Q 01/05

Which land animals are dugongs more closely related to than they are to whales or seals?

A) Rhinoceroses

B) Elephants

C) Hippos

D) Cattle

Answer · why

B) Elephants

Elephants share an ancient ancestor with dugongs and manatees, a family tie that also takes in the small, furry hyraxes.

Q 02/05

Sailors' sightings of dugongs are often said to have inspired which legendary sea creatures?

A) Mermaids

B) Sea serpents

C) Krakens

D) Selkies

Answer · why

A) Mermaids

Mermaids are often said to be inspired by dugongs, and one Malay name for the animal means woman of the sea.

Q 03/05

A manatee has a paddle-shaped tail, but a dugong's tail looks like that of which animal?

A) Beaver

B) Walrus

C) Dolphin

D) Sea otter

Answer · why

C) Dolphin

A dolphin has the same notched, fluked tail as a dugong, which sweeps it up and down in long strokes to cruise at about 10 km/h.

Q 04/05

How do dugongs sometimes rest in shallow water with their heads above the surface to breathe?

A) Floating on their backs

B) Standing on their tails

C) Leaning on sandbanks

D) Gripping mangrove roots

Answer · why

B) Standing on their tails

Standing on their tails lets dugongs breathe with their heads out of the water; they usually come up every couple of minutes but can hold a breath for...

Q 05/05

How do feeding dugongs get around a seagrass meadow, instead of swimming as they do in open water?

A) Crawl on their bellies

B) Push along with their snouts

C) Walk on their flippers

D) Roll along sideways

Answer · why

C) Walk on their flippers

Dugongs walk on their flippers as they graze, and those paddle-like forelimbs make up only about 15% of the animal's body length.