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Quiz about Theyve Cheated Extinction
Quiz about Theyve Cheated Extinction

They've Cheated Extinction Trivia Quiz


Zoologists use to call them 'living fossils' but in fact they proved to be the most adaptable creatures in the animal kingdom. Let's just hope our human kind will last as much as any of these species.

A multiple-choice quiz by Mr5. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
Mr5
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
113,344
Updated
Jan 01 23
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
7793
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: LadyNym (10/10), SixShutouts66 (8/10), Dagny1 (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. This 'living fossil' belongs to a primitive group of marine mollusks that first appeared in the Lower Cambrian period (about 570 million years ago). It can be found in subtidal waters, around the shores of Japan, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska and all the way to California, measuring about 5 cm. Even though all the listed species have been around for quite long only one of them fits the data above. Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. This weird-looking marine creature, resembling the ancient trilobites, survived several mass-extinctions and looks almost identical to its ancestors 350 million years ago. Ironically, after enduring the test of time, this species is now endangered, due to man's exploitation of its many usages. Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Many of the species categorized as 'living fossils' appear quite strange, apparently coming from another world. Such is the case of this 500 million years old creature, which looks like a snail with tentacles and whose closest relatives are the squids. Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. One of the most successful groups of vertebrates, these creatures have been terrorizing the seas for almost 400 million years. Their ultimate representative was Carcharodon megalodon, which fortunately
left the scene for its smaller, yet still ferocious descendants.

Answer: (One word, not a specific species)
Question 5 of 10
5. This fish is probably the world's best known example of 'living fossil'. Long thought to be extinct, the capture of this specimen - in 1938, in the waters of the Indian Ocean - is considered one of the major scientific finds of the 20th century. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. The lush and swampy forests of the Carboniferous Era were a paradise for insects and amphibians. But some of those ancient creatures have survived for over 300 million years and reached our times with little changes. Which present group of animals are a reminiscence of those clouded ages? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. This unique reptile, which appeared at the beginning of the Mesozoic Era, has witnessed the rise and fall of the dinosaurs. Though today it lives only in New Zealand it is the bearer of the 'living fossil' distinction. Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. The cunning and skillful crocodiles are some of the few reptiles to survive the catastrophic event that took place at the end of the Cretaceous. Today there are still 25 species of crocodiles. However, these do not include one of the following: Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Although it is generally stated that all the dinosaurs were wiped out in the mass extinction 65 million years ago, technically they've survived as a group of animals that still flourishes today. Who are these 'modern' dinosaurs?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 10 of 10
10. Countless species are now on the brink of extinction, most of them because of the damage caused by us humans to their natural environments. But there is still hope for them, as genetic engineering is continuously making progresses in dealing with the natural world. Eventually this all comes to a moral debate. So, have there been any attempts to bring back to life an extinct species?



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. This 'living fossil' belongs to a primitive group of marine mollusks that first appeared in the Lower Cambrian period (about 570 million years ago). It can be found in subtidal waters, around the shores of Japan, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska and all the way to California, measuring about 5 cm. Even though all the listed species have been around for quite long only one of them fits the data above.

Answer: Lined Chiton

The lined chiton gets its name from the calcium carbonate shell - consisting of 8 overlapping plates - which covers its muscular body.
The shell comes in various colors including light and dark red, light and dark blue, white, black and even orange or pink, proving useful for camouflage.
2. This weird-looking marine creature, resembling the ancient trilobites, survived several mass-extinctions and looks almost identical to its ancestors 350 million years ago. Ironically, after enduring the test of time, this species is now endangered, due to man's exploitation of its many usages.

Answer: Horseshoe Crab

The main value of the horseshoe crab is its blood, which has the capability of killing certain types of bacteria (which infect us humans too) that are contracted when the crab is wounded. It is also used as fertilizer, bait, source of chitin and as an ingredient of a potential AIDS vaccine.
3. Many of the species categorized as 'living fossils' appear quite strange, apparently coming from another world. Such is the case of this 500 million years old creature, which looks like a snail with tentacles and whose closest relatives are the squids.

