More Wild Mammals, but Orderly Quiz

Answer: Lagomorpha

The order Lagomorpha literally refers to creatures that look like a hare, or, in Greek, 'lagos'. It is divided into two groups, the pikas on the one hand, and the hares and rabbits on the other. Pikas (family Ochotonidae) look more like rodents than rabbits, and they are the smallest lagomorphs. The family to which hares and rabbits belong is Leporidae, which refers to those that look like a 'lepus', (Latin for "hare"). Hares and rabbits, it should be noted, are not the same; one apparent difference is that hares (genus Lepus) have larger ears and feet than rabbits, which comprise all the other genera of Leporidae.

Lagomorphs were once thought be rodents because they are small and furry and give birth in similar ways and have ever-growing incisors that require gnawing to keep worn down, but they were given their own order in 1912. While most rodents have four incisors, lagomorphs have only two. Additionally, lagomorphs are herbivores, whereas rodents are omnivores (like rats, which will eat anything).

Answer: Tubulidentata

The only extant family of order Tubulidentata ("tube-toothed") is the family Orycteropodidae, meaning "digging-footed" or "burrow-footed". It comes from the ancient Greek 'orukter', meaning "miner, digger".

Although many fossil species have been discovered, the only species alive today is the Ocycterpous afer, or the lovely and charming aardvark of the savannas of Africa. Its front feet have lost the pollex (thumb), leaving four toes, though the hind feet still have five. On each toe is a large, flattened, spade-like nail that almost seems to be a cross between a claw and a hoof; this is excellent for digging and burrowing. It can demolish a termite mound in seconds whilst keeping the dust out of its snout by completely closing its nostrils. When threatened, it will dig a new burrow and vanish within five minutes.

Answer: Pinnipedia ("fin-footed")

The pinnipeds divide neatly into the true or earless seals of family Phocidae (from the Latin 'phoca', in turn from the Greek 'phoke', for seal) and the fur seals and sea lions of family Otariidae ("little-eared"), which have visible external ears. The phocids are sometimes called "crawling seals" because they cannot lift themselves up as can the fur seals or sea lions can (also called otaries or otarids).

Answer: Cetacea

'Cetacea' comes from the Latin 'cetus' ("whale"), in turn from the Greek 'ketos' (lit. "huge fish", or sea monster). They all propel themselves by paddling their tails, which end in a fluke, and they steer themselves with their forelimbs. They are also extraordinarily intelligent and engage in complex social behavior. They are divided into the baleen whales (Mysticeti), such as the blue whale, and the toothed whales (Odontoceti), to which sperm whales and "killer whales" (orcas) as well as dolphins and porpoises belong. The blue whale is the largest known animal ever to exist.

It has been determined that cetaceans evolved from even-toed ungulates (hoofed mammals), a group to which giraffes and deer and hippos belong. Therefore, some texts have combined the orders Cetacea and Artiodactyla (the even-toed ungulates) into Cetartiodactyla. Others prefer the older classification and prefer to call the new one a superorder or some other taxon. And some just put Cetaceans as an infraorder under Artiodactyla (under the suborder Whippomorpha which contains both whales and hippopotamuses). This last scheme would make Odonteceti and Mysticeti parvorders.

Answer: Hyracoidea

The name "hyrax" is from the Greek 'hurax', for shrew mouse, though that's a different animal, and the name Hyracoidea obviously refers to "hyrax", which can refer to any of four extant species in the order. There were many other species in prehistoric times. When you examine the hyrax, you can see why it has an order all to itself. Hyraxes, which have multi-chambered stomachs although they are not true ruminants, have unique adaptations to their feet that allow them climb on steep rock surfaces. They also have unique eyes: their irises protrude ever so slightly over their pupils.

Though the hyrax looks rather like a woodchuck, it turns out that its nearest relatives are the sea cows (order Sirenia) and the elephants (order Probscoidea). In fact, like elephants, hyraxes have flattened nails on the tips of their feet, though not really hoofs, and they grow tusks! Some taxonomists classify elephants, sea cows, and hyraxes into one clade called Paenungulata, meaning "almost having hoofs".

