Dear Readers,
In the spirit of getting everyone involved again, this week I am dividing the quiz into two parts. The first is a gallop through some of the little mammals that live in the UK. All you need to do is to decide what they are on a multiple choice basis. Easy, eh!
In the second part, I’m looking at little (ish) critters from around the world. Can you match the mammal to their home, and can you decide what species they are? They are examples of convergent evolution – they all spend time underground, and so they are all adapted for a burrowing life. Have fun, and as usual, answers in the comments (but if you don’t want to be influenced by those who answered before you, write your answers down first 🙂 #oldschool.
Part One
Here we go! Match the photo to the species (listed below). So, if you think Photo 1 is a hazel dormouse, your answer would be 1)h.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
a) Edible dormouse (Glis glis)
b) Harvest mouse (Micromys minutus)
c) Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus)
d) Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
e) Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
f) Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)
g) Water vole (Arvicola amphibius)
h) Hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius)
Part Two
So, here are some mammals from around the world – all of them are burrowing animals of some kind or another. After the photos, you’ll see a list of a) species, and b) geographical location.
So, if you think photo 9 is a meerkat from Vancouver Island, your answer would be 9)a)i.
NB – Two of the animals are from the same area, so there are only seven geographical answers.
I think this week’s quiz is particularly fiendish, so have a bash and see how you get on! Have fun!
9)
10)
11).
12)
13)
14)
15)
16)
Here are the species:
a) Meerkat (Suricata suricatta)
b) Large-eared pika (Ochotona macrotis)
c) Rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris)
d) Black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus)
e) Vancouver Island marmot (Marmotta vancouverensis)
f) Alpine marmot (Marmota marmota)
h) Cape ground squirrel (Xerus inauris)
And here are the regions where you might find these creatures.
i) Vancouver Island, Canada
ii) Alpine Europe
iii) Australia
iv) US great plains
v) Eastern Brazil
vi) Mountain regions of Asia
vii) Southern Africa
viii) Southern Africa
All answers by 5 p.m. on Monday please, if you want to be marked (not compulsory of course!)
Of course I can identify the ones from southern Africa, but admit to being more au fait with much larger animals than the ones you have featured here. Nonetheless, I have thoroughly enjoyed your selection of photographs – you really are a quizz master!
Part 2 is too difficult for me! Here is my attempt at part 1:
1e, 2a, 3h, 4c, 5g, 6b, 7f, 8d
Thank you for your fun quizzes and interesting and thought-provoking blogs – you have become an important accompaniment to my morning cup of tea.
I think g) was missing from the second list, which I hope was a wombat (or some other Antipodean mammal)…? So my guesses (and they are mostly guesses) are:
1e
2a
3h
4c
5d
6b
7f
8g
9f ii
10e i
11d iv
12h vii
13a viii
14b v
15c vi
16g iii
🤞🤞
Very good Mike! 9/16 is a great score. Plants next week though I think!
I was disappointed to get the shrew and the water vole the wrong way around. I wasn’t even following my own advice about looking for clues in the picture. Doh! A great quiz though. 👍👍