With the June 2011 update to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English language officially added words for strange creatures too small to be seen without a microscope, and amazing rock sculptures too large to be seen without a telescope. Focus your attention on these new words, and travel the world in your imagination!

babaco (BAH-BAH-koh)
An Ecuadoran fruit related to the papaya, often sold for its juice. Though the plant originated in South America, babaco is grown in Australia, Italy, California, and other locations with a warm climate.

babakoto (buh-buh-KOHT)
This is another Malagasy name for the indri, a large lemur native to Madagascar, an island off the coast of Africa. The babakoto is one of the largest lemur species on the island, but like all other lemurs – which are only found on this island – it is endangered.

geoglyph (GEE-oh-gliff)
From the Greek words for “earth” and “picture” we get this word for a large design created by placing rocks on the ground or by removing the top layer of the soil to reveal rock of a different color. Although we know of many geoglyphs that were created tens of thousands of years ago, the OED only officially added this word to the English language in June. Some of the most famous geoglyphs are the Nasca lines found in Peru and White Horse Hill in Oxfordshire, England (both made by scraping lines in the top layer of earth to let the lighter colored soil appear). These shapes are so large that they can usually only be fully seen from the air. The installation known as “Spiral Jetty” by the artist Robert Smithson is an example of a modern geoglyph, having been built in 1970 in the state of Utah.

sarcodine (SAR-koh-deen)
A protozoan, or a small one- or many-celled organism, often generally referred to as amoeba. These tiny creatures use pseudopods (from the Greek words meaning “false” and “foot”) to move around and to absorb their food.

What unusual words from the natural world have caught your attention lately?