Answer: Diprotodontia

The name means "having two forward teeth". This is a large order with diverse species, all of which are found in Australia. Nearly all of the species of non-predatory marsupials, with which most of us are familiar, belong to the order Diprotodontia. In the suborder Vombatiformes ("wombat-shaped") are koalas and of course, wombats.

In the suborder Phalangeriformes ("phalanger-shaped") we have all the Australasian possums, also called phalangers, and the gliders, including the sugar glider and the feathertail glider.

The suborder Macropodiformes ("shaped like the long-footed ones"), consist of kangaroos, wallaroos, and wallabies, not to mention the quokka which is also called the short-tailed scrub wallaby, though it isn't a wallaby, and the rat kangaroo, which is neither a rat nor a kangaroo.

Answer: Dasyuromorphia

The name means "hairy-tailed" which doesn't narrow things down much, does it? Well, sometimes taxonomic names are descriptive without necessarily being a defining characteristic. Nearly all the rest of the Australian marsupials, including most carnivorous marsupials, such as the notorious Tasmanian devil, go here. I say nearly, because the omnivorous bandicoot gets its own order, Peramelemorphia ("form of a pouched badger"). So do the fossorial (digging) marsupial moles, namely Notoryctidae ("back-diggers").

The thylacine or Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is an extinct member of Dasyuromorpha. The carnivorous, stocky, stinky, speedy, and beloved Tasmanian devil is endangered. The diurnal numbat's numbers have been reduced from its once wide range across southern Australia; it is mostly found in the state of Western Australia now, where it is the faunal emblem.

Answer: Didelphimorphia

If you happened to know that the Virginia opossum is the Deidelphis veriginia, you might have got this, otherwise it's a bit of a challenge. A didelphid is so named for having two wombs -- Greek 'di' + 'delphus' ("womb") -- though really only one is a uterus, the other being a nursing pouch. In fact, all marsupials in a sense are constructed this way, with a nursing pouch for an auxiliary womb for the developing baby. This makes another example of the name arrived at by biologists not really naming a unique characteristic.

The true opossums of the Americas, sometimes colloquially called 'possums (notice the apostrophe to indicate contraction), are not to be confused with the Australasian possums (notice the absence of the apostrophe). The Australasian possums were so named by European explorers because of their resemblance to the American animals.

Answer: Pilosa

Well, "hairy" sounds non-specific, as all mammals are hairy, but it is especially apt for the sloth, known for its long, long hair. Order Pilosa consists of two families: Verminlingua, literally "worm-tongued" for the anteaters, and Folivora, literally "leaf-eating" for the sloths. Pilosans inhabit only the Americas.

The term "anteater" has been colloquially applied to the aardvark, echidna, pangolin, and numbat, but these animals are completely unrelated to the Vermilingua, and indeed each inhabits different orders altogether (in sequence: Tubulidentata, Monotremata, Pholidota, Dasyuromorphia). Once upon a time, aardvarks, pangolins, and anteaters were lumped together in the Edentata ("toothless"), but this is no longer the case as molecular studies have shown that they have different evolutionary developments. So zoologists sometimes call the giant anteaters the "true anteaters" to distinguish them from the pretenders!

Answer: Dermoptera ("skin-winged")

Colugo is the Malayan (and for many scientists, the preferred) word for the flying lemur of Southeast Asia. Indeed the only members of the Dermoptera are the colugos, of which there are two species. They resemble lemurs in appearance, but between the limbs is a fold of skin, a "wing" of sorts", that enables movement by gliding leaps, but does not enable true flight. (In the animal kingdom, only insects, birds, and bats are capable of true flight.) You might think the sugar glider of Australia would belong here, but actually it resides in Diprotodontia with kangaroos, wallabies, and wombats.