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I'm very much a fan of allowing PCs to make Nature/History/so on checks to learn not only the stats of things they're facing, but also convey the lore regarding the thing in question, it's a good way to make a thing seem more than just a stat block. And it makes sense, they've lived their lives in their world, they're bound to have heard stuff here and there and throughout their travels.

But what about when they're shunted into Athas? Seeing a Mekillot for the first time, a Belgoi? Hear the name "Gulg"? It's an entirely foreign world my PCs will have never even heard of. And with how I feel about checks = lore as a fantastic way to slowly convey setting info, I'm at a bit of a conundrum on how to approach this.

What I'm contemplating on doing is say they hear of or see the name/creature in question. If it's a creature, I'd allow them to make the check to find out stats, roles, and so on, something they might be able to judge based on what they can see (IE "Watch out! It looks like it can pull you closer and hold you in place with those hook claws"), but not get any fluff on the creature. When back in town, they can then make a lore check after succeeding an average DC Streetwise check. (IE, find someone who may know about it, describe it, then make the lore check and see what you've learned about what you faced). Alternatively, they could describe the creature to any basic traveler or peoples out in the wild and make a check then as well. 

What would you do about lore/fluff checks in a world where they have no past knowledge to draw on?