Stories: Not region-specific — Page 2

Stories connected to Not region-specific.

The aardwolf’s tongue does more work than a huntThe African aardwolf belongs to the hyena family but mainly eats termites rather than hunting large prey. It…
Box-beds enclose the sleeping spaceA box-bed surrounds a sleeping place with a wooden enclosure, sometimes closed by a door or curtain. Such bed…
Aardvark teeth have an unusual internal structureAn aardvark tooth consists of numerous thin tubes held together by cementum, each with an internal canal. The…
A fennec’s ears serve more than hearingThe fennec fox lives in North African desert regions. Its large ears help detect prey, but they also dissipat…
Mechanical banks animate the act of savingMechanical banks developed in the mid-nineteenth century. Putting in a coin or operating a lever can set figu…
Galagos mark their pathways with urineGalagos are small African primates that leave urine scent along routes they use through branches. A pathway i…
Young Issus synchronise their jumping legs mechanicallyNymphs of Issus coleoptratus have intermeshing gear-like teeth at the bases of their hind legs. They keep the…
Treehoppers expand their pronotum into unusual formsTreehoppers can have ornate projections resembling plant thorns or other organisms. These develop from the pr…
Male orchid bees store volatile compounds in their legsMale orchid bees collect volatile compounds from orchids and other sources. Special leg structures transfer t…
Mole crickets shape an acoustic chamberMale mole crickets sing underground. In species such as Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, a specially shaped burrow ac…
An ant that hangs up as a food supplySome honeypot ants become living food stores. These workers develop enormously swollen abdomens and hang from…
A puppet, and a person treated like oneQuockerwodger names a jointed toy moved by pulling a string. Figuratively, it can describe a person controlle…
A snail with iron minerals on the outsideScaly-foot gastropods live around Indian Ocean hydrothermal vents. Some populations incorporate iron sulphide…
That fluffy ant is actually a waspVelvet ants are wasps in the family Mutillidae. Their hairy, wingless females walk around looking remarkably…
A tiny worm with a very memorable nicknameChaetopterus pugaporcinus has a rounded, swollen middle. Its appearance earned it nicknames including pigbutt…
A long name for a stomach rumbleBorborygmus names a rumbling sound caused by gas moving in the intestines. Its Greek ancestor is itself onoma…
The case can identify the caterpillarBagworm larvae combine silk with local materials such as plant fragments or sand. They extend their front end…
An opinion beyond the speaker’s expertiseUltracrepidarian describes someone offering judgments beyond their knowledge or expertise. It is uncommon and…
Looking dirty can be camouflageSome assassin bug nymphs cover themselves with dust or debris. Reduvius personatus is known as the masked hun…
A comic sound with an insulting meaningNincompoop means a foolish or silly person. Its unusual sound does not make it a compliment. Several origins…
These spiders stretch a net onto their preyNet-casting spiders hold a web between their front legs. They stretch it and move forward to entangle prey. T…
A chatterer, and an old word for an impFlibbertigibbet can describe a flighty, chattering person. An archaic sense refers to an imp or fiend. A rest…
A crab can redecorate after movingDecorator crabs attach material such as seaweed to their bodies. In a reported observation, great spider crab…
Its seeds leave with a burst of liquidWhen an Ecballium fruit ripens and separates from its stalk, internal pressure ejects liquid and seeds. Its c…
The bursting fruit sends seeds out with backspinRipe sandbox tree fruit splits explosively and scatters its seeds. High-speed recording has shown the seeds l…
No photosynthesis, but not a mushroomMonotropa uniflora, known as ghost pipe, is a pale flowering plant without chlorophyll. It obtains nutrients…
A made-up word for being acceptableCromulent means acceptable or satisfactory, with a humorous flavour. It was coined for a 1996 episode of The…
A humorous word for running out of readingAbibliophobia names a fear of running out of things to read. The dictionary labels it humorous. It is about l…
Old parchment, still-unread writingThe Voynich manuscript combines illustrations with writing that lacks an established decipherment. Its parchm…
That disturbance can be a kerfuffleKerfuffle is an informal word for a disturbance or disorderly commotion, used chiefly in Commonwealth English…
The rooms form before the ants move inMyrmecodia plants naturally form cavities in swollen stems, including when ants cannot reach them. Ants occup…
Enjoyment of someone else’s misfortune has a nameEnglish borrowed schadenfreude from German. It describes malicious enjoyment of another person’s misfortune,…
Wanting something, but making no move toward itVelleity can mean a slight wish unaccompanied by effort to obtain it. It distinguishes weak wanting from a re…
The glowing sea tube is a crowd of animalsA pyrosome’s gelatinous tube is a colony of tiny tunicates, typically just millimetres long. Each filters sea…
Skedaddle means to leave in a hurrySkedaddle is an informal verb for moving or running away quickly. The lively sound accompanies a rapid depart…
The little mantis lookalike is not a mantisMantisflies have prey-catching forelegs resembling those of praying mantises. They belong to Neuroptera, the…
Callipygian describes beautifully shaped buttocksThe English adjective callipygian describes beautifully shaped buttocks. Its Greek roots refer to beauty and…
Misprision has more than one route to its meaningsEnglish misprision can mean misunderstanding or misinterpretation. It can also mean contempt or failure to re…
Clinomania names an excessive wish to remain in bedThe English noun clinomania describes an excessive desire to remain in bed. The definition concerns wanting t…
