Nonfiction: Nabokov Theory on Butterfly Evolution Is Vindicated

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  1. lepidopterist
    an entomologist who specializes in the collection and study of butterflies and moths
    Few professional lepidopterists took these ideas seriously during Nabokov’s lifetime.
  2. taxonomist
    a biologist specializing in the classification of organisms
    Allowing himself a few literary flourishes, Nabokov invited his readers to imagine “a modern taxonomist straddling a Wellsian time machine.”
  3. taxonomic
    of or relating to taxonomy
    Nabokov’s taxonomic horseshoes turn out to belong in Nome after all.
  4. lepidopteran
    insect that in the adult state has four wings more or less covered with tiny scales
    He was the curator of lepidoptera at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, and he collected the insects across the United States.
  5. genitalia
    external sex organ
    He developed forward-thinking ways to classifying the butterflies, based on differences in their genitalia.
  6. lineage
    the kinship relation between an individual and progenitors
    Dr. Pierce and her colleagues found that the first lineage of Polyommatus blues that made the journey could survive a temperature range that matched the Bering climate of 10 million years ago.
Created on Wed Feb 02 13:39:15 EST 2011

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