Q 01/05

What is the walrus's scientific name?

A) Phoca rosmarus

B) Odobenus rosmarus

C) Otaria walrus

D) Trichechus rosmarus

Answer · why

B) Odobenus rosmarus

It is the only living member of the family Odobenidae, which once had at least twenty species.

Q 02/05

What are the two recognised walrus subspecies?

A) Arctic and Antarctic

B) Atlantic and Pacific

C) Northern and Southern

D) Bering and Laptev

Answer · why

B) Atlantic and Pacific

A Laptev Sea population was once proposed as a third but has proved to be of Pacific origin.

Q 03/05

The genus name Odobenus comes from Greek words meaning what?

A) Whale-horse

B) Sea-giant

C) Tooth-walker

D) Ice-biter

Answer · why

C) Tooth-walker

It refers to walruses using their tusks to haul themselves out of the water.

Q 04/05

The word 'walrus' comes from Old Norse elements meaning what?

A) Whale-horse

B) Sea-cow

C) Shore-giant

D) Tusk-beast

Answer · why

A) Whale-horse

Old Norse hrosshvalr, 'horse-whale', appears to have been passed to Dutch and north German in inverted form as walros.

Q 05/05

What was the archaic English word for the walrus, still used in French?

A) Rosmar

B) Seahorse

C) Hvalross

D) Morse

Answer · why

D) Morse

It came via Slavic from Finno-Ugric; the coincidental resemblance to Latin morsus, 'a bite', helped the walrus's monster reputation.