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Quiz about Enter the Magical World of the Ratites
Quiz about Enter the Magical World of the Ratites

Enter the Magical World of the Ratites Quiz


You may not have heard of the ratites, but from ostriches to kiwis, elephant birds to the moa, several members of the ratite family are among the most recognizable birds in popular culture. Let's examine them more closely.

A multiple-choice quiz by rahul0. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
rahul0
Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
416,845
Updated
Jun 24 24
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
179
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 1 (6/10), Guest 1 (6/10), Guest 76 (6/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. The divergence between the ratites(including the tinamous) and all other birds is the earliest such split among living birds.


Question 2 of 10
2. Not only is this African bird the largest and heaviest living ratite, it is in fact the largest and heaviest among all living birds. While pop culture often depicts this bird burying its head in the sand (which has become a metaphor for avoiding one's problems), this is in fact a myth. Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. From the largest, we now move to the smallest. This ratite is native to New Zealand, and has become an integral part of the country's image - native New Zealanders are often referred to by which bird's name? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Which Australian ratite, the second tallest living bird, is perhaps most famous for the "war" launched by the government to reduce its numbers, an effort largely regarded as a failure? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which ratite lives in South America - the larger species lives across eastern South America, while the smaller species (named after Darwin) is limited to the far west and south? Darwin encountered them on his voyage on the HMS Beagle, and it is thought that they helped him create his theory of evolution. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Which ratite can be found in the forests of New Guinea, with its most common species being the second-heaviest living bird? Evidence suggests that this bird may have been domesticated by early Papuans. Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Thought to be the largest bird that ever lived, which massive ratite was native to Madagascar until its extinction just a few hundred years ago? Some have suggested that it was the inspiration for the roc of Sinbad fame. Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Nine species of this extinct ratite were present in New Zealand until the arrival of humans. Before human arrival, its only predator was the Haast's eagle, the largest eagle which ever lived. Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Which American bird possesses the ability to fly, and thus was traditionally considered to be a cousin to the ratites, not a true ratite itself, until genetic evidence proved that they are within the ratite family? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Genetic evidence suggests that flightlessness in ratites, rather than evolving once in a common ancestor, instead evolved separately among different groups of ratites. This is called divergent evolution.



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The divergence between the ratites(including the tinamous) and all other birds is the earliest such split among living birds.

Answer: True

Birds of the class Aves can be split into two groups, Neognathae and Paleognathae. Paleognathae includes all ratites, while Neognathae consists of all other living birds. Molecular clock evidence suggests that this split took place while the dinosaurs were still around, in the early Cretaceous.

However, the first ratite fossils are only found in the late Cretaceous, leading some to argue that the ratites only diversified into a true group after the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, which resulted in a variety of open niches for birds such as the ratites to fill.
2. Not only is this African bird the largest and heaviest living ratite, it is in fact the largest and heaviest among all living birds. While pop culture often depicts this bird burying its head in the sand (which has become a metaphor for avoiding one's problems), this is in fact a myth.

Answer: ostrich

Wild ostriches are limited mainly to Africa - the common ostrich can be found across Northern, Eastern, and Southern Africa, while the Somali ostrich is limited to the Horn of Africa. For most of the recent past, however, the Arabian ostrich, a subspecies of the common ostrich, was present in the Middle East, dying out only in the 20th century. Ostriches were also taken to Australia for their meat, and there is a small feral population there, descendants of ostriches which escaped human captivity.

Ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand. They lay their eggs on a nest in the ground, and occasionally poke their head in to take a look, which may be where this myth originates.
3. From the largest, we now move to the smallest. This ratite is native to New Zealand, and has become an integral part of the country's image - native New Zealanders are often referred to by which bird's name?

Answer: kiwi

The use of the term "kiwi" to refer to New Zealanders dates back to the early 1900s, when it was used for the NZ rugby team. It became popular as a term for any New Zealander after the two World Wars, as NZ soldiers were often referred to as kiwis.

It is thought that kiwis stayed small after losing their ability to fly because there was already a large flightless bird native to New Zealand, who we will meet later in this quiz.
4. Which Australian ratite, the second tallest living bird, is perhaps most famous for the "war" launched by the government to reduce its numbers, an effort largely regarded as a failure?

Answer: emu

Emu reproduction is the opposite of what we often see in the animal kingdom - the female courts the male, and attempts to prevent other females from approaching him. Once the egg has been laid, it is the male who does all the work of incubating it, without eating or drinking, while the female often finds another male to create an egg with.

