Animal Words Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rana temporaria

Rana temporaria, the common frog - an amphibian of the family Ranidae, found in most of Europe and west into Asia as far as Japan. The name of the animal derives from the Proto-West-Germanic "froggo". The homophone word is a V-shaped organ on the bottom of a horse's hoof that assists in the circulation of blood. Sadly I can find no record of the derivation of this word, which has been in use since about the 16th century; I can only think that its V shape called to mind a swimming frog.

Answer: Vipera berus

Vipera berus, the common European adder - a venomous snake of the family Viperidae, found throughout Europe and east Asia. The animal's name comes from the Middle English "nadder" ("a nadder" elides to "an adder"), from the Proto-Germanic "nadro", from the Proto-Indo-European "sneh", meaning to spin or twist.

The noun "adder", meaning someone or something that sums numbers, comes from the Latin "addo", meaning to add up. In the Book of Psalms in the Bible, it mentions that snakes are deaf, giving rise to the practice of using snake oil to cure deafness.

Answer: Polygonia comma album

Polygonia comma album, the comma - a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, found in Europe, North Africa and Asia, though particularly in Norway, Sweden and Great Britain. A closely related species, Polygonia comma, is found in the eastern states of the US.

The name derives from the silvery comma-shaped mark on the undersurfaces of the hind wings. The name for the punctuation mark derives from the Ancient Greek "komma", related to "kopto" (I cut), showing its role in cutting off items in lists.

It probably arose in the 3rd century BCE.

Answer: Lampropholis guichenoti

Lampropholis guichenoti, the common garden skink - a lizard in the family Scincidae, found in Australia. The lizard's name goes back through the Ancient Greek "skingos" to the Ancient Akkadian word "sakkatirru". The latter means something along the lines of "mongoose of the forest" as well as the name for the lizard.

A "skink" in Scotland is a shin of beef or a shank bone, which has also given its name to a soup made from this cut. However, probably more well-known is the usage of the word in a particular type of smoked haddock, potato and onion soup originating in the Moray town of Cullen which is known as "Cullen Skink".

At one time it was a specialty item in one of my local pubs, along with venison burgers - you'd hear the call go up from the waiting-on staff, "one skink, one Bambi".

Answer: Lissotriton vulgaris

Lissotriton vulgaris, the smooth, European or common newt (known as the "eft") - a member of the family Salamandridae, found in Europe and Asia. The name of the animal goes back to the Old English "efeta", but the origin of this word is unknown. The use of the adverb eft meaning again or afterwards (as in eftsoons) has decreased in recent years; it comes from the Proto-Germanic "aftiz".

Answer: Salamandra salamandra

Salamandra salamandra, the fire salamander - an amphibian of the family Salamandridae, found in Central Europe. The name of the animal comes from the Ancient Greek "salamándra", and is possibly of Iranian or Persian origin. The cooking utensil's name obviously comes from the same root, probably coming about through the animal's legendary ability to live in and to extinguish fire.

Answer: Trachemys scripta elegans

Trachemys scripta elegans, the red-eared slider - a semiaquatic turtle of the family Emydidae, originally found in the Midwestern US, now invasive in most of the world. The animal was first referred to as a "slider" in about the 1870s, possibly from its ability to slide off rocks and disappear into water.

The baseball pitch also refers to something dropping quickly - in this case, the baseball - as a result of the pitch being thrown with added pressure by middle and ring fingers yielding a combination of backspin and sidespin.

As mentioned, the slider is considered to be one of the world's most invasive species, and many countries are now banning their import - too little, too late, perhaps?

Answer: Homarus gemmarus

Homarus gammarus, the common lobster - a species of clawed lobster of the family Nephropidae, found in Atlantic, Mediterranean and Caspian Sea waters. The origin of the animal's name is uncertain: it could be from the Old English "loppestre", a corruption of the Latin word "locusta" with the feminine ending "-estre" added. Alternatively it could be from another Old English word, " loppe" meaning "spider", again with an added feminine ending.

The slang word "lobster" for a British army soldier was first seen in the English Civil War, when a heavily-armoured cavalry regiment acquired this name (cf. cataphracts in the late Roman Empire). However it rapidly became applied to all soldiers because of the red surcoats they wore, and the word was in common use during the American War of Independence. Note that this was "lobster" - the alternative word "lobsterback" did not appear until 20 or 30 years after the end of the War.

Answer: Vipera aspis

Vipera aspis, the European asp - a venomous snake of the family Viperidae, found mainly in France and Italy. The animals' name goes back to the Ancient Greek "aspis", while the usage as an alternative name for the aspen tree comes from the Proto-Indo-European "hosp". The snake's bite can be more serious than that of V. berus; about 4% of untreated bites prove fatal.

Answer: Echinus esculentus

Echinus esculentus, the common or edible sea urchin - a marine invertebrate of the family Echinidae found in coastal Western European waters. The animal's name derives from its resemblance to a hedgehog. In Old English, this was called an "irchoun", derived from the Latin "ericius".

In the 16th century, people who looked untidy or behaved badly came to be called urchins, and this usage became common in the late 18th century.