Q 01/05

Which US president's surname is also a genus of leaf-shaped flatworms, named from Tupi words for 'leaf animal'?

A) Carter

B) Nixon

C) Obama

D) Taft

Answer · why

C) Obama

Obama joins the Tupi words oba, leaf, and ma, animal, so the match with the 44th president is pure coincidence. One species, Obama nungara, has spread...

Q 02/05

Which mating duel do some large marine flatworms fight, with the loser left to carry the eggs?

A) Penis fencing

B) Tail wrestling

C) Love-dart firing

D) Jaw locking

Answer · why

A) Penis fencing

Penis fencing can last up to an hour, as each worm tries to stab and inseminate its rival while dodging the same fate. The winner escapes the costly w...

Q 03/05

A cut planarian flatworm regrew with a head at each end after five weeks aboard which orbiting laboratory?

A) Skylab

B) Tiangong

C) Salyut 7

D) The ISS

Answer · why

D) The ISS

The ISS carried the worm pieces for a Tufts University study, and one fragment came back double-headed. Electric fields can trigger the same oddity on...

Q 04/05

The green-banded broodsac flatworm pulses inside a snail's eye stalks, mimicking which prey to lure hungry birds?

A) Spiders

B) Caterpillars

C) Small beetles

D) Houseflies

Answer · why

B) Caterpillars

Caterpillars are what the throbbing, striped sacs resemble, and the parasite also keeps its snail in brighter, higher spots. Birds have been seen tear...

Q 05/05

The parasitic flatworm Ribeiroia ondatrae is blamed for which pond animals growing extra or missing hind legs?

A) Frogs

B) Turtles

C) Crayfish

D) Otters

Answer · why

A) Frogs

Frogs pick up the larvae as tadpoles, when the parasites settle around the budding hind limbs. A deformed adult is easier for a heron or hawk to catch...