| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| Batesian mimicry (bāt'sē-ən) Pronunciation Key
A form of protective mimicry in which an unprotected species (the mimic) closely resembles an unpalatable or harmful species (the model), and therefore is similarly avoided by predators. The close resemblance between certain harmless flies and stinging bees, and the similarity between the colored stripes of the nonpoisonous king snake and those of the highly venomous coral snake, are examples of Batesian mimicry. Batesian mimicry is named after the British naturalist Henry Walter Bates (1825-92). Compare aggressive mimicry, Müllerian mimicry. |