Entering a country’s waters did not count as visiting itGraham Hughes travelled to every country using public surface transport. Under the record’s rules, entering t…
Eight legs do not mean eight walking legsAmblypygids are arachnids distinct from true spiders. Their elongated first pair of legs serves as sensory fe…
A camel spider may be following your shadowSolifuges are arachnids distinct from true spiders and scorpions. Stories describe them pursuing people, but…
Cacoethes can name a compulsion or maniaThe English noun cacoethes means a compulsion or mania. It gives an unfamiliar name to an overpowering urge o…
A Toba Aquarium isopod became famous for refusing foodGiant isopods are adapted to food scarcity in the deep sea. A captive animal known as No. 1 at Japan’s Toba A…
Serein names light rain from a clear sky after sunsetThe English noun serein refers to light rainfall from a cloudless sky after sunset. The dictionary lists it a…
Phronima turns another animal into a moving home for its youngFemale Phronima amphipods hollow out gelatinous salps and lay eggs inside the remaining barrel. They propel i…
Hairlike structures on this marine worm show shifting coloursAphrodita aculeata, called the sea mouse, is a polychaete worm of the North Atlantic and nearby seas. Its hai…
Snickersnee is an old word for a swordlike knifeThe dated English noun snickersnee refers to a large, swordlike knife, particularly one used as a weapon. An…
River ice can turn like an enormous round recordIn January 2019, an ice disc roughly 91 metres wide appeared on a river in Westbrook, Maine. Slowly rotating…
An amanuensis takes dictation or copies manuscriptsAn amanuensis is a person employed to take dictation or copy manuscripts. The English word can also refer to…
Afflatus links inspiration with the idea of breathingAfflatus names a sudden creative impulse or inspiration, often associated with divine influence. The English…
Gobemouche describes a gullible person, with a fly in its ancestryIn English, a gobemouche is a naive or gullible person. The word was borrowed from French, with elements conn…
Apanthropy names a dislike of company and a love of solitudeApanthropy is an English noun for disliking human company and loving solitude. It describes a preference for…
A tiny spider’s abdomen can look like a spiny shieldGasteracantha cancriformis is an orb-weaving spider found in the Americas. Females have broad abdomens with s…
An unopened chute and a snowy slopeIn January 1942, Soviet airman Ivan Chisov bailed out of an attacked bomber. He lost consciousness before ope…
A name for learning laterThe rare noun opsimath describes someone who learns late in life. Its roots lead to Ancient Greek words conne…
Those ears belong to an octopusGrimpoteuthis octopuses are nicknamed dumbo octopuses. The conspicuous pair of flaps above their eyes are fin…
The sea angel is a predatorClione limacina swims through cold Arctic and North Atlantic waters with winglike appendages. Adults mainly h…
Breakfast, dressed in a grand adjectiveJentacular means relating to breakfast, particularly an early meal just after rising. It derives from a Latin…
A second pair of eyes on the wingsThe spiny flower mantis, Pseudocreobotra wahlbergi, comes from southern and eastern Africa. Adults may have g…
A crab with living pom-pomsLybia tessellata is a small crab from the tropical Indo-Pacific. It carries a sea anemone in each claw, earni…
A word for the winding routeAnfractuous is a rare adjective meaning winding or twisty. It can describe a literal shape or work figurative…
One squid, two very different eyesHistioteuthis heteropsis, the strawberry squid, starts life with similar eyes. Its left eye grows larger. Obs…
A crustacean inside a sea starDendrogaster is a genus of crustaceans that parasitise the internal body cavity of sea stars. Members occur a…
A name for the unexpected rescueEucatastrophe is a term coined by J. R. R. Tolkien for a dramatic turn in a story that brings the protagonist…
A skull shaped like a boomerangDiplocaulus was an amphibian genus that lived from the Late Carboniferous into the Permian. Its skull extende…
A long adjective for the day before yesterdayNudiustertian means relating to the day before yesterday, or very recent. Wiktionary marks it as rare and obs…
A balloon-like sac from a nostrilAdult male hooded seals have an inflatable bladder on the head and can also inflate a balloon-like membrane f…
A frog with a see-through bellySome members of the glass-frog family have transparent or translucent abdominal skin. Internal organs, includ…
The place an animal cannot scratchAcnestis is a zoological term for a patch of an animal’s skin that it cannot reach to scratch, usually betwee…
A rare word about raritySelcouth can mean strange, unfamiliar, marvellous or wondrous. Now rare, it comes from Old English elements a…
A sea cucumber with a jellyfish-like veilPelagothuria natatrix is a sea cucumber with an umbrella-like swimming structure. Its translucent body has pa…
A grand-sounding name for empty braggingFanfaronade can mean empty, assertive boasting, or a loud and showy display or celebration. Borrowed from Fre…
Rainbow colours and emitted light are differentThe Arctic comb jelly Mertensia ovum shows rainbow colours when light interacts with its moving rows of cilia…
A commotion or a babbling streamBrabble has dated uses for making a clamorous noise or for a brawl or commotion. As a verb, it can also descr…
A lanternfly that does not glowFulgora laternaria lives in tropical forests of Mexico, Central America and South America. Its head has a pea…
A stomach rumble or a wobbling walkIn dialectal English, wamble can name a stomach rumble or an unsteady walk. As a verb it can mean to wobble o…
A flash may bring in a larger predatorThe deep-sea jellyfish Atolla wyvillei flashes when attacked. This display is thought to work like a burglar…
Someone who never laughs can be an agelastAgelast is a rare English noun for a person who never laughs, especially at jokes. It comes from a Greek term…
A quarrel over words can be logomachyLogomachy can mean a dispute about the meanings of words, or a conflict fought entirely with words.
