Emma's Earth Explorations

  Like an angel flying though the blue The Spotted Eagle Ray :   Aetobatus narinari Description :  As one of the ocean's largest eagle rays, the Spotted Eagle Ray lives up to its namesake with its spotted 11 feet long, 500-pound body. White markings dot the Spotted Eagle Ray's dark blue & black diamond-shaped body and match the white ray's white underbelly. Like other stingray species, the Spotted Eagle Ray has several venomous spines, or stingers, located behind the pelvic fins near the tails. However, unlike other stingray species, the Spotted Eagle Ray has a long tail that almost matches its body length!  Habitat :  Spotted Eagle Rays are typically found in warm, shallow, and open waters, such as coastal waters. Clinging to regions near coral reefs and coastlines as these temperate waters are rich in benthic dwellers, a main part of this Eagle Ray's diet, these rays can be found from the western Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.   Diet :  P

  ' Below this unassuming surface is a trove of untold mysteries and rich history If the Arctic Ocean oozes magic and enchantment, then the Atlantic epitomizes mystery, its power not necessarily crowning its kingdom but hiding underneath the surface.  There are no glass shards glittering on the Atlantic. Only quiet blue-gray and teardrop white mingle together to fabricate a crushed charmeuse of shifting shadows and waves that lies upon an arcane world.  The Atlantic doesn't seem to stand out; it's not the largest or coldest ocean. And there doesn't seem to be anything out there; at least, not at the surface. Whereas the Arctic and Pacific are dotted with icebergs, fjords, islands, or volcanoes, the Atlantic is home to a stretch of blue that connects the Western and Eastern Hemispheres together.  As the second-largest ocean in the world, the Atlantic Ocean covers 25% of the Earth's surface. But w hat's the story under the Atlantic's own innocent surface? Thi

There's plenty of myths surrounding whales; these ancient and arcane creatures are only ever rarely - and briefly - seen. And so, like the humans we are, we fill in the gaps with our own creativity. That's not to say the resources on the web are inaccurate or false (thank you, OwlCation, Wikipedia, A-Z Animals, and my elementary school teachers for my relentless fact-checking skills). But it's interesting that we know so little about whales because they've existed for tens of millions of years. What we do know is generally based off of what we observe up here at the surface;  at depths of  hundreds and thousands  of meters  below our reach, the lives that whales lead are a mystery. Of course, that's part of why I included this series.  Move over lion king, whales are now  the modern-day gods of the animal kingdom. This post includes five myths on whales along with five facts that tell the real story under the surface.  1. Whales spout out seawater from their blowhol