterized by pairs of streaming central tail feathers, which may be as long as the bird’s body. Sailors call them marlin-spikes and bosun birds.

  • tropic hormone (endocrinology)

    hormone: Hormones of the pituitary gland: The action of such tropic hormones can be understood only in the light of the mode of function of the endocrine glands they regulate.

  • Tropic of Cancer (film by Strick [1970])

    Ellen Burstyn: …1970 she also starred in Tropic of Cancer, an adaptation of Henry Miller’s autobiographical novel in which she played Miller’s wife. She received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress for The Last Picture Show (1971), about life in a small Texas town. In The Exorcist (1973), Burstyn played…

  • Tropic of Cancer (novel by Miller)

    Tropic of Cancer, autobiographical novel by Henry Miller, published in France in 1934 and, because of censorship, not published in the United States until 1961. Written in the tradition of Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau, it relates Miller’s picaresque life as an impoverished expatriate in

  • Tropic of Cancer Monument (Chia-i, Taiwan)

    Chia-i: …(a forested vacation area), the Tropic of Cancer Monument, Wu-feng (Wufeng) Temple, and Mei-shan (Meishan) Park. Each leap year, a festival “temple meeting” is held at Chia-i city, which is connected by air to Taipei special municipality in the north and the P’eng-hu (Penghu) Islands in the west. Pu-tai (Budai)…

  • Tropic Thunder (film by Stiller [2008])

    Jack Black: Superstardom: …Portnoy in the action-comedy film Tropic Thunder. That same year Black voiced the role of the panda Po in the animated comedy film Kung Fu Panda, and he reprised the role in Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), and Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). He also…

  • tropical agriculture

    agricultural technology: Tropical farming: The area of the world bounded roughly on the north by the Tropic of Cancer and on the south by the Tropic of Capricorn, a vast land that embraces large parts of Latin America, Africa, India, Australia, and Southeast Asia, contains climates less…

  • tropical air mass (atmospheric science)

    air mass: The maritime Tropical (mT) is the most important moisture-bearing and rain-producing air mass throughout the year. In winter it moves poleward and is cooled by the ground surface. Consequently, it is characterized by fog or low stratus or stratocumulus clouds, with drizzle and poor visibility. A steep lapse…

  • tropical almond (plant)

    Terminalia: catappa, the Indian, or tropical, almond, is commonly cultivated for ornament, particularly along streets in the tropics.

  • tropical American false vampire bat (mammal)

    bat: General features: …spectrum), also known as the tropical American false vampire bat, with a wingspan of over 60 cm (24 inches). The tiny hog-nosed, or bumblebee, bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai) of Thailand is one of the smallest mammals. It has a wingspan of barely 15 cm (6 inches) and weighs about 2 grams…

  • tropical and subtropical desert climate

    tropical and subtropical desert climate, major climate type of the Köppen classification dominated in all months by the subtropical anticyclone (or subtropical high), with its descending air, elevated inversions, and clear skies. Such an atmospheric environment inhibits precipitation. Most of

  • tropical and subtropical steppe climate

    tropical and subtropical steppe climate, major climate type of the Köppen classification that occurs primarily on the periphery of the true deserts in low-latitude semiarid steppe regions. Such regions are denoted by the abbreviation BSh in the Köppen-Geiger-Pohl system. It is transitional to the

  • Tropical Baroque (play by Joaquin)

    Nick Joaquin: …Groovy Kids (1979), the play Tropical Baroque (1979), and the collections of poetry The Ballad of the Five Battles (1981) and Collected Verse (1987). Fifteen essays were published in the book Culture and History: Occasional Notes on the Process of Philippine Becoming (1988). Joaquin’s later works are mostly nonfiction, including…

  • Tropical Botanical Forest Park (national park, Taiwan)

    P’ing-tung: The Tropical Botanical Forest Park at Heng-ch’un covers an area of 100 acres (40 hectares) and has one of the largest experimental forests in Southeast Asia. A 126-square-mile (326-square-km) area in the Heng-ch’un (Hengchun) Peninsula was designated in 1982 as Taiwan’s first national park (K’enting National…

  • tropical boubou (bird)

    shrike: …with red-tinged underparts, is the tropical boubou (L. aethiopicus). Black above and bright red below are the black-headed, or Abyssinian, gonolek (L. erythrogaster) and the Barbary shrike (L. barbarus).

