Path of the Predators Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stethacanthus

First discovered in the late 1800s, Stethacanthus was nicknamed "The Ironing-Board Shark" because its dorsal fin is shaped like an ironing board rather than having the more familiar triangle shape. It appears that only the male Stethacanthus had this peculiar feature. The first Stethacanthus fossils were found in the late 1800s. This discovery is rare because shark skeletons are made from soft material that isn't easily fossilized.

The other animals listed are also sharks. Helicoprion lived during the late Permian and the early Triassic. Its short lower jaw was a peculiar spiral shape. Hybodus lived during dinosaur times from the beginning of the Triassic right through to the late Cretaceous. The last shark on the list, Cladoselache, was quite small and lived during the Devonian period.

Answer: Dimetrodon

Often thought of as being a dinosaur, Dimetrodon lived fifty million years before the first true dinosaurs evolved. It belonged to a group of animals called Pelycosaurs which, in turn, belonged to a group called the mammal-like reptiles. The sail on its back was made of skin and was probably used as a display device or to regulate body temperature.

The other animals listed are also Pelycosaurs. Sphenacodon was similar to Dimetrodon, only smaller and without the sail on the back. Varanops was one of the last Pelycosaurs, surviving up until the earliest stages of the late Permian. Tetraceratops was also a sail-less Pelycosaur, but it had a set of four stumpy horns on its head, hence the name "Four-Horned Head".

Answer: Attenborosaurus

Named after naturalist Sir David Attenborough, Attenborosaurus was a Plesiosaur, a type of long-necked marine reptile. Although they lived at the same time as the dinosaurs, Plesiosaurs belonged to a separate group. In 1820, a young English girl, Mary Anning, discovered the first Plesiosaur fossils. At the time, many people didn't believe in the concept of extinction, and Miss Anning was accused of creating fake fossils. Of course, we now know the fossils were not fake.

Macroplata and Rhomaleosaurus were also early Jurassic Plesiosaurs while Temnodontosaurus belonged to another group of marine reptiles, the Ichthyosaurs.

Answer: Piatnitzkysaurus

Discovered in the 1970s, Piatnitzkysaurus provided the first evidence that relatives of the North American dinosaurs had existed in South America during the mid Jurassic, before the formation of the seaway that would turn South America into an isolated island. During the mid Jurassic, North America, Africa and South America were still joined together, but in the late Jurassic, these continents started to break apart and South America became an isolated island.

Ozraptor, Monolophosaurus and Proceratosaurus also lived during the mid Jurassic, though each lived in a different place. Monolophosaurus lived in Asia, Proceratosaurus lived in England and Ozraptor lived in Australia.

Answer: Anhanguera

Anhanguera was not a dinosaur. It belonged to a group of animals called Pterosaurs and had a wingspan of around four metres. It had long pointed teeth to hold on to slippery fish. Pterosaurs ranged greatly in size. The earliest ones were as small as seagulls, while later ones including Tupuxuara, Cearadactylus and Tapejara had wingspans of more than five metres. One of the largest Pterosaurs, Hatzegopteryx, may have had a wingspan of up to twelve metres.

Answer: Tyrannosaurus

One of the most famous dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus was also one of the last. It didn't appear until about two million years before dinosaurs became extinct.

The first T-Rex fossils, a small collection of teeth, were found in Colorado, USA, in the 1870s. However, the first partial skeleton wasn't found until 1902. On this skeleton the arms were missing, so most people assumed that T-Rex had long arms with three fingers. It wasn't until 1989 that the first complete T-Rex arms were identified. We now know that T-Rex's arms were very short and had only two fingers.

The other dinosaurs listed are some of T-Rex's closest relatives. Nanotyrannus is the smallest Tyrannosaurid, hence the name "Dwarf Tyrant". Albertosaurus was the first dinosaur to be discovered in Alberta, Canada, therefore it was named after the place where it was found. The final dinosaur on the list, Daspletosaurus, was slightly smaller than T-Rex but had bigger teeth.

Answer: Diatryma

Also known as Gastornis, scientists are debating over what Diatryma actually ate. Was it really the predator that its always been portrayed as or was it nothing more than a harmless fruit-eater? No-one knows for sure, but the predator theory is the most popular.

Neocathartes was also a large bird, related to today's cranes. Unlike Diatryma, Neocathartes could fly, though it was more adapted for hunting on the ground.

Psittacotherium and Obdurodon were primitive mammals. Psittacotherium was similar in size to a modern beaver while Obdurodon was an early relative of the platypus.

Answer: Megalodon

When it comes to prehistoric fish, Megalodon was the largest of them all. This gigantic shark may have grown up to twenty metres in length. The most common Megalodon fossils are its massive teeth.

The other animals listed are all amphibians from the Carboniferous period of Eastern Europe and North America.

Answer: Smilodon

The largest of the sabre-toothed cats, Smilodon's canine teeth could reach a length of almost thirty centimetres, yet its bite force was weaker than that of a modern lion. Despite their size, the teeth were fragile and easily broken.

Homotherium and Miracinonyx were also early relatives of today's modern cats while Megaladapis was a giant lemur.

Answer: Thylacoleo

Thylacoleo means "Pouched Lion", though it was in no way related to today's modern lion. It was actually a marsupial, raising its immature young in a pouch, similar to the kangaroo.

The other animals listed were also marsupials. Palorchestes and Neohelos were Diprotodonts, animals that resembled giant wombats. Wynardia was much smaller and probably spent most of its time in the treetops.