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galagos – Also called bushbabies, galagos are found in forests of Africa. They are cat-sized (about 30 centimeters and 500 grams), furry with large eyes, ears and tails. They live in trees and eat almost anything, although they mainly eat insects.
gallery forests – Corridors of forests that form alongside rivers.
galliform – Birds such as pheasants, turkeys, grouse and curassows. They are mainly terrestrial, and heavily hunted.
geckos – Small, insectivorous, mainly nocturnal lizards. They have "adhesive" fingers and toes for climbing vertical surfaces and produce sounds such as chirping, squeaking or barking. There are more than 400 species of geckos found throughout the tropics and subtropics.
gemsbok – (Oryx gazella) A large (200 kilograms, 1.2 meters tall) gazelle of Africa. They are nomadic and live in large groups. Grazers, they are found in dry plains, desert and occasionally in savanna. They can survive without water by obtaining sufficient moisture from the plants they eat.
genera – (plural of genus) A group of organisms marked by common characteristics and evolutionary background; more precisely, it is the category of biological classification between Family and Species.
germinate – To sprout, or cause to sprout, from a seed.
gigantism – Animals or plants that are far greater in size than normal. For example, on some islands animals become huge, such as the moas of New Zealand, the dodo of Mauritius, the elephant birds of Madagascar, the marine iguanas of the Galapagos Islands or the Komodo Dragon of the Indonesian Komodo Island. It may be that the islands are free from predators and thus, the prey no longer need to be agile to escape predation, but gigantism may also result from abundant food or reduced competition.
gneiss – Metamorphic rock that forms when sedimentary or igneous rock is subjected to high temperatures and pressures. Granite often becomes gneiss rock.
goral – The three goral species (Nemorhaedus spp.) of eastern China are goat-like, halfway between true antelopes and true goats. They are more heavily built and have heavier, broader hooves than comparable sized antelopes (75 centimeters tall, 40 kilograms). Gorals live in dry, rocky and steep habitats, usually between 900-2,500 meters. Humans pose the greatest threat; gorals are now endangered because they are hunted for their warm fur, as food, and for their body parts, which are prized as medicine.
grassquit – (Family: Emberizidae) Small, brightly colored songbirds with conical bills found in Latin America. They are seed eaters, although they occasionally eat insects.
grebe – (Family: Podicipedidae) 20 species of duck- and loon-like diving birds found worldwide. They feed on fish and invertebrates and nest on floating platforms of vegetation.
grysbok – (Raphicerus melanotis) A small (50 centimeters tall, 10 kilograms) antelope that lives among the sand dunes in South Africa. A grazer, it is solitary and territorial.
guan – (Family: Cracidae) 41 species of large, pheasant-like birds found in Latin America and the southern USA. They often have ornate knobs and wattles and many have crests. They live in trees, feeding on fruit and leaves.
guanaco – (Lama guanicoe) A large (150 centimeters tall, 150 kilograms) relative of the llama that lives in the Andes of South America. Guanacos are not domesticated.
guenon – (Cercopithecus spp.) A genus of small-sized monkeys found in Africa. They live in trees and eat invertebrates, plant parts and fruit. Many guenons are threatened or endangered due to habitat destruction, hunting and a restricted geographical distribution. Guenon comes from the French word, meaning fright, because they grimace and expose teeth when they are excited or angry.
gymnosperms – Unlike angiosperms, gymnosperms have "naked" seeds, commonly in a pinecone. The five orders of gymnosperms are: conifers, yews, cycads, ginkos and gnetales (an intermediate order between gymnosperms and angiosperms).