Rorqual: The largest group of baleen whales, including the blue and fin whales.
Rostrum: The crocodile-like muzzle of a pliosaur.
Runabout: A small boat, often used in the service of a larger vessel.
Rusticle: Icicle-like formations of rust that form on the edges of shipwrecks as saltwater acts upon the wrought iron in their hulls.
Saepia inferni: Literal translation: “Cuttlefish from Hell.” Binomial nomenclature for a Cretaceous species of heavy-bodied squid that inhabited Diablo Caldera. Inferni are very aggressive. They can grow to thirty feet in length and weigh several tons.
Salmonid: One of a family of ray-fined fish, collectively known as Salmonidae. The family includes salmon, trout, char, whitefish and graylings.
Saurian War: Formally entitled a “suppression exercise” – an ongoing attempt by the nations of the world’s militaries to exterminate aggressive pliosaurs (Kronosaurus imperators).
Sauropterygians: An extinct group of marine reptiles including plesiosaurs and pliosaurs.
Schooner: A sailing vessel characterized by fore and aft sails on two or more masts.
Sclerotic Ring: A ring of small bones encircling the eye that support it. Tiny muscles connect to the sclerotic ring and aid in focusing by helping the eye to compress inward. Found in many prehistoric marine reptiles, including mosasaurs and ichthyosaurs.
Sea Crusade: A fictional animal rights/conservation group, specializing in protecting the oceans and marine life.
Shastasaurus sikanniensis: An extinct species of Triassic Ichthyosaur similar to Shonisaurus and one of the largest marine reptiles of all time. Adults were estimated to reach 70 feet in length.
Shoal: A group of fish that stay together for social reasons.
Singulare Monstrum: Individual (unique) monster.
Slip: A reserved docking space for a boat, similar to a rented parking spot.
Sloop: A sailboat with a fore and aft rig and a single mast.
SODOME: Sonar Dome (military designate).
SOP: Acronym for Standard Operating Procedure.
Sound: Also known as a seaway, a sound is a large inlet between two bodies of land.
Spasiba: Russian for thank you.
Starboard: Direction-wise, turning a boat or ship to the right. Also, a term for the right side of a boat or ship.
Stern: The rear portion of a boat or ship.
Sub-Aqueous: Beneath the surface of the water.
Supercavitating: A moving submarine object that generates a bubble of gas in its wake to eliminate water friction/resistance and increase speed. Supercavitating ammunition and torpedoes travel many times faster than their non-cavitating counterparts.
Surtr: A fire giant from Norse mythology. During the battle of Ragnarok his flaming sword sets the Earth ablaze.
SVALINN: A submarine-based, active sonar suppression system that targets incoming sonar with out-of-phase emissions. SVALINN can effectively cancel enemy pinging if the sonar is not too powerful or sophisticated. A ship cloaked with SVALINN becomes all but invisible as long as it remains motionless. Moving toward or away from active pinging would still register in an enemy’s sonar’s signal processors, giving away the sub’s position.
Swells: Ocean surface waves moving in long-wave formation.
Temporal Openings/Temporal Fenestrae: Bilaterally symmetrical holes in the temporal bone of the skull through which the mandibular (jaw) muscles travel and attach to the mandible (jaw bone). The connection point at the mandible is called the Mandibular Fenestrae. Some animals (including most reptiles) have two pairs of Temporal Fenestrae, the upper (Supratemporal Fenestrae) and lower (Infratemporal Fenestrae)
Thalassophonean: Literally translated as “Sea Slayer,” a group of macropredatory pliosaurs including Liopleurodon, Pliosaurus and Kronosaurus.
Thanatos: In Greek mythology, the demonic personification of death.
Thermocline: A distinctive layer in a body of water where temperature changes more rapidly than in the layers above and below it. Thermoclines can be either permanent or transitory, depending on prevailing climate conditions. They separate surface water from the calmer, often colder, deep water below.
Thermoplastic: A polymer that becomes moldable when heated to a certain temperature and solidifies upon being cooled.
Tiamat: A sea goddess from Babylonian, Assyrian, and Sumerian mythology, known as “The Glistening One.” Although feminine and a creator goddess, Tiamat appears as a monstrous dragon or sea serpent and is considered the embodiment of primordial chaos.
Titanoboa: An enormous constrictor snake that lived during the Paleocene, 60-58mya. The snake was estimated to reach around 50 feet in length.
Transom: The flat, back panel that comprises the stern of a boat or ship. Outboard motors are affixed directly to the transom.
Triassic: A geological time period ranging from approximately 250 to 200 million years ago.
Typhon: In Greek mythology, the titanic son of Tartarus and Earth and the most fearsome of all monsters. Typhon was a deadly enemy of the gods of Olympus and fathered many horrifying creatures, including Cerberus, the Chimera, and the multi-headed Hydra.
Vermitus gigas: Binomial nomenclature for the giant parasitic worms found in the digestive tracts of extant pliosauridae. In appearance, Vermitus look like a mixture between a sandworm and a lamprey. The worms typically grow to 20 feet, but if able to penetrate the host’s abdominal wall can continue to grow, reaching colossal size and eventually killing the host animal.
Watch Commander: Nautical term for a shift supervisor on a marine vessel.
Water Column: A theoretical column of water that ranges from the ocean’s surface, all the way to the seafloor. The water column consists of thermal or chemically stratified layers, the mixing of which is brought on by wind and current.
Waterfront: A group of manmade structures designed to handle boats and ships.
Whale Killer: Also known as a Whale Catcher, a high-speed surface ship designed to hunt and kill whales, then hand the carcasses over to a larger Factory Ship for processing. Whale killers typically use grenade-tipped harpoon cannons to disable and kill their prey.
Wharf: A structure built along the shore of a harbor where boats and ships may dock while loading or unloading passengers or cargo.
Windward Passage: A strait in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Hispaniola. The passage is 50 miles wide and averages 5,600 feet in depth.
Zodiac: A rubber inflatable boat, equipped with an outboard motor. Used as a dinghy or runabout.
Zooplankton: Drifting clouds of marine and freshwater organisms that range in size. Some are microscopic. Some, such as copepods and jellyfish, are visible to the naked eye.
Zoosexual: A human being who engages in Bestiality, i.e. sex with non-human animals.
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