Animal Info - Glossary K

Kaingin: Philippine term for temporary agricultural plots cleared from the forest by native people. The soil of such plots is rapidly exhausted and new plots have to be cleared every few years.
Keratin: A group of fibrous proteins, usually containing large amounts of sulphur, which form the structural bases of hair, wool, nails, horns and other external structures in animals.
Kilohertz (kHz): One thousand Hertz (Hz).
Knoll: A small, round hill.
Krill: Small crustaceans which occur in huge numbers in polar seas, particularly off of Antarctica. They comprise the main prey of baleen whales. The term can be used generally to apply to all such food organisms, but it is frequently used to refer specifically to shrimp-like animals of the group Euphausiacae, especially the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba. This species is the most important food source for southern whales and other animals. It is about 2.5 cm (1") long, and has been observed in swarms as large as an estimated 2.5 million metric tons (2.8 million tons) (Bonner 1989).

Last modified: March 18, 2006;