Q 01/05

Nearly all mammals, even giraffes, have seven neck vertebrae; which tree-dwellers are a rare exception?

A) Koalas

B) Sloths

C) Lemurs

D) Orangutans

Answer · why

B) Sloths

Sloths break the mammal rule: two-toed kinds have five or six neck vertebrae and three-toed kinds have nine. The only other known exception is the man...

Q 02/05

Which Australian mammal lays eggs, has webbed feet and a duck-like bill, and carries venomous ankle spurs if male?

A) Wombat

B) Quokka

C) Bandicoot

D) Platypus

Answer · why

D) Platypus

The platypus is one of only five living monotremes, the mammals that lay eggs; the other four are echidnas. A male's venom is strong enough to cause p...

Q 03/05

Which sluggish fish can live for at least 270 years, longer than any other known vertebrate?

A) Greenland shark

B) Beluga sturgeon

C) Orange roughy

D) Giant grouper

Answer · why

A) Greenland shark

The Greenland shark is aged by radiocarbon dating the lenses of its eyes, and the oldest one measured was put at roughly 390 years. It may not be read...

Q 04/05

Which mammals, about a fifth of all mammal species, are the only ones capable of sustained flight rather than gliding?

A) Colugos

B) Possums

C) Bats

D) Shrews

Answer · why

C) Bats

Bats fly on a thin membrane stretched across long, spread-out fingers, which makes them more agile in the air than most birds. At least 1,500 species ...

Q 05/05

Which sea mammal, weighing up to about 190 tonnes, is the largest animal known ever to have existed?

A) Fin whale

B) Blue whale

C) Sperm whale

D) Right whale

Answer · why

B) Blue whale

The blue whale reaches about 30 metres in length, yet it feeds almost entirely on krill. It lunges at a swarm with its mouth wide open, then strains t...