Clandestine Critters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Colour

The Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus) is, as its name tells you, a hare that inhabits polar and sub-polar regions in Greenland and Canada. The animals living in the northern part of the region they inhabit are white all year round, matching the white background of the snow-covered ground. Further south, in Newfoundland and the southern part of Labrador, they have a grey or brown coat during the summer, and moult seasonally to change fur colour.

Answer: Behaviour

Also known as the yellow emperor dragonfly, Anax papuensis is a large Australian dragonfly with marked territorial behaviour. It was the subject of a study which analysed its motion camouflage to determine the scientific basis of its success, with a view to possible military applications.

The male dragonfly usually attack other males by lining themselves up with a prominent landmark as they approach. This makes them seem to be stationary, although getting larger, until they are close enough to make escape difficult.

Answer: Behaviour

There are several species of crab, all in the superfamily Majoidea, which cover their bodies with objects from the environment to disguise their appearance. These objects may be plant parts, or smaller animals such as sponges. Studies have shown that some crabs will change their cover when moved to a new environment, so do not depend on a single type of protective covering, while others consistently use the same type of material. Stenocionops furcata uses a stinging sea anemone (Calliactis tricolor), which acts as a deterrent for predators who will avoid getting stung.

Answer: Behaviour

The leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) has a head start in that its body is shaped to resemble seaweed. It improves the camouflage by its swaying motion when stationary, and the way it moves by means of almost invisible small transparent fins. They are found on the southern coast of Australia, and are the marine emblem for the state of South Australia.

Answer: Behaviour

The masked hunter (Reduvius personatus) is an insect named for the way it camouflages itself with a covering of dust during the nymph stage. Like the adult form, the nymph is dark in colour, but it secretes a sticky substance that covers its entire body, causing them to be covered with dust and small particles of sand, etc.

This means they generally appear to be grey or light brown. The protection serves them both as predator (they love bed bugs) and as a protection from predators.

Answer: Colour

There are over 300 species of octopus, molluscs in the order Octopoda. They change their colour when hunting or being hunted, using special skin cells called chromatophores, which contain between two and four of the colours yellow, orange, red, brown, or black. They also use white cells called leucophores and reflective cells called iridiphores to change their apparent colour. These colour changes can be made very quickly, and are used both as protective colouring and as a deterrent display in confrontations.

Like most of the other animals in this quiz, the octopus has more than one string to its camouflage bow. The mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) not only changes colour, it also changes its body shape to make it look like a more dangerous animal such as a lion fish or a sea snake, to deter predators.

Answer: Colour

The photo used to illustrate this quiz shows a peacock flounder changing its colour within a matter of minutes as it is moved to different backgrounds. Also known as the flowery flounder, because of the flower-like pattern of its spots, Bothus mancus is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Like most flounders, the adult has both eyes on the top surface when it is lying flat on the sea floor, although the young flounder is born with eyes on both sides of the head. If one of the flounder's eyes is damaged, their ability to camouflage themselves is significantly reduced.

The ability to keep constantly changing their appearance helps them hunt for prey as they crawl along the bottom.

Answer: Colour

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) has been used as a well-documented example of natural selection in action. Two hundred years ago most peppered moths had light wings with dark pepper-like spots, which matched well with the light colour of the tree barks and lichen on which they rested. During the Industrial Revolution, pollution caused the lichen to die and the barks to darken, making the light-coloured moths less well camouflaged than the ones born with darker colouration.

The dark colour became almost universal by the end of the 19th century. Subsequent efforts to improve the environment have been accompanied by a resurgence of the white form, so that both are now commonly found.

Answer: Behaviour

Also known as the Australian walking stick and the giant prickly stick insect, Extatosoma tiaratum is endemic to the east coast of Australia and New Guinea. Like other stick insects, its body shape is such that it resembles a twig or leaf. To increase the impression, they hang among leaves in a curled position, and sway to and fro in the wind. Because they do not bite or sting, they counter predators who have spotted them despite the camouflage by adopting a pose reminiscent of a scorpion, and exuding a sweet-smelling liquid that seems to deter predators.

Answer: Colour

We could hardly write a camouflage quiz without a nod to the familiar chameleon! The veiled chameleon, Chamaeleo calyptratus, is found in the Arabian peninsula. Their capacity to change colour rapidly is used both for cryptic coloration as they change environments, and also to show emotion - especially aggression.

The extent of the colour change can indicate both the intensity of the emotion and the animal's capacity to inflict damage during a confrontation, so weaker opponents can avoid it if they so choose.