Glossary

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valgus knee

the angulations of the femur such that the knees are closer together than the hip joints.

Vendian
a period in the Proterozoic era on the geologic time scale that approxmately dates from 610 million years ago to 570 million years ago.
ventral
a relative term used for quadrupedal animals (those that travel on four legs) to describe features that are closer to the belly or front of the body; opposite of dorsal. The term anterior is a synonym commonly used when referring to bipedal hominins. For the hand, palmar, and for the foot, plantar, are synonyms for ventral.
vertebrate
an animal with a vertebral column (i.e., backbone).
vertical clinging and leaping

a mode of locomotion in which an animal clings and/or leaps between vertical supports.

vestigial feature
a character inherited through many generations that has no function. For example, the human coccyx (i.e., tail bone) is the morphological remnants of a tail.
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