Animal Alphabet Trivia Quiz

Answer: Antlion

Lacewings are insects that look much like dragonflies, although they are only very generally related. The antlion though, looks almost as little like the adult as you could possibly imagine - they have a tiny, almost flattened head, plump, oval body, and large jaws. To survive their larval stage, antlions dig themselves a pit, usually in the sand or loose dirt, where they wait for ants or other unfortunate insects to fall in; once the soon-to-be-eaten victim has fallen in, they are unable to crawl back up the sides.

This leaves the antlion free to eat or, if they feel the other creature is too dangerous, remain hidden in the sand. Other names for the larva include doodlebug and sand lion.

Answer: Bull shark

Known for its aggressive nature, the bull shark has been found in several surprising locations - such as the Potomac River in Maryland, Iquitos in Peru, and Alton in Illinois. This is due to their remarkable ability to live in both salt and freshwater environments.

They are, however, not considered true freshwater sharks. Bull sharks are viviparous (live-bearing), generally birthing 4-10 pups; the pups take ten years to reach maturity. Despite this long period of immaturity, theses sharks are often considered one of the most dangerous species to humans.

This comes in large part because they inhabit the warm coastal waters that we are also attracted to, and also in part due to their aggressive nature.

Answer: Cascades frog

Found in the western United States and, according to some sources, Canada, the Cascades frog is indeed an unusual frog. As their name suggests, they are found mostly in the Cascade Mountains, although they sometimes also live in the Olympic Mountains.

Their normal range is well above sea level, averaging between 2,182 to 8,038 feet (665 to 2,450 meters). Both males and females are believed to live over five years, possibly up to seven, in the wild. The female will lay only one brood a year, which may have up to 425 eggs; mortality rates are high for the tadpoles though.

They are currently being studied for various pharmacological uses, including a peptide which acts as a 'blood thinner' in humans.

Answer: Diademed sifaka

Also known as the diademed simpona, the diademed sifaka is one of the largest species of lemur that exists to this day - adults can reach lengths of approximately 41 inches (105 centimeters), although about half of the total length is made up of tail! Unlike most other species of lemur, the diademed sifaka's coat is moderately long and silky.

The fur runs in color from a reddish-brown at their limbs, to the gray of their body, to the black of their faces and napes, to the white that encircles the face; this last gives rise to their common name.

Answer: Egyptian vulture

Once also known as Pharaoh's chicken, the Egyptian vulture is a small bird of prey, and the only member of the genus Neophron. They are also one of a small number of birds that are known to use tools - in the case of the Egyptian vulture, they not only use pebbles as hammers, but also employ twigs to roll up wool for use in their nests. Adult plumage is white, but with black feathers in amongst their wing plumage. Wild birds often have a reddish tint to their white feathers, presumably from the iron-rich soil that dominates their natural range.

In ancient Egyptian culture, they were held as sacred to Isis, who was often depicted as mother to the hawk-headed god Horus.

Answer: Forest cobra

The forest cobra is, as mentioned above, the largest true cobra in Africa, and is certainly a contender for largest true cobra in the world - some individuals have reached lengths of 10 feet (3.1 meters)! They also hold the record for the longest-lived venomous snake in captivity, with the record-holder having been over 28 years old at death. Forest cobras are found throughout a large swath of Africa - from Liberia to Uganda, and south to South Africa.

They are agile, and one of the most aquatic of all cobra species. And, while they are a terrestrial snake, they are quite able to climb trees, and have been found approximately 33 feet (10 meters) up in trees.

Answer: They are originally New World geese

The graylag goose is the largest of any geese in the Anser genus, growing up to 29-36 inches (74-91 centimeters) long, and weighs 4.8-10.1 pounds (2.16-4.56 kilograms). They are brownish-gray with a paler belly, which is black spotted; the legs and feet are pink, and the beak is an orange or pink color. Graylags originated in the Old World, with a range from western Europe to parts of China.

It was with graylag geese that Konrad Lorenz did his studies on imprinting.

