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Rainforest Glossary

OAK TIGER BUTTERFLY The oak tiger butterfly, also called the banded orange butterfly (Dryadula phaetusa) is an orange and black butterfly found from Northern Mexico to Brazil. The undersides of the wings have brown and tan stripes. Classification: Family Nymphalidae, Genus Dryadula, Species D. phaetusa.

OBTECT PUPA An obtect pupa is a pupa whose legs are held closely to the body and are unable to move. A butterfly chrysalis is an obtect pupa.

OCELLUM (plural ocelli) Ocelli (also called stemma, pl. stemmata) are small, simple eyes that insects have. They are composed of photoreceptors (light-sensitive cells) and pigments. Ocelli are usually located on the larva's head or between an adult insect's two compound eyes. Moths have a pair of ocelli.

OCELOT Ocelots are wild cats from the Americas.

OKAPI The Okapi is a nocturnal, giraffe-like mammal from African rainforests.

OMMATIDIUM (plural omnitidia) The ommatidia are the parts of an insect's compound eye which receive light from a small part of the insect's field of vision. Each ommatidium is a cylindrical unit composed of a hexagonal lens-cornea and crystalline cone (which receive the light and focus it) plus a rhabdome (which is stimulated by light and sends signals to the optic nerve to the brain).

OMNIVORE Omnivores are animals that eat both animals and plants. Some monivores include people, many monkeys and marmosets, lion tamarins, chimpanzees, and most bears.

OPOSSUM Opossums are marsupial mammals with a long, pointed snout, whiskers on the face, and a long, pointed tail with a scaly texture. They are nocturnal (most active at night) and are omnivores (they eat both plants and meat). The young are born in a very immature state; babies live in the female's fur-lined pouch until they are relatively mature. Some opossums live in South and Central American rainforests. Only one opossum, the Virginia opossum, lives in North America.

ORANGUTAN Orangutans are large, tree-dwelling apes.

ORBIT The orbit is the hole in the skull for the eye.

ORDER In classification, an order is a group of related or similar organisms. An order contains one or more families. A group of similar orders forms a class.

OROPENDOLA, CRESTED The crested oropendola is a tropical black bird that builds long, pendulous nests.

ORNATE WOOD TURTLE The ornate wood turtle (Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima manni) is a brightly-colored brown, yellow, and brick-red turtle that eats insects and worms. It lives on the rain forest floor and often buries itself in the soil and leaf litter.

OUTCROPPING An outcropping is a place where the bedrock (the underlying rock) is exposed on the Earth's surface.

OVIPAROUS Oviparous animals hatch from eggs. Insects and reptiles are oviparous. Butterflies usually lay their eggs on leaves.

OWL Owls are nocturnal birds with large eyes and very good eyesight. Some owls live in rainforests.

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