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Rainforest Glossary

GASTROLITHS Gastroliths are stones that some animals swallow and use to help grind up tough plant matter in their digestive system. They're also called gizzard rocks.

GECKO Geckos are the only lizards that make noise. Some geckos live in rainforests.

GEOLOGY Geology is the study of the Earth's structure, including rocks.

GEOLOGIST A geologist is a scientist who studies geology.

GIBBON Gibbons are rare, small, slender, long-armed, tree-dwelling apes from Asia. The largest gibbons are called siamangs; they are darker and louder than other gibbons.

GIGANTOTHERMY Gigantothermy is the maintenance of a constant, relatively high body temperature by having a large body and insulation. Large animals have a relatively low surface area: volume ratio, so they retain heat better than smaller animals.

GINGKO Gingko (maidenhair tree) is a primitive seed-bearing tree (a gymnosperm) that was common during the Mesozoic Era, but has only one existing species now. This conifer has fan-shaped leaves divided into two lobes.

GIRDLE The girdle is a silken thread that a caterpillar wraps around its body as a support, attaching the larva to a twig or leaf as it is about to enter the pupa stage.

GIZZARD ROCKS Gizzard rocks are stones that some animals swallow and use to help grind up tough plant matter in their digestive system. They're also called gastroliths.

GOLDEN LION TAMARIN A small, golden-haired arboreal tamarin from rainforests in Brazil.

GOLIATH BIRDWING BUTTERFLY The Goliath Birdwing (Ornithoptera goliath) is the second-largest butterfly in the world. This brightly-colored butterfly is poisonous and has a wingspan up to 11 inches (28 cm) wide. It has black, yellow and green wings and a yellow and black body. This butterfly in found in tropical forests in Indonesia. Family Papilionidae

GORILLA Gorillas are large primates from Africa. They are endangered.

GRAY PARROT The African Gray Parrot is an intelligent, talkative bird from rainforests in Western and Central Africa.

GRASSLAND A grassland is a grassy, windy, partly-dry biome, a sea of grass. Almost one-fourth of the Earth's land area is grassland. In many areas, grasslands separate forests from deserts. Deep-rooted grasses dominate the flora in a grassland; there are very few trees and shrubs in a grassland, less than one tree per acre. There are many different words for grassland environments around the world, including savannas, pampas, campos, plains, steppes, prairies and veldts.

GREATER APES The great apes (family PONGIDAE) include the gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans.

GREENHOUSE EFFECT The greenhouse effect is an increase in the temperature of a planet as heat energy from sunlight is trapped in the atmosphere. Excess carbon dioxide and water vapor increase this effect. The greenhouse effect is strong on Earth, maintaining (and possible exacerbating) warm temperatures.

GREEN IGUANA Plant-eating lizards from South American rainforests.

GYMNOSPERM Gymnosperms are seed-bearing plants that that don't produce flowers. They release pollen into the air to the female ovule, causing fertilization. Their seeds develop without a protective covering. The earliest gymnosperms were seed ferns from the Devonian period (408-360 million years ago). Conifers (like pines, redwoods, and gingkos), and cycads are gymnosperms.

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