Animal Cousins Trivia Quiz

While this may be surprising, please remember that all birds are the living descendants of dinosaurs. The chicken, however, has been found to be the closest living ancestor of Tyrannosaurus rex. In the early 2000s a T-Rex fossil was found that still had enough soft tissue to allow for DNA testing. Before this, scientists had already suspected the connection between the two animals.

They both walk on two legs, and have scaly feet with claws. Both also have a big head at the end of an arched neck. Chickens had already had their genome sequenced, and scientists were able to confirm that chickens are the closest living kin to meat-eating dinosaurs.

Although jellyfish and coral look nothing alike, it must be remembered that they are both animals and are classified in the phylum Cnidaria. Animals in this group have no lungs, heart, or brain. Jellyfish and coral, however, have tentacles that work in much the same way to sting creatures that get too close to them.

In fact, coral will even use their tentacles to trap jellyfish that swim too close!

The extinct aurochs is believed to be the ancestor of today's cows. The animal lived in North Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and parts of Asia, and was probably first domesticated in the Middle East during the Neolithic Revolution. Although they were similar in appearance to modern cattle, they were much larger and both the males and females had horns. Aurochs were driven to extinction for a number of reasons.

They were captured by the Romans and used in their games. They were hunted, and their habitats were destroyed. Nevertheless, wild aurochs lived in Europe until the seventeenth century.

The platypus and echidna are both monotremes, which means they are mammals that lay eggs. In fact, they are the only members of the order called Monotremata. Found in Australia and New Zealand, they are hairy, warm-blooded, and produce milk to nurse their young.

Back in the day, horseshoe crabs were mistakenly thought to be crabs. What they actually are, however, are arthropods, which makes them more like spiders. In fact, both spiders and horseshoe crabs are in the same subphylum, Cheilcerata. This is because they do not have mandibles or jaws; instead, they have a pair of chelicerae, which are more like claws or fangs.

How is this possible as elephants live on land and manatees live in the water? Well, manatees have two incisors that resemble elephant tusks in their structure. Both creatures also have similarly shaped circular hearts, and, like the elephant, the females' reproductive organs are located in the lower belly.

But if you think those two are odd relatives, let's throw the more distantly related hyrax into the mix. They also have two incisors that resemble tusks. And, like elephants, they have padded soles on their feet that serve as cushions when walking.

While this relationship may seem obvious, considering that koalas and wombats are both marsupials, the cousin connection goes deeper with these two than any of the other members of the group. They are members of the suborder Vombatiformes. While one prefers a life in trees and the other lives in burrows, they both have compact, muscular bodies that are covered in fur with limbs that have five digits. And - sharp teeth! In addition, female members of the group have backward facing pouches.

Ants and bees are both insects, with six legs, three body parts, compound eyes, and antennae, however, their similarities do not stop there. They undergo a similar life cycle from egg to larva to pupae to adult. Females have an ovipositor that can be used for stinging.

In addition, they both live in social colonies. Ants, bees, sawflies, and wasps belong to the order Hymenoptera, which means that they also have two pairs of wings. Yes, ants can have wings! When the ant hill becomes too large, flying ants are sent out to start new colonies.

Horses, zebras, rhinos, and tapirs belong to the order Perissodactyla, which includes animals that are odd-toed ungulates. That means that they are mammals that have hooves and an odd number of toes on their hind feet, and that makes them each other's closest living cousins.

While horses and zebras only have one toe on their hind feet, tapirs and rhinos have three. The middle toe on each is the one that bears their weight.

For all their differences in appearance, sea horses are fish, and, like fish, they lived in water and possess gills and a swim bladder. They, along with their closest relatives, sea dragons and pipefish, are members of the family Syngnathidae. Both sea horses and pipefish have long snouts, thick plates that cover their bodies, and fused jaws, which means they must suck their food in through their snout.

After the female lays its eggs, the male fertilizes them and then carries them in a pouch, which is located either on the tail or abdomen, depending on the species.