Answer: Horn shark

First described in 1855, the horn shark has a short head that angles down toward the nose; there are rather prominent ridges above its eyes, which make the space on top of the head concave. They have a wide range of prey, including crabs, shrimp, sea urchins, and small bony fishes. Because of their prey's defenses, the Horn shark has the highest known bite force of any shark, adjusted for size; however, they also have a relatively low number of ampullae of Lorenzini - around 148 compared to the over 2000 of some other species of shark.

Answer: Egypt

The Indian hog deer gets its name from the hog-like way that it runs through the forests - with the head down, so it can duck under low-hanging branches and logs instead of jumping over them the way most deer would. They are, as mentioned in the question, a small deer, standing anywhere from about 24 inches (61 centimeters) for the hinds to around 27.5 inches (70 centimeters) for the stags.

They weigh from 66 pounds (30 kilograms) to 110 pounds (50 kilograms); the coat is short, and ranges in color from a dark brown to a lighter reddish-brown.

Answer: Bird

Jacky winters are a member of the Petroicidae family; birds in this family are often referred to as 'Australasian robins'. Jacky winters are known by several names, which include postboy, whitetail, peter-peter (after their call) and, in the past, brown flycatchers, although they are not closely related to true flycatchers.

A small bird, it has grayish-brown plumage with a lighter gray-white underbelly and a small dark stripe over each eye. The jacky winter can be found over a wide swath of Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Answer: Europe

Endemic to Europe, this slug was named after county Kerry, where it was first collected; it has populations not only in Ireland, but also parts of Spain and Portugal. In the wild, the Kerry slug feeds on mosses, fungi, liverworts, and lichens; however, in captivity the slug has been fed a much more varied diet - including other slugs, porridge, carrots, and bread - with success.

Answer: India

The lion-tailed macaque is actually a rather striking primate to see - it is solid black, except for the silvery-gray to white mane that gives them their name. They are endemic to a small sliver of India, namely the Western Ghats in the southwest of the country. Lion-tailed macaques can grow up 2-10 kilograms (4.40-22.04 pounds) and have an average head-body length of 42-61 centimeters (1.37-2 feet); this makes them one of the smaller macaques.

Answer: False

A member of the goat family, Nubian ibexes have a range that covers some of the mountain ranges in Egypt, Israel, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Oman, Yemen, and Sudan - a large range for such a creature! While it is often considered to be a subspecies of the Alpine ibex, there is disagreement on that classification. Nubian ibexes live in herds segregated by sex; they meet only on occasion to breed.

These creatures are a light tan color, with a white or light gray belly; males also have a dark brownish-black stripe down their spine.

They grow to an average height of 2.1-2.6 feet (65-75 centimeters); their horns, however reach lengths of 12-39.37 inches (30-100 centimeters) depending on the gender of the animal.

Answer: South America

The Orinoco river is one of the longest in South America, at about 2,140 kilometers, or 1,330 miles. A little over 76% of it is located in Venezuela, with the rest in Columbia. The Orinoco crocodile is a fairly large example of crocodilian, with lengths up to 6.6 meters (21.65 feet) having been reported in the past; a more common length for males today is 4.1 meters (13.45 feet), and 3.3 meters (10.82 feet) for females; their weights range from 380 kilograms (837.75 pounds) for an adult male to 'only' 225 kilograms (496 pounds) for an adult female.

These crocs are considered to be the largest predator in the Americas by some, although they are also considered as little to no threat regarding humans.

Answer: Pacific

To be more precise, the pearlscale butterflyfish actually lives in the Indo-Pacific region of the world, so Indian Ocean would also have worked... but then, that wasn't an option here! Growing to lengths of 15 centimeters (5.90 inches), this fish has a pearly white body; its scales have black edges though, which gives these creatures a cross-hatch pattern instead of the chevron type often seen on other butterflyfish.

Their range extends from the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, south to Indonesia, and west to the Philippines. Pearlscale butterflyfish are generally peaceful, but can be territorial toward other fish.

Answer: True

Indeed, the Queen Alexandra's birdwing is found only in the Oro Provence of Papua New Guinea. They are considered the world's largest species of butterfly, with a wingspan of around 25 centimeters (9.8 inches), a body length of up to 8 centimeters (3.14 inches), and a total weight of up to 12 grams (.42 ounces)! Although the female has predominantly brown wings with lighter colored bands or chevrons, the male is a dark greenish-blue with a black band.

