Animals of the Amazon Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ocelot

They may be the most common type of cat in the Amazon Rainforest, but it is very unusual for someone to come across one in the wild as they are generally quiet, solitary creatures that keep a low profile by nature. Common throughout Central and South America, these smaller wildcats are amongst a small group of large felines to be kept and trained domestically as far back as early Mesoamerican civilizations. Generally keeping its hunting hours to nighttime, ocelots live in dense forests and tropical swamps.

Many of their habitats overlap with another Amazon feline-- the jaguar.

Answer: Moth

The Thysania agrippina, also known as the white witch, is one the biggest types of moth in the world and while it is sometimes mistaken for a bird due to its size, it's an insect. Although other moths found in the equatorial jungles of Southeast Asia have larger wing areas, specimens of the Thysania agrippina found in the Amazon have the longest wingspan with the longest measurements clocking in over twelve inches. Though primarily seen in the Amazon and Central America, these creatures thrive in warmer environments and can be found (though perhaps not as large) as far north as the Southern U.S.

Answer: Cow

The hoatzin is a fascinating bird that makes its home in Northwestern Brazil and bordering nations, often nesting in tropical mangrove forests. Capable of eating leaves, it digests its food not unlike cattle, by fermenting the crop in their stomachs, the difference being that cattle use rumen to accomplish this while the bird's biology allows for a similar process to occur without.

Hoatzin are also unique in that up to seven birds will help raise a nest. One female will lay a small handful of eggs, but multiple birds will help incubate and feed them until they're old enough to leave. Because they are alleged to taste bad, hoatzin are rarely hunted by humans.

Answer: Mammal

Botos are essentially river dolphins, meaning that they will fall into the category of mammal like their cousins. When these creatures are young they're grey, but the older they get the pinker they get. Boto are generally found deeper into the Amazon, frequenting freshwater rivers and their offshoots (like the Amazon specifically and the Orinoco River).

They aren't exclusively freshwater, but the closer you get to the Atlantic, the more likely you are to find regular sea dolphins. They're not only the largest river dolphins in the world, but the most widespread due to the rainforest's vastness.

Answer: Piranha

Though piranhas have been fictionalized over the years to become seen as ravenous eating machines, the truth is that piranhas aren't stirred into a frenzy over an attraction to blood. In reality, piranhas are omnivorous, eating generally anything that suits their fancy though sometimes this will be meat.

They're capable of it too; their teeth are distinctly sharp and in some cases they have jaws well equipped to bite, latch, and serrate flesh. The catch is that they're not generally going to be aggressive unless starved. Piranhas are also freshwater fish and, of course, they're native to the Amazon.

Answer: Matamata

Hard to find out in the wild, the matamata has a dark, bark-like shell that keeps it from being seen by larger prey in the Amazon's swampier regions. Found throughout the Orinoco and Amazon River basins, the matamata is interesting in that it uses suction feeding to vacuum smaller prey into its mouth in shallow waters. Because of its unique biology, it doesn't chew its food; once it's been inhaled (as it were), it's eaten whole.

Answer: Scarlet

A tropical parrot, the scarlet macaw makes its home through Central and South America and, along with the blue-and-yellow macaw, might be considered one of the more eye-catching birds of the region. Capable of living in the wild for more than half a century, these birds sustain themselves on fruits, seeds, and small insects and don't generally fly in flocks like other bird groupings.

Instead, you'd be likely to see them standing out amongst rainforest canopies and along major waterways.

Answer: Hummingbird

Determinable from its distinctive beak and size, the fork-tailed woodnymph isn't found only in the Amazon, but across most of South America, making its home in not only humid, tropical forests, but in outlying regions of the central continent and northern coasts.

These small birds are extremely energetic and have to eat more than their body weight's worth of food in a day to maintain themselves, generally feeding on nectar and tiny bugs.

Answer: Spear-nosed

One of the larger bats of the Amazon (and outlying nations), the greater spear-nosed bat is classified by its distinctive facial feature, a sharper nose that aids it with a heightened sense of smell. It's also a creature that has evolved in tandem with the ecosystem-- there are flowers that open at night just for nectar-drinking bats, allowing the animals to aid in pollination.

Other bats of the amazon include the fruit bat, the spectral bat, and the vampire bat.

Answer: Tegu

Some tegu lizards are amongst the largest in South America, stretching as long as a human is tall and being big enough to eat whole, live chickens. The largest of these, the black and white tegu, is similar to a large monitor lizard (though these are generally around the other side of the globe). Considered an invasive species in many regions, some tegu are also well-kept as a pet for those looking for exotic reptiles.