Some Like it Hot Online Trivia | Miscellaneous Animal Trivia

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1. One of the challenges of living in the desert is dealing with the extreme heat. An unusual way to dissipate heat is the practice of "urohydrosis" - basically, expelling liquid bodily waste onto exposed skin, with resultant cooling through evaporation. What scavenging resident of American deserts cools off this way?

Answer: Turkey vulture

Both turkey and black vultures practice urohydrosis. Storks living in the deserts of Africa also do this. As a result, their legs will be stained white. As the vultures already have a pungent diet, it is no wonder that getting near a roosting colony is an olfactory challenge.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pusdoc

2. Which desert animal is sometimes mistaken for the unicorn and copes with scant water by allowing its body temperature to fluctuate?

Answer: Arabian oryx

In profile, the Arabian oryx appears to have a single horn, prompting its nickname "the unicorn of the desert".

To avoid water loss by evaporation, the Arabian oryx stores heat in its body during the hot part of the day. It releases the stored heat at night through radiation. In this way, it does not need to sweat or pant to keep cool, thereby conserving water in its body. The oryx's daily body temperature can change by as much 4 - 7�C (40 - 45�F). This process is known as heterothermy, in contrast to homothermy where body temperature is maintained within a 2�C difference.

References:
Ostrowski et al., (2003) J Exp Biol 206, 1471-1478.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member purelyqing

3. The red kangaroo's survival in the Australian desert is enhanced by its ability to hop rather than walk?

Answer: True

The red kangaroo is the largest of the world's marsupials and is primarily found in Australia's central deserts, the driest parts of the continent. Kangaroos are herbivores and vegetation in these areas can best be described as sparse. Consequently the kangaroos there are required to travel great distances to forage for food. Hopping provides the kangaroo with two advantages - locomotion that is both rapid and energy efficient.
Oh, and it has another great energy saving strategy when the mercury starts to climb too high - it finds a decent shady spot, lies down and does absolutely nothing.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

4. As trees are not common in deserts, birds must build their nests in other locations. Which of the following will actually hollow out a space inside the giant saguaro cactus for its nest?

Answer: Gila woodpecker

Many birds will take advantage of nesting holes created in the saguaro, but only the Gila woodpecker and gilded flicker initiate the nest cavities. The cactus responds to the injury by creating a woody scar - when the cactus dies these often remain, and are called saguaro boots due to their characteristic shape.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising team member pusdoc

5. As a kid, Looney Tunes taught me that the roadrunner was a speedy docile creature that could easily outrun a coyote. Although cartoons may not be considered the best source of information, in this case they got it exactly right.

Answer: False

The reality is that the coyote has a top speed of 43 mph whereas the greater roadrunner, the basis for the cartoon, has a top speed of only 26 mph. It is also untrue that the roadrunner is a docile creature. It is in fact a fearless hunter who kills its prey then swallows it whole. Roadrunners will hunt down tarantulas, black widow spiders, centipedes, scorpions, and rattlesnakes. Beyond these they will also hunt down other harmless spiders, mice, and rats. The roadrunner may be an entertaining cartoon but the truth about roadrunners is far more interesting. The roadrunner ranges throughout the desert regions of the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico.

This question was provided by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

6. As an example of parallel evolution, what hopping mammal resembling the kangaroo rat inhabits the deserts of Africa and Asia?

Answer: Jerboa

There are several species of jerboa, all of which have long tails that help with balance. They are nocturnal, avoiding the heat of the desert day. Many have very long ears, presumably to allow further dissipation of heat. They are able to retain water by excreting very concentrated urine. The pack rat doesn't hop, jumping mice are close relatives of the jerboa from Australia, and antelope squirrels are non-hopping rodents which live in the southwestern
portion of the United States and into northern Mexico.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising team member pusdoc.

7. Which of the following represents the Australian thorny devil's most remarkable adaptation that allows it to survive in its harsh desert environs?

Answer: Channels that run beneath its scales directly to its mouth

The thorny devil lives in the dry inland regions of Outback Australia, generally where the soil is sandy. It grows to about twenty centimetres in length, including its tail, and its shape and colouration make it extremely difficult to spot in the landscape. The series of grooves and channels that it has underneath its scales moves water by capillary action - without assistance and against forces such as gravity, in much the same way as a brush dipped into a tin of paint - and leads it to the corners of its mouth. This makes it highly efficient in catching any rainfall and allows it to capture the dew as it crawls under vegetation. To back this up, the thorny devil is blessed with impervious skin which means it won't sweat or lose water through this organ.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

8. Which one of these big cats, known for storing their kills in trees in Africa, would you have a chance of seeing in the wild in the Arabian Peninsula?

Answer: Leopard

The Arabian leopard is smaller than its Asian and African relatives and is the smallest of the leopard subspecies. The Arabian leopard lives in parts of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates and the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. According the IUCN list the Arabian leopard is classified as critically endangered, as an estimation of its numbers in the wild was as low as 200 in 2006. While the African leopard is known for storing kills in trees, the Arabian leopard tends to store its kills in caves or lairs.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member zonko.

9. The perentie is one of the major predators in the Australian desert. By which name is it more commonly known?

Answer: Monitor lizard

Monitor lizards can grow up to two metres in length and will feed on other lizards, birds, eggs, snakes and small mammals. In fact, they will eat just about anything they can latch onto and kill. Their survival strategy in the desert is to dig holes. Not just any ordinary holes, these are massive tunnels, vast and complex, in which they sit out the heat of the day. These tunnels will also come with a number of emergency exits through which they can escape other predators. As you can tell, the perentie loves to dig. Not only will it dig for shelter, it will also dig for its food and it will dig burrows into which it can lay its eggs.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

10. Camels are often referred to as the "ships of the desert." Which of the following adaptations has a role other than preventing injury and irritation from sand?

Answer: Thick lips

Thick lips allow the camel to eat prickly desert plants without pain or injury. Nostrils that close, long eyelashes and hair lining their ears keep windblown sand out of the camel's features. Leathery patches on their knees allow them to kneel on the sand without burning or abrading them. The notorious hump (single in the dromedary, double in the Bactrian camel) stores fat that can be metabolized during times of food scarcity. The hair color blends in with their surroundings. Their feet have splayed hooves with thick pads, acting like snowshoes for the sand. All in all, a pretty amazing creature! But careful, they spit!

This question was created by Phoenix Rising team member pusdoc.

Source: Author pusdoc

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Tizzabelle before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Some Like it Hot Trivia Quiz

From the scorching sands of the Sahara to the sizzling soil of the Sonoran Desert, animals have adapted to desert climes. Test your knowledge of the occupants of these ovenlike regions.

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