Answer: Swamps and small lakes

In addition to swamps and small lakes, the Roti Island snake-necked turtle can sometimes also be found in rice terraces. Roti Island is an Indonesian island, but there is a subspecies that is found exclusively on East Timor; the latter is sometimes considered a completely separate species.

This turtle has a carapace that reaches lengths of 18-24 centimeters (7.08-9.44 inches); they lay a clutch of 8-14 eggs, which will hatch in intervals.

Answer: California

Although the range of seal salamanders is quite large - from western Pennsylvania down to central Alabama and east to Maryland - they are not native to anywhere on the western seaboard. These salamanders have no lungs, as noted in the question, so as juveniles they possess gills instead; as adults, they receive all the oxygen needed through their skin.

The eggs are laid in the water if possible, but if the female can't find a stream or pond to her liking, she will lay the eggs under a damp log or rock instead.

Answer: Telescope hornsnail

The telescope hornsnail is the only freshwater snail listed; it is endemic to the United States, and is one of a number of snails that have a sort of 'trapdoor' in their shells; this handy little feature is known as an operculum. Of the incorrect options, the Triton's trumpet is a large (up to two feet, or 60 centimeters) sea-dwelling marine mollusk, as is the tick shell, though the latter is much smaller (6-10 millimeters); the terrestrial snail sucker is a snake that lives in South and Central America.

Answer: United States

Not only does the Uncompahgre fritillary live only in the U.S., it appears to be endemic to a relatively small area in the state of Colorado. It is a smallish butterfly, reaching a wingspan of about 1 inch, or 2-3 centimeters; the body is a reddish/rusty brown to black color, while the wings are varying shades of brown (depending on sex) with black bars crossing them.

The species was discovered by Felix Sperling and Larry Gall; they found the new specimens on Uncompahgre Peak, which led to the animal's common name.

Answer: False

Variable bush vipers actually don't live in Europe or Asia at all; rather, they inhabit several of the equatorial countries in Africa. They prefer rainforests to live in, but have been seen in grasslands and even in the vegetation bordering bodies of water.

Theses snakes are fairly large, reaching average lengths of 46-60 centimeters (18.11-23.62 inches), although some larger specimens have been recorded. These animals are surprisingly varied in their range of colors - everything from a dull greenish-brown to reds and yellows, and with or without crossbands, are known to exist.

Answer: Baxter's toad

While all of the options are actually names of toads, only Baxter's toad is an alternate name for the Wyoming toad. These toads are considered highly endangered, since there is only a single remaining wild population, located in the Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge, in the state of Wyoming.

These toads are a dark green/gray or brown on their back, with a tan or off-white/gray underbelly; they grow to lengths of around 2.20 inches (5.6 centimeters), and the females are generally the larger of the two sexes.

Answer: Hungarian zoologist

This little bird was named after a man with a wide variety of names - he was born Xantus Janos, but is sometimes known as John Xantus de Vesey or John Xantus de Csíktaplócza; not only was he trained as a lawyer, he also served in the Hungarian military before gaining recognition as a zoologist. Xantus' hummingbird has a green/brown coloration on the back and neck, light reddish-brown underparts, and two bars under the eyes - one of black, one of white.

They grow to lengths of 8-9 centimeters (3.14-5.54 inches) and reach weights of 3-4 grams (0.10-0.14 ounces); these actually make it a decently large hummingbird!

Answer: Small (under 8 inches)

A minnow-like fish, the Yaqui chub has had a few recorded specimens that reached lengths of 7 inches (17.8 centimeters), though a more usual size is about 5 inches (12.7 centimeters). They are found in parts of northern Mexico and the southern United States. Yaqui chub live in the deeper pools of small streams with heavy vegetation.

Answer: Zapata wren

As mentioned in the question, the Zapata wren is not only endemic to Cuba, but is further restricted to the Zapata peninsula. The genus, of which it is the only member, is Ferminia. Although the bird was formally discovered by American herpetologist Thomas Barbour, he named it after the man who had earlier described it - Fermin Zanon Cervera, a Spanish zoologist.

The Zapata wren has a brown and black banded back, and grayish-white underparts.