Answer: Nautilus

The distinctive feature of the Nautilus is its spiral-shaped shell.
The animal itself is housed in the last chamber of the shell, which is permanently replaced with new segments, as the animal grows. The Nautilus feeds during the night, swimming upward from the dark bottom of the ocean where it can reach depths down to 700 meters.
4. One of the most successful groups of vertebrates, these creatures have been terrorizing the seas for almost 400 million years. Their ultimate representative was Carcharodon megalodon, which fortunately left the scene for its smaller, yet still ferocious descendants.

Answer: sharks

In spite of looking "primitive" compared to the other groups of fish, the cartilaginous fish, and especially the sharks managed to continuously adapt throughout the ages while exerting their supremacy in the marine world. Even nowadays, the white shark is the most ferocious sea predator, while the whale shark is the world's largest fish.
5. This fish is probably the world's best known example of 'living fossil'. Long thought to be extinct, the capture of this specimen - in 1938, in the waters of the Indian Ocean - is considered one of the major scientific finds of the 20th century.

Answer: Coelacanth

Although scientists hoped they could link the Coelacanth with the dawn of tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates), this eventually couldn't be verified. The studies showed that the fish's lobed fins, suggesting primitive "legs", are in fact only fins.
6. The lush and swampy forests of the Carboniferous Era were a paradise for insects and amphibians. But some of those ancient creatures have survived for over 300 million years and reached our times with little changes. Which present group of animals are a reminiscence of those clouded ages?

Answer: Dragonflies

Dragonflies are some of the most amazing creatures in the animal kingdom. They are masters of flight, being able to fly forward, backwards, straight up, or down, while they fascinate us with their glittering colors. Their famous ancestor - Meganeura - which had a wingspan of 75 cm (the largest recorded insect) eclipses its modern cousins, which have a maximum wingspan of only 19 cm.
7. This unique reptile, which appeared at the beginning of the Mesozoic Era, has witnessed the rise and fall of the dinosaurs. Though today it lives only in New Zealand it is the bearer of the 'living fossil' distinction.

Answer: Tuatara

Tuatara, or Hatteria would have probably also become extinct if it hadn't been for the isolation of New Zealand. It is a lizard-like reptile (belongs to the order Rynchocephalia) measuring about 60cm and has some interesting, yet primitive features: the lack of the male copulatory organ and the presence of the 'third eye'.

This so called eye isn't functional as it is covered by opaque scales, but it has the basic structure of a visual organ, being also connected by a nerve to the brain.
8. The cunning and skillful crocodiles are some of the few reptiles to survive the catastrophic event that took place at the end of the Cretaceous. Today there are still 25 species of crocodiles. However, these do not include one of the following:

Answer: Deinosuchus riograndensis

Crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gavials still lurk in the world's rivers waiting to grasp their unfortunate prey, but at least their monstrous ancestor, the 15 meters Deinosuchus, isn't around anymore. Nevertheless, today's crocodiles are the same perfect 'killing machines' that they used to be in their glory days. They have numerous adaptations, the most important being the palatal valve,
which keeps water out of their throat, making them deadly efficient underwater.
9. Although it is generally stated that all the dinosaurs were wiped out in the mass extinction 65 million years ago, technically they've survived as a group of animals that still flourishes today. Who are these 'modern' dinosaurs?

Answer: birds

The latest paleonthological discoveries made in China in the mid-1990s revealed that some of the dinosaurs had developed feathers although they almost certainly couldn't fly yet. So besides the famous Archaeopterxy, researchers now have a clear list of bird-like feathered dinosaurs - Sinosauropterxy, Sinornithosaurus, Archaeraptor, Protosauropteryx - suggesting the slight transition between the two groups.

This in fact means that these so called avian dinosaurs have really cheated extinction.
10. Countless species are now on the brink of extinction, most of them because of the damage caused by us humans to their natural environments. But there is still hope for them, as genetic engineering is continuously making progresses in dealing with the natural world. Eventually this all comes to a moral debate. So, have there been any attempts to bring back to life an extinct species?

Answer: Yes

In 1999 Australian scientists have undertaken the ambitious project of bringing back to life the Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine cynocephalus) which was officially declared extinct in 1986. Their initial confidence was unwarranted however as the project was shut down in 2005 due to the poor grade of DNA recovered from the specimens.
Source: Author Mr5

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