  • tropical bullet ant (insect)

    bullet ant, (Paraponera clavata), large predatory neotropical ant known for its extremely painful sting. The bullet ant is found in the humid lowland rainforests of Central and South America, ranging from El Salvador and Honduras to Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. The bullet ant’s sting is said to feel

  • Tropical continental air mass (meteorology)

    air mass: The continental Tropical (cT) air mass originates in arid or desert regions in the middle or lower latitudes, principally during the summer season. It is strongly heated in general, but its moisture content is so low that the intense dry convection normally fails to reach the condensation level.…

  • tropical cyclone (meteorology)

    tropical cyclone, an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain. Drawing energy from the sea surface and maintaining its strength as long as it remains over warm water, a weaker tropical cyclone (such

  • tropical cyclone intensity scale (meteorology)

    Several scales of tropical cyclone intensity have been developed, one of the first being the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, which was devised in the United States in the early 1970s. This scale—created by American engineer Herbert Saffir and American meteorologist Robert Simpson (director of

  • tropical deciduous forest (ecology)

    tropical dry forest, biome of any open woodland in tropical areas that have a long dry season followed by a season of heavy rainfall. Tropical dry forests are found between 10° and 25° latitude and are often found north and south of the world’s tropical rainforests. With a dry season that lasts six

  • tropical depression (meteorology)

    Indian monsoon: Peak period: Fully developed depressions appear once or twice per month. They travel from east to west more or less concurrently with high-level easterly waves and bursts of speed from the easterly jet, causing a local strengthening of the low-level monsoonal flow. The rainfall consequently increases and is much…

  • tropical disease

    tropical disease, any disease that is indigenous to tropical or subtropical areas of the world or that occurs principally in those areas. Examples of tropical diseases include malaria, cholera, Chagas disease, yellow fever, and dengue. Diseases of the tropics and subtropics have been known since

  • tropical dry forest (ecology)

    tropical dry forest, biome of any open woodland in tropical areas that have a long dry season followed by a season of heavy rainfall. Tropical dry forests are found between 10° and 25° latitude and are often found north and south of the world’s tropical rainforests. With a dry season that lasts six

  • tropical easterly jet stream (meteorology)

    jet stream: This tropical jet stream affects the formation and duration of Indian and African summer monsoons.

  • tropical fish (zoology)

    tropical fish, Any of various small fishes of tropical origin often kept in aquariums. They are interesting for their behaviour or showiness or both. Popular varieties include the angelfish, guppy, kissing gourami, sea horse, Siamese fighting fish, and

  • tropical food poisoning (pathology)

    algae: Toxicity: Ciguatera is a disease of humans caused by consumption of tropical fish that have fed on the alga Gambierdiscus or Ostreopsis. Unlike many other algal toxins, ciguatoxin and maitotoxin are concentrated in finfish rather than shellfish. Levels as low as one part per billion in…

  • tropical forest

    Status of the World’s Tropical Forests: As recently as the 19th century tropical forests covered approximately 20 percent of the dry land area on Earth. By the end of the 20th century this figure had dropped to less than 7 percent. The factors contributing to deforestation are numerous, complex, and often…

  • tropical fruit

    angiosperm: Significance to humans: Tropical fruits tend to be grown on evergreen plants and can survive temperatures only above freezing. Subtropical plants are either deciduous or tropical and are not as susceptible to temperatures slightly below freezing. Citrus (Rutaceae), avocados (Persea americana; Lauraceae), olives (Olea; Oleaceae),

  • Tropical Gothic (short stories by Joaquin)

    Nick Joaquin: …works included the short-story collections Tropical Gothic (1972) and Stories for Groovy Kids (1979), the play Tropical Baroque (1979), and the collections of poetry The Ballad of the Five Battles (1981) and Collected Verse (1987). Fifteen essays were published in the book Culture and History: Occasional Notes on the Process…

  • tropical grassland (geography)

    grassland: Origin: …classified into two broad categories: tropical grasslands, which generally lie between the belts of tropical forest and desert; and temperate grasslands, which generally lie between deserts and temperate forests. Tropical grasslands occur in the same regions as savannas, and the distinction between these two vegetation types is rather arbitrary, depending…