Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. This 'living fossil' belongs to a primitive group of marine mollusks that first appeared in the Lower Cambrian period (about 570 million years ago). It can be found in subtidal waters, around the shores of Japan, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska and all the way to California, measuring about 5 cm. Even though all the listed species have been around for quite long only one of them fits the data above.
2. This weird-looking marine creature, resembling the ancient trilobites, survived several mass-extinctions and looks almost identical to its ancestors 350 million years ago. Ironically, after enduring the test of time, this species is now endangered, due to man's exploitation of its many usages.
3. Many of the species categorized as 'living fossils' appear quite strange, apparently coming from another world. Such is the case of this 500 million years old creature, which looks like a snail with tentacles and whose closest relatives are the squids.
4. One of the most successful groups of vertebrates, these creatures have been terrorizing the seas for almost 400 million years. Their ultimate representative was Carcharodon megalodon, which fortunately
left the scene for its smaller, yet still ferocious descendants.
5. This fish is probably the world's best known example of 'living fossil'. Long thought to be extinct, the capture of this specimen - in 1938, in the waters of the Indian Ocean - is considered one of the major scientific finds of the 20th century.
6. The lush and swampy forests of the Carboniferous Era were a paradise for insects and amphibians. But some of those ancient creatures have survived for over 300 million years and reached our times with little changes. Which present group of animals are a reminiscence of those clouded ages?
7. This unique reptile, which appeared at the beginning of the Mesozoic Era, has witnessed the rise and fall of the dinosaurs. Though today it lives only in New Zealand it is the bearer of the 'living fossil' distinction.
8. The cunning and skillful crocodiles are some of the few reptiles to survive the catastrophic event that took place at the end of the Cretaceous. Today there are still 25 species of crocodiles. However, these do not include one of the following:
9. Although it is generally stated that all the dinosaurs were wiped out in the mass extinction 65 million years ago, technically they've survived as a group of animals that still flourishes today. Who are these 'modern' dinosaurs?
10. Countless species are now on the brink of extinction, most of them because of the damage caused by us humans to their natural environments. But there is still hope for them, as genetic engineering is continuously making progresses in dealing with the natural world. Eventually this all comes to a moral debate. So, have there been any attempts to bring back to life an extinct species?
Source: Author
Mr5
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
crisw before going online.
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