Despite the attempts of the Australian government in the 1920s, emus are still common throughout Australia, especially in the less inhabited parts in the west and inland.
5. Which ratite lives in South America - the larger species lives across eastern South America, while the smaller species (named after Darwin) is limited to the far west and south? Darwin encountered them on his voyage on the HMS Beagle, and it is thought that they helped him create his theory of evolution.

Answer: rhea

Before we understood evolution, it was thought that each animal was created to suit its environment. In South America, however, Darwin encountered both rhea species, which overlapped in habitat but yet were quite different. This led Darwin to the realization that both rhea species were descended from a common ancestor, yet had diverged into two separate birds. Rheas, along with the famous Galapagos finches, ultimately helped him formulate the theory of evolution, which has helped us understand animal speciation and adaptation to a much greater extent.
6. Which ratite can be found in the forests of New Guinea, with its most common species being the second-heaviest living bird? Evidence suggests that this bird may have been domesticated by early Papuans.

Answer: cassowary

Cassowaries have an imposing crest on their head, a brightly-colored blue head, and sharp claws on their feet. While ostriches account for more deaths per year, partly due to their larger population and contact with humans, cassowaries have often been called "the world's most dangerous bird". The claws on their feet are deadly and can kill. Like all ratites, they are mainly herbivores, but meat makes up a larger part of their diet than any other ratite.

Cassowaries have often been called "the last dinosaur" or "living dinosaurs". While this is of course not genetically correct, as they are no more related to dinosaurs than any other bird, their striking appearance makes the terms understandable.
7. Thought to be the largest bird that ever lived, which massive ratite was native to Madagascar until its extinction just a few hundred years ago? Some have suggested that it was the inspiration for the roc of Sinbad fame.

Answer: elephant bird

Many of the world's biggest megafauna went extinct in the last 10,000 years, unable to cope with human predation and habitat loss. It is no surprise that most of the world's biggest land animals live in Africa, as their ancestors evolved alongside humans and thus were able to avoid overhunting and extinction.

The first permanent human settlements in Madagascar date only to the mid-1st millennium, and so its megafauna survived longer than their European and American counterparts. However, by about 1600, the elephant bird, along with giant lemurs, the giant fossa, and giant tortoises, were extinct.
8. Nine species of this extinct ratite were present in New Zealand until the arrival of humans. Before human arrival, its only predator was the Haast's eagle, the largest eagle which ever lived.

Answer: moa

Like Madagascar, human arrival in New Zealand occurred very recently. While Australia has been inhabited by humans for around 40,000 years, the first humans to reach New Zealand were the Maori, who arrived around 1300. Within 200 years, all species of the moa, as well as the Haast's eagle, had been driven to extinction.
9. Which American bird possesses the ability to fly, and thus was traditionally considered to be a cousin to the ratites, not a true ratite itself, until genetic evidence proved that they are within the ratite family?

Answer: tinamou

In many textbooks, you may find a reference to "ratites and tinamous", as it was assumed that flightlessness evolved only once, after the tinamous had already diverged from the rest of the ratites. However, DNA evidence shows that ostriches are the most distant from the other ratites, with the rheas diverging second. The rest of the ratites can be split into two related groups: the moas and tinamous, and the elephant birds, kiwis, cassowaries, and emus. Among the last group, the elephant birds are closely related to kiwis, while the cassowaries are closely related to emus.

While tinamous can fly, they spend most of their time on the ground, and prefer to walk or run rather than to fly
10. Genetic evidence suggests that flightlessness in ratites, rather than evolving once in a common ancestor, instead evolved separately among different groups of ratites. This is called divergent evolution.

Answer: False

Divergent evolution refers to one species evolving into multiple species due to different adaptations. Convergent evolution, on the other hand, refers to different groups independently evolving the same adaptation, which is the case in the ratites.

In order for ratite flightlessness to be an example of convergent evolution, as had been previously assumed, the tinamous would have had to re-evolve the capability of flight after losing it, which has never before been seen in any avian species. On the other hand, birds losing flight is common, as the adaptations needed for flight are costly, and thus are often discarded when no longer needed. Given the position of the tinamous in the ratite family tree, it seems that flightlessness evolved at least three separate times, and possibly as many as six.
Source: Author rahul0

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor rossian before going online.
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