ptiloris

[Prefix ptilo-, and Gr. rhis =the nose.] Ornithology: Rifle-bird (q. v.); a genus of Epimachine, with four species, from New Guinea and Australia. Bi'l longer than the head, slightly curved; nostrils partly hidden by frontal feathers; wings moderate, concave, rounded; tail rounded, of twelve feathers. Tarsi moderate, covered by a single scale; toes slender, claws much curved. ptin-i-dæ, s. pl. [Mod. Lat. ptin ( us ); Lat. fem. pl. adj. suff. -idœ.] Entom .: An aberrant family of Mala coder mat a(?). Antenne generally long and filiform; body convex, oval, or rounded. Larve destructive to furniture, IMG:content-1701.png:[blocks in formation] females wingle . They inhabit garrets, ., and the larvæ feed on dried plants, prepared skins, . pti-san, *pty-sane, s . [French ptisanne ; Lat ptisan a ; Gr. ptisane peeled barley, barley-water pti oto peel, to husk; Sp. & Ital. tisana .. 1. Ord. Lang.: A decoction of barley with other ingredients. 2. Med.: A weak drink, containing little or no medicinal agent; a tisane. Ptol-e-mā-ic, a . [See def.] Pertaining to any of the numerous Ptolemies of antiquity, and specially to the astronomer who flourished at Alexandria in the second century, A. D. IMG:content-1702.png:[blocks in formation] Ornith.: "An enumeration and detailed descripcomplicated movements of the planets, a contrivtion of the feathered regions of the bodies of ance was devised by which each planet revolved in birds." The study of the pterylosis of birds was a circle, while the center of that circle described begun systematically by Nitzsch in his academical another circle round the earth, for the ancient thesis, Pterylographicæ Avium pars prior , published physicists refused to admit that any movement at Halle, 1833-4, elaborated by him, and published after his death, in 1840. pter-ý-lō-sis, pti-lō-sis, s . [PTERYLE.] Ornith.: The arrangement of the feather-tracts in any family, genus, or species, considered as a whole. Nitzsch enriched his Pterylographie with numerous figures of pterylosis, and was of the opinion that they furnished "equally significant and important characters for the certain and natural discrimination of the families of birds." "The pterylosis of this cuckoo is not widely different from that of Cuculus." Proc. Zool. Soc., 1885, р. 175. ptil-i-dæ, s. pl. [Mod. Lat. ptil ( idium ); Latin fem. pl. adj. suff. -idæ .] Bot.: A family of Jungermann ese. except in a circle could be perfect. The Ptolemaic system prevailed till Copernicus propounded what is now accepted as the true system of the universe, and Prof. Ball ( Story of the Heavens , p. 6) says of the old theory that" though so widely divergent from what is now known to be the truth, it did really present a fairly accurate account of the movement of the planets." [EPICYCLE, DEFERENT, COPERNICAN SYSTEM.] Ptol-e-mā-ist, s . [PTOLEMAIC.] A believer in or supporter of the Ptolemaic system of astronomy. ptō-ma-ine, s. [ Gr.ptoma =a dead body.] Organic Chem.: A putrescent product of animal origin and of a basic or alkaloidal nature, closely allied to the vegetable alkaloids; a cadaveric poison. About 50 varieties of ptomaines are known,