In defining the Pipidae Family, of which the Surinam Toad is a member, we said, "Its members have the presence of an epipubis cartilage, an unpaired epipubic muscle, absence of a quadratojugal, free ribs in the larvae, a fused articulation between the coccyx and sacrum, a short, stocky scapula, elongate septomaxillary bones, ossified pubis, a single, median palatal opening of the eustachian tube, lateral line organs in the adults, and the absence of a tongue."

1. Define as many of the bold terms as you can. You may use a dictionary or other reference source.

2. If you cannot find the definition of a term, try to split the term into parts and see if you can deduce the meaning of the term.

3. If you still do not know what a term means, try using different sources to find the meanings. If, after a fair effort, you still don't know what a term means, describe the kind of reference book you think you would need to find the definition of the term.

4. For any term you have not found, write a search phrase to quickly find the definition of the term on the Internet. If you have access to the Internet, type your phrase into a search engine and evaluate the effectiveness of your search. If you did not find what you were looking for, explain why that might be and what could be done to improve the likelihood of a successful search.

5. After you have defined as many terms as you can, rewrite the quote in simple English.

6. Compare the original quote to your version. Why do you think scientists talk the way they do? What are the advantages of using specialized terms? What are the disadvantages?

Exercise 7 - Creating a Dichotomous Key

A dichotomous key is a series of yes/no questions that state the rules for placing items into categories within a system of classification. Refer to your text for more information or see an excellent example at http://www.orst.edu/instruct/for241/. Also, the web page at http://www.mdsg.umd.edu/Education/key/index.htm does a good job of explaining a dichotomous key.

1. Using either the classification system you created in Exercise 1, above, or the Shapes Kingdom Mind Map on page 10, below, create a dichotomous key for all the members of one of the larger "phyla." On the mind map, the phyla are the first level after "Straights" or "Curves."