Animals With Unusual Names: Find the Intruder! Quiz

Answer: peccary

Also known as javelina, peccary is the common name of a number of species of hoofed mammals in the family Tayassuidae, or New World pigs. Together with the family Suidae (the Old World pigs), they make up the suborder Suina of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. The name "peccary" comes from "pakira", the Carib name for these animals. There are three living species of peccary found from the Southwestern US to South America; the species with the largest range is the collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu). Peccaries live in many different habitats, including cities and cultivated fields. They are social animals, living in herds called "squadrons", and - like Old World pigs - are omnivorous. However, while they were raised as food animals by some pre-Columbian civilizations, they have not been domesticated in more recent times.

The three wrong answers are all ruminants (suborder Ruminantia) of the family Bovidae. The addax (Addax nasomaculatus) and the springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) are both antelope species from Africa, while the chamois (Rupicapra sp.) is a caprine (goat-antelope) from various mountain areas of Europe and southwest Asia.

Answer: axolotl

As implied by its specific name, the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is an aquatic salamander native to a very restricted area of Mexico - Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco, located south of Mexico City. This unique animal's name comes from Nahuatl, and is often translated as "water dog". The axolotl is closely related to the tiger salamander: however, it does not undergo metamorphosis before entering adulthood, and keeps many of the features of amphibians at the larval stage, such as its feathery external gills. Though naturally dark-coloured, the axolotl can turn a few shades lighter or darker for reasons of camouflage. Because of the degradation of its natural habitat, the axolotl is classified by IUCN as Critically Endangered (2020).

The curlew (Numenius sp.) is a wading bird found in most parts of the world, while the bright green quetzal (Pharomacrus mocinno) lives in the tropical forests of Mexico and Central America. The hoopoe (Upupa sp.), on the other hand, is an Old World bird with a distinctive crown of feathers, related to the hornbills.

Answer: bonobo

Previously known as pygmy chimpanzee, the bonobo (Pan paniscus) is one of the two species of the genus Pan - the other being the common chimpanzee. These two primates, both natives of Africa, are humans' closest relatives. A forest dweller, the bonobo (a name derived from the misspelling of the town of Bolobo on the Congo River) is found in a limited area of the Congo basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Threatened by habitat destruction and commercial poaching, these fascinating primates - known for the importance of sexual contact in their society, especially in terms of conflict resolution - are classified by IUCN as Endangered (2016).

Like all apes, bonobos have no tail. The mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) and the gelada (Theropitecus gelada) are Old World monkeys from Africa, and their tails are not prehensile. The tamarin (Saguinus sp.), on the other hand, is a small New World monkey from South America, with a prehensile tail.

Answer: agouti

The agouti (Dasyprocta sp.) is a herbivorous rodent native to Mexico (where it is called "sereque"), Central, and South America, and introduced to some Caribbean islands. Related to guinea pigs, though somewhat larger, agoutis have very short tails, and their coarse fur ranges from very dark brown to reddish-brown in colour. The name of these rodents comes from Tupi or Guarani, indigenous languages spoken in South America. Agoutis live mostly in forested areas, though they will also be found in savannas and cultivated fields; like squirrels, they often bury small hoards of food to be eaten at a later time. As fruit is their favourite food, they occasionally damage banana and sugarcane plantations; they are also hunted for food by the local populations.

The three wrong answers are all members of the family Camelidae of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla). The guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and the vicuņa (Lama vicugna) are both wild species, while the alpaca (Lama pacos) is the domesticated form of the vicuņa. The llama (Lama glama), on the other hand, is the domesticated form of the guanaco. All those animals are native to the Andean region of South America.

Answer: beluga

The beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) is a cetacean that lives in the cold waters of the Arctic and sub-Arctic region. Both its specific and its common names refer to its white colouring: "leukas" comes from Greek, and "beluga" from Russian. Closely related to the narwhal - the other extant member of the family Monodontidae - the beluga is larger than a dolphin, but smaller than most other whales. These cetaceans are social animals, and often kept in aquariums or wildlife parks because of their attractive appearance and friendly nature. Unfortunately, some beluga populations are endangered by hunting, pollution, and climate change.

The tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) is a freshwater fish native to Africa and the Middle East. The mako and the skate are both cartilaginous fish: the former (Isurus sp.) is a shark highly prized as a game fish because of its speed, while the latter refers to the rays of the family Rajidae.

Answer: goanna

Goanna is the name given in Australia to large lizards of the genus Varanus (monitor lizards). The name is believed to have derived from "iguana" (though monitors and iguanas are not related), like the South African "leguaan" for the Nile monitor. About 30 species of goanna are found in Australia; the largest is the perentie (Varanus giganteus), which can grow to a length of 2.5 m (8.2 ft). Unlike the iguanas they are named after, goannas are carnivorous apex predators, and their bite is believed to be somewhat venomous. In spite of their fearsome appearance, however, these lizards generally avoid people, and confrontations are very rare.

The quokka (Setonix brachyurus) and the potoroo (Potorous sp.) are marsupials found in Australia, while bandicoots are a group of about 20 species of marsupials of the order Paramelemorphia also found in New Guinea and some islands of Indonesia.

Answer: skua

The seven species of skua (Stercorarius sp.) belong to the suborder Lari of the order Charadriiformes, which also includes gulls, terns, and auks. The common name of those predatory seabirds comes from "skúgvur", the Faroese name for the great skua (Stercorarius skua). Skuas are strong fliers, and are found both in the Arctic and Antarctica, as well as the temperate regions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Though they feed mainly on fish, they are also scavengers; most species also eat the eggs of other seabirds, and the larger species will also hunt other adult birds and small mammals.

The jabiru (Jabiru mycteria) is a large stork found in parts of Central and South America, while the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a fish-eating bird of prey related to hawks and eagles with an almost cosmopolitan distribution, and the merganser (Mergus merganser) is a large seaduck of the Northern Hemisphere.

Answer: capybara

The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a rodent of the family Caviidae, thus related to guinea pigs; its name comes from the Tupi for "grass-eater". A native of South America, found throughout the continent with the exception of Chile, the capybara is a herbivorous, semiaquatic animal that inhabits densely wooded areas near bodies of water. With a stout, barrel-shaped body and reddish-brown fur, it can reach a length of about 130 cm (51 in), and weigh as much as 65 kg (143 lb) - making it by far the largest living rodent.

Incidentally, the capybara is the preferred prey of the huge green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), the heaviest extant snake species, also a mostly aquatic creature. The mussurana (Clelia clelia) is mildly venomous, but not dangerous to humans; it preys mostly on venomous snakes, such as the very dangerous jararaca (Bothrops jararaca), one of South America's many pit viper species.

Answer: tayra

Like the three cats listed as wrong answers, the tayra (Eira barbara) is native to the Americas. It is part of the family Mustelidae, to which weasels, ferrets, and badgers also belong. A long, slender-bodied animal with dark brown or black fur, it is found in the tropical and subtropical forests of Central America and most of South America. Unlike most other mustelids, the tayra is omnivorous, and partially arboreal. Tayras are occasionally kept as pets, though in some countries they require a special license because they are not as fully domesticated as ferrets.

The margay (Leopardus wiedii) and the oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus), as their generic name implies, are small cats with spotted fur reminiscent of a leopard's. The jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), which inhabits more or less the same range, is characterized by an elongated body and narrow head that resemble those of mustelids like the tayra. Its name, from the indigenous Tupi language, is etymologically related to that of the much larger jaguar.

Answer: mata mata

The mata mata (Chelus fimbriata) is a large freshwater turtle mostly found in the Orinoco and Amazon basins of South America, where it inhabits slow-moving streams and swamps. This creature's most distinctive feature is its wide, flattened triangular head - which resembles a fallen leaf - with a horn-like protuberance on its snout; its carapace also resembles a piece of tree bark. It feeds mainly on fish and aquatic invertebrates, which it can detect in water at night thanks to its excellent eyesight. Mata mata turtles are popular as exotic pets because of their unique appearance and placid nature (in spite of their common name, which means "kill kill" in Spanish), though they do not come cheap.

The dik-dik (Madoqua sp.) is a small African antelope, while the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a long-fingered lemur from Madagascar. The caracara (Caracara plancus) is a falcon found in the southermost US, Mexico, Central and South America.