The Key to Garry Groundhog's Family Quiz

Answer: Eukaryotes

Cells with a nucleus are described as eukaryotes, a name that comes from the Greek words 'eu-' (good) and 'karyon' (nut or kernel). Cells without a nucleus are called prokaryotes, using the Greek word 'pro' (before) to indicate the belief of early taxonomists that this type of cell evolved before eukaryotes. Archae and bacteria are two of the subdivisions of prokaryotes.

Answer: Animalia

The names used for the various kingdoms have changed over the years, and usage differs between countries. Linnaeus, the man behind modern taxonomic classification, only established two kingdoms, Plantae and Animalia. As scientists discovered difficulty in allocating some organisms clearly into either of these, they decided that more kingdoms were necessary. Most of the debate as to how many kingdoms there are, and how they should be defined, relates to microscopic organisms, including fossils, and Garry can safely ignore them. Groundhogs are motile multicellular heterotrophs, which means they move around of their own volition, have more than one cell, and get their energy from eating other living things.

This makes them animals. The word animal comes from a Latin word meaning having breath.

Answer: Vertebrata

When you say the word animal, most people immediately envision a vertebrate - as Garry will see, most familiar animals that are large enough to see with the naked eye are vertebrates, including groundhogs and people. However, vertebrates actually only make up about 4% of the number of all species that have been described. All chordates have, at some point in their embryonic life, a notochord - a rod-shaped organ that protects the developing spinal cord. In vertebrates, this then develops into a system of flexibly-linked bones called vertebrae.

As well as vertebrates, there are some other families of chordates, including the tunicates (previously called urochordates), marine filter feeding organisms such as the sea squirt, and the cephalochordates, fishlike animals which retain a notochord, rather than the vertebral column found in fish.

Answer: Mammalia

Mammals are distinguished from other vertebrates by the fact that they suckle their young - the class name comes from the Latin word 'mamma' (breast). They belong to the superclass tetrapodia, which means they are four-limbed animals with backbones. This superclass is divided into anamniotes (animals whose eggs must be laid in water, such as amphibians) and amniotes (animals whose eggs are adapted for birth on dry land).

The amniotes are divided into classes according to a number of features. For living ones, the simplest to recognize at a glance is the skin covering. Reptiles are usually covered in scales, birds in feathers, and mammals in hair or fur.

Answer: Born live and formed roughly like an adult in miniature

There are tree infraclasses of mammals - Eutheria, Metatheria and Prototheria. Eutheria are also called placental mammals; they give birth to young which are essentially adult in form, although many features change as they develop to adulthood. Compared to other mammals, they are far more developed when they emerge from their mother. The infraclass name comes from the fact that the fetus is connected to its mother by a placenta, which allows nutrients to flow in to the fetus, and wastes to be removed from the amniotic sac.

External fertilization is typical of water-based reproduction, such as is found in fish and amphibians. Metatheria are also called marsupials; they give birth to young that are still very poorly developed, since they finish their development inside the mother's pouch before emerging to face the world. Prototheria are the monotremes, which lay eggs. They are still considered mammals because they suckle their young, but they are quite unusual animals. Next time you visit Australia, you may be lucky enough to be able to see one.

Answer: Rodentia

All rodents have teeth that grow continuously, so that they must gnaw steadily to keep them worn down to a reasonable length - hence their name, which comes from the Latin word 'rodere', meaning to gnaw. There are over 2,000 species of rodents in current existence, which is more than 40% of all known species of mammal. Most rodents eats seeds and fruits, which has caused them to be considered as pests by people who want to store these foods for human use.

The three incorrect options are all orders which some people mistakenly think are rodents: Lagomorpha include hares and rabbits; Mustelidae are commonly known as the weasel family; Chiroptera are bats.

Answer: Sciuridae, with squirrels

At last, Garry feels as if he is getting close. Sciuridae include tree squirrels, chipmunks, flying squirrels, prairie dogs and groundhogs. All of these animals have slender bodies with bushy tails. Their hind limbs are usually longer than their forelimbs, and they typically have the ability to stand on their hind legs for long periods of time, although they are not bipedal in locomotion. Most of them are herbivorous, but some eat insects and even small vertebrates.

Aplodontiae have a different shape of skull and arrangement of teeth from other sciumorphs. Gliridae, which are mouse-like in appearance, are only found in Europe, Africa and Asia. Heteromyidae are much smaller and more rat-like in appearance than the average groundhog.

Answer: Marmotini, or ground squirrels

Groundhogs, as their common name suggests, are terrestrial, and belong to the tribe of marmotini, which also includes prairie dogs and chipmunks. The members of this tribe are especially known for their ability to stand on their hind legs, and are often photographed in that erect position.

They are usually highly gregarious, and live in colonies. Compared to other squirrels, they tend to have rather short tails.

Answer: They are carnivorous

Marmots generally eat grass and leaves, as well as berries, roots and flowers. They are definitely not carnivores! As well as groundhogs, there are a number of other species of marmots, most of which include the word marmot in their name. Marmots are social animals, although prairie dogs, classified in the genus Cynomys, are even more socially organized, but groundhogs are one of the least social members of the genus. Groundhogs are excellent burrowers, and often set up a separate winter burrow for their winter hibernation.

Answer: M. monax, found in much of North America

Groundhogs are found the eastern United States, as well as most of Canada and as far north as Alaska. The fairly-closely related prairie dog is found in most of the United States west of the Mississippi River. Possibly the world's most famous groundhog is Punxutawney Phil, who emerges each year on Groundhog Day (February 2) in Punxsutawney, PA, to 'predict' the course of the ensuing winter months.

His 'predictions' are based on the idea that there will be six more weeks of winter if he sees his shadow and retreats into his burrow.

In that part of the world, winter weather lasting until near the end of March is no surprise. Apparently Phil has been accurate in his predictions around 40% of the time, which is less than would be expected from random guessing. Still, it's a fun tradition.

It should be noted that Phil has been making predictions since 1887, although the lifespan of an average groundhog is 6 years in the wild, and nine-fourteen years in captivity.