Name That Exotic Animal! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kinkajou

The kinkajou (Potos flavus) is a small, light brown animal with a prehensile tail. Its habitat ranges from South America to southern Mexico. It resembles a cross between a ferret and lemur, but it's in the Procyonidae family, meaning it's related to the raccoon. ...Incorrect answers: 'Kinesis' means response movement in an organism. 'Kamikaze' is a word for a suicide attacker from the Japanese meaning 'divine wind.' 'Kalamari,' if it can be said to be anything, is a misspelling of 'calamari,' meaning fried squid.

Answer: Cacomistle

The cacomistle, also in the Procyonidae family, resembles a small, thin raccoon with a thinner tail and no mask. The South American species ranges from Panama to Mexico, while B. astutus, the North American version, also known as the ringtail cat, is found in the western and southern U.S.

It is omnivorous, arboreal and nocturnal. ...Incorrect answers: 'Cochimi' is an American Indian people living in Baja California. A 'caecum' is a cavity in an organism, usually the hidden end of the small intestine. 'Caracole' is a half turn to right or left performed by a horse and rider.

Answer: Pangolin

There are many species of pangolin. The ground pangolin of Africa (Manis temmincki) is a scaled mammal about three feet long with claws, a prehensile tail, and no teeth. Its long tongue extracts ants and termites, its main diet, from their mounds. It can use its claws for defense as a last resort, but it also has two other means of protection.

It can spray a foul liquid from special glands, and it can curl into a tight, armored ball. Cool. They are quite endangered, thanks to humans. ...Incorrect answers: 'Paraffin' is a waxy substance (in Britain it means kerosene). 'Panadol' is a trademark for an analgesic. 'Pongee' is soft silk from China or India.

Answer: Cuscus

The cuscus is a two-foot-long, nocturnal herbivorous marsupial. It lives in northern Australia and New Guinea. Its tail is very long and hairless. It looks like a large shrew with long limbs and a bat-like face. ...Incorrect answers: 'Couscous' is a dish of Western or Northern Africa made from either semolina or millet flour.

A 'cental' is a hundredweight. A 'condyle' is a rounded bump at the end of a bone. Really. It is.

Answer: Bandicoot

The bandicoot, of the family Peramelidae, is an Australian marsupial. Most species are endangered. The pig-footed bandicoot is extinct, while other species such as the desert bandicoot or the eastern barred bandicoot, remain. The bandicoot, a small nocturnal omnivore, looks like a long-nosed rat, if I may be blunt. ...Incorrect answers: A 'bandit,' is, of course, another name for a robber. 'Bennet' is an herb of Europe and North America, also called avens.

A 'bubo' is the swelling of a lymph node.

Answer: Coatimundi

The Coatimundi (Nasua nasua) lives all over northern South America and Mexico. It is omnivorous, about two feet long, and reddish brown to chocolate in color. It has a sharp snout and a long, ringed tail. There is also a mountain species which is smaller and about which much less is known. ...Incorrect answers: 'Congee' is a variant of 'congé,' which means leave-taking or dismissal. 'Chutney' is a spiced relish. 'Colza' is a variety of Eurasian cabbage.

Answer: Uakari

This monkey of Brazil and Peru is about the size of a cat, has a scarlet face and --- oddly --- a stumpy, non-prehensile tail. They are vivacious and social creatures that live on the fruit of the rainforests. They are endangered due to logging. ...Incorrect answers: An 'ukase' is an edict, originally from Imperial Russia. An 'ugli' is a hybrid between a tangerine and a grapefruit. 'Unco' is a Scots word meaning a strange thing or person.

It also means 'very.'

Answer: Sitatunga

No, it doesn't live underwater, but the somewhat shaggy sitatunga is very much at home in swamps. This three- to four-foot high African animal has extra high hoofs (adapted for walking in marsh) and two spiralled horns. It feeds on swamp vegetation. ...Incorrect answers: 'Stevia' is a genus of New World plant. 'Stotinka' is a Bulgarian currency, 1/100 of a lev. 'Salamanca' is a millennia-old city in Spain (and a much younger one in New York).

Answer: Numbat

The numbat is a small (just over a pound) Australian marsupial that lives among eucalyptus and eats termites almost exclusively. It is, unusually for a marsupial, diurnal, presumably because the termites are out during the day. It resembles a pointy-noised squirrel with stripes on its hindquarters.

It's the state animal of Western Australia. ...Incorrect answers: 'Nubian' means related to the languages, people or culture of a Sudanese African peoples. 'Nebat' is the father of Jeroboam in the Bible (viz. 2 Kings, etc).

A 'nostrum' is a quack or untested remedy.

Answer: Chevrotain

The African, or water, chevrotain (family Tragulidae), looks like a deer, but according to scientific classification it is more closely related to the camel. It's an herbivore that lives in tropical rainforests. There is also a Malaysian species of chevrotain. ...Incorrect answers: 'Chevrolet' is, of course, a American make of car.

A 'capriole' is an upward leap made by a trained horse without kicking or advancing. 'Chaparral' means a dense thicket of vegetation, often oaks. Thank you for taking this quiz. My only regret is that I couldn't fit in the bongo or dik-dik.