Definitions by Nordicdragon

Spy-hopping 

The behavior that great white sharks often use. It involves a shark popping its head above the water line to see what's going on.

Great white sharks are one of the few species of shark to do spy-hopping.

Spy-hopping by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018

Megamouth Shark 

A species of shark that was discovered in 1976 when a U.S. naval ship caught one on its anchor. Scientists dubbed it megamouth, for obvious reasons. Since then, the shark has been proven to be extremely elusive. Only 100 specimens of them have so far been found, but every one that can be examined reveals new information about these strange sharks.

Megamouth sharks can grow up to be 18 ft. (5.5 cm) long. To fuel such a huge body, it needs a lot of food, but, surprisingly l, this big fish is not a big game Hunter. It's a filter feeder and most of its diet consists of tiny, planktonic animals, which it strains from the water.

Megamouth Shark by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018

Emu

A giant, flightless bird native to Austrailia. European explorers first spotted the emu in 1696. Since then, they have become one of Australia's most famous species-and the continent's unofficial emblem. But don't underestimate the emu just because it looks like a comically overgrown turkey. It is a big bird and can grow as tall as 6.2 ft (1.9 m) and weigh around 110 ib. (50 kg). It is also powerful, exceptionally fast, and amazingly adaptable. While many of Australia's other flightless birds are struggling to cope with the modern world, the emu has survived and thrived.

1932 was the year of the Great Emu War. The Australian government sent troops into the outback to cull the rising numbers of emus because they were destroying farmers' crops.

Emu by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018

Monotreme 

A type of mammal that lays eggs instead of giving birth to live young.

The platypus and the echidna are the only known monotremes that exist in the world.

Monotreme by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018

Platypus

A monotreme found that's found in eastern Australia and Tasmania. When the skin of a young platypus was sent to Britain for examination in 1798, scientists thought it was a fake. The zoologist George Shaw (1751-1813), who worked at the British museum, even checked it for stitches, believing that it had been sewn together from parts of other animals (you can still see the scissor marks that he made on the pelt today). However, these creatures have been proven to be real. With a beaver-like tail, duckbill, flippers, and spiky fur, these must surely win the award for being one of Australia's strangest creatures.

The platypus is one of the world's few poisonous mammals. When trouble strikes, it squirts venom out through a hollow spur on its ankle (only males carry poison and they're more likely to use it on other males during the breeding season than on people).

Platypus by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018

Speculative Fiction

A genre of fiction that encompasses works with supernatural or futuristic elements.

The most notable genres of speculative fiction include fantasy, science fiction, horror, utopian, dystopian, alternate history, apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, superhero and supernatural

The word "speculative fiction" was coined by American sci-fi author Robert A. Heinlein

Speculative Fiction by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018