Q 01/05

Which extremely stretchy body part does a pufferfish fill with water to swell into a ball?

A) Its lungs

B) Its stomach

C) Its swim bladder

D) Its cheeks

Answer · why

B) Its stomach

Its stomach is so elastic that a pufferfish can gulp enough water to become several times its normal size. Lifted out of the sea, it gulps air instead...

Q 02/05

What do male white-spotted pufferfish off Japan spend about a week sculpting on the seabed to attract a mate?

A) A tower of shells

B) A seaweed tunnel

C) A coral archway

D) A sand circle

Answer · why

D) A sand circle

A sand circle about two metres wide, with ridges and a maze-like centre, is the male's courtship display. He is only about 10 cm long and never uses t...

Q 03/05

Pufferfish poison is often said to be up to 1,200 times more deadly than which infamous poison?

A) Cyanide

B) Arsenic

C) Strychnine

D) Ricin

Answer · why

A) Cyanide

Cyanide is the usual yardstick, and the toxin in a pufferfish leaves it far behind. Doctors have no antidote: they can only keep a victim breathing un...

Q 04/05

Which sea mammals have been filmed gently passing a pufferfish around, apparently to get a buzz from its toxin?

A) Sea otters

B) Manatees

C) Dolphins

D) Harbour seals

Answer · why

C) Dolphins

Dolphins were filmed handling a pufferfish with great care and sharing it among the group, then seeming to drift in a trance-like state.

Q 05/05

What does Mrs. Puff, the pufferfish in SpongeBob SquarePants, teach at her school in Bikini Bottom?

A) Karate

B) Boating

C) Painting

D) Jellyfishing

Answer · why

B) Boating

Boating is her subject, and SpongeBob keeps failing her driving test. She inflates like a car's airbag whenever he crashes.