The Weirdest Animals in the World Quiz

Question: What is another named for a platypus, based on one of its unusual features?

Answer: A platypus is also called a duckbill because of the flat, almost comical bill that early observers thought was that of a duck sewn onto the body of a mammal.

Question: What is unusual about some species of glass frogs, a group of tree frogs found in the New World tropics?

Answer: Some species of glass frogs, a group of tree frogs found in the New World tropics, have translucent bellies and chests.

Question: What weird physical trait does the Chinese water deer have?

Answer: The Chinese water deer is the only species of deer in which males lack antlers; instead, they are armed with long, curved, and sharp upper canine teeth that protrude from the mouth. These tusks may exceed 5 cm (2 inches) in length. 

Question: Up to how many individuals live in a colony of naked mole rats?

Answer: Naked mole rats, also called naked blesmols, live in underground colonies of up to 300 individuals.

Question: What sets the solenodon mammal family apart from other mammals?

Answer: The solenodon mammal family has toxic saliva that enters the pray as the solenodon bites with its incisors.

Question: What sets the white-toothed pygmy shrew apart from other mammals?

Answer: The white-toothed pygmy shrew weighs less than 2.5 grams (.09 ounce) and is perhaps the smallest living mammal.

Question: What unexpected trait is found in both male and female water opossums, also called yapoks?

Answer: A pouch is present in both male and female water opossums, but only in the female can it be closed to keep the young dry. 

Question: What does the bat-eared fox have more of than any other canid?

Answer: The bat-eared fox has 48 teeth, 6 more than any other canid.