Collywobbles can trouble the stomach or the nervesIn informal, chiefly humorous British English, the collywobbles can mean an upset stomach. By extension, it c…
A blue colony drifts with its own little sailVelella floats at the ocean surface with a small rigid sail that catches the wind. What looks like one blue a…
An argument can be an argle-bargleArgle-bargle is English slang for a verbal argument and can also be used as a verb meaning to argue. The expr…
Even scribal mistakes had a demon’s nameIn Christian tradition, Titivillus was said to collect scribes’ mistakes and words omitted during worship. He…
Those shining drops are sticky trapsSundews capture and digest insects with sticky secretions from glands on their leaves. The glistening drops r…
A little lie can have a rather long nameTarradiddle means a small fib, or silly talk and writing. It can also be spelled taradiddle. Its four-syllabl…
Silky ice strands can grow from rotting woodFine hairlike ice can form on damp decaying wood in humid conditions just below freezing. The strands are ice…
There is a word for the learned talker at dinnerA deipnosophist is skilled in conversation at the dinner table, especially learned conversation. The word doe…
One word covers a boastful person and a leaping gameCockalorum can mean a self-important person of little standing who makes empty boasts. A dictionary also reco…
Choosing side roads has its own English verbShunpike is a noun for a side road or route. As a verb, it means travelling by side roads to avoid toll roads…
A small sea animal builds a house over a metre acrossGiant larvaceans in the genus Bathochordaeus are around 3–10 centimetres long, but their mucus houses can exc…
An obsolete verb describes the appearance of workingFudgel is an English verb for giving the impression of working while getting nothing done. Wiktionary marks i…
A female octopus spreads a membrane when threatenedBlanket octopuses live in tropical and subtropical oceans. Adult females have long transparent webs between s…
An old slang word can mean a blow or a decisive argumentWiktionary marks sockdolager as dated American slang. It can describe a powerful or finishing blow, but also…
This mushroom grows its own lace-like skirtPhallus indusiatus develops a net-like structure hanging below its cap. Often called a skirt, the net can ext…
Following other ants can turn into an endless circleSome army ants separated from their main foraging group lose the pheromone trail and begin following one anot…
One word can name a nonsense-talker or the nonsense itselfBlatherskite can mean someone who talks freely but produces nonsense. Wiktionary also records a sense meaning…
Those barrel-like hoops are an animal’s musclesDoliolids are small marine animals with barrel-shaped bodies, openings at both ends and circular muscle bands…
A parasitic vine grows towards its host’s airborne chemicalsDodder vines attach to other plants to obtain water and nutrients. A study reported in 2006 found that seedli…
The location of this fossil’s tooth spiral was long debatedHelicoprion was a shark-like cartilaginous fish living roughly 290–270 million years ago. Its spiral tooth wh…
Bumf covers unwanted paperwork and an older toilet-paper senseEnglish bumf is a derogatory term for unwanted papers, including official documents, forms and marketing mate…
Antarctic icefish have colourless bloodCrocodile icefish inhabit seas around Antarctica. As adults they lack haemoglobin, the oxygen-binding protein…
Hornswoggle means to trick, though its origin is uncertainEnglish hornswoggle is a slang verb for deceiving or tricking someone. As a noun it can mean nonsense. Wiktio…
Ocean skaters use floating feathers as places for eggsSome Halobates sea skaters live on the open ocean’s surface. These wingless insects move with long legs rathe…
Pettifogger can mean a quibbler or an unscrupulous lawyerEnglish pettifogger describes someone who raises petty, irritating objections. It can also mean an unscrupulo…
Some aphid young already contain developing embryosDuring asexual live-bearing phases, an adult aphid can carry developing daughters that already contain embryo…
Whirligig beetles have divided compound eyesWhirligig beetles commonly swim in circles at the water’s surface. Each compound eye has upper and lower port…
Fizzle has an unexpected etymological connectionEnglish fizzle can mean to hiss or sputter, or to end less successfully than hoped. Wiktionary connects it wi…
Balderdash once also denoted a worthless mixtureEnglish balderdash means nonsensical speech or writing. Wiktionary also lists an archaic sense for a worthles…
An old meaning is far removed from idle rumoursEnglish gossip can refer to rumours or someone discussing other people’s private affairs. Wiktionary also rec…