Extinct Animals Quiz

What is this well known extinct animal?

• Saber-tooth Tiger

• Woolly Mammoth

• Ground sloth

• Neanderthals

Answer explanation

The coat consisted of an outer layer of long, coarse "guard hair", which was 30 cm (12 in) on the upper part of the body, up to 90 cm (35 in) in length on the flanks and underside, and 0.5 mm (0.020 in) in diameter, and a denser inner layer of shorter, slightly curly under-wool, up to 8 cm (3.1 in) long and 0.05 mm (0.0020 in) in diameter.

What is the name of this popular extinct flightless bird?

• Dodo

• Pterodactyl

• Passenger pigeon

• Elephant bird

Answer explanation

The closest living relative of the dodo is the extant Nicobar pigeon.

What is the name of this genus belonging to the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae?

• Cave lion

• Dire wolf

• Smilodon

• Caspian tiger

Answer explanation

Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats.

This dinosaur played a role in Jurassic Park 3. What is the name of this dinosaur?

• Tyrannosaurus rex

• Spinosaurus

• Allosaurus

• Ceratosaurus

Answer explanation

The skull of Spinosaurus was long, low, and narrow, similar to that of a modern crocodilian, and bore straight conical teeth with no serrations.

This subspecies of the plains zebra from South Africa went extinct in the 1880s, what is the name of it?

• Crawshay's zebra

• Maneless zebra

• Burchell's zebra

• Quagga

Answer explanation

It was distinguished from other zebras by its limited pattern of primarily brown and white stripes, mainly on the front part of the body. The rear was brown and without stripes, and appeared more horse-like.

The Tasmanian Tiger went extinct in 1936, what type of animal was it?

• Rodent

• Marsupial

• Canid

• Felidae

Answer explanation

The name thylacine is derived from thýlakos meaning "pouch" and inemeaning "pertaining to", and refers to the marsupial pouch. Both sexes had a pouch. The females used theirs for rearing young, and the males used theirs as a protective sheath, covering the external reproductive organs.

The desert rat-kangaroo is an extinct small hopping marsupial. Which country was it endemic to?

• Turkey

• Saudi Arabia

• Algeria

• Australia

Answer explanation

The desert rat-kangaroo lived in the desert regions of Australia, including clay pans, loamy flats, sand ridges, and gibber plain habitats. Its native habitat was very arid; cover is sparse, and consists of saltbush and other chenopods and emu bush.

The Falkland Islands Wolf was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands. It went extinct in 1876, what was it also known as?

• The Warrah

• The Warren

• The Warden

• The Warier

Answer explanation

When Charles Darwin visited the islands in 1833 he found the species present in both West and East Falkland and tame. However, at the time of his visit the animal was already very rare on East Falkland, and even on West Falkland its numbers were declining rapidly. By 1865, it was no longer found on the eastern part of East Falkland. He predicted that the animal would join the dodo among the extinct within "a very few years."

Paddlefish are a family of ray-finned fish. There are 2 species in modern times, the American Paddlefish is extant while the other modern species of Paddlefish was declared extinct in 2022. What country did the extinct paddlefish come from?

• Vietnam (Vietnamese Paddlefish)

• China (Chinese Paddlefish)

• Japan (Japanese Paddlefish)

• South Korea (Korean Paddlefish)

Answer explanation

The main cause of the extinction of the Chinese Paddlefish was the construction of the Gezhouba and Three Gorges dams, causing population fragmentation and blocking the anadromous spawning migration.

Martha was the endling for the species. She died in 1914, what species was Martha?

• Carolina parakeet

• Great auk

• Passenger pigeon

• Eskimo curlew

Answer explanation

The Passenger Pigeon was once the most abundant bird in North America, numbering around 3 billion, and possibly up to 5 billion.