1. Which is the largest phylum in the animal kingdom, both in number of species and individuals?
2. What is the conservation status of India’s National bird and animal?
3. According to the WWF, what percentage of the world's terrestrial biodiversity is contained in forests?
4. Craseonycteris thonglongyai and Balaenoptera musculus are at the two extremes in mammalian superlatives. What are their common names?
5. Of the three rhinoceros species native to Southeast Asia, one is the Indian. Name the other two.
6. Name the only ape native to India.
7. Which country’s flag and currency pays tribute to the exotic bird Resplendent Quetzal?
8. What are monotremes and what are the only two surviving examples of monotremes?
9. With a wingspan of up to 3.5 metres, which is the largest flying bird in the world?
10. Which African herbivore is famous for annual long-distance migration, coinciding with the annual pattern of rainfall and grass growth?
11.What is common to the nomenclature of guinea pig, prairie dog, ladybird and jellyfish?
12. What makes the plumage of a flamingo range from bright red to light pink?
13. Which is the largest living structure on the planet that is visible even from outer space?
14. What sort of animals do entomophagists eat?
15. How many tiger reserves are there in India?
Answers:
1. Arthropoda; 2. ‘Least Concern’ for the Indian peafowl and ‘Endangered’ for the tiger; 3. 90 per cent; 4. Bumblebee bat (smallest) and Blue whale (biggest); 5. Javan and Sumatran; 6. Hoolock Gibbon; 7. Guatemala; 8. Mammals that lay eggs. Platypus and echidna (spiny anteater); 9. Wandering albatross; 10. Wildebeest or the gnu; 11. They are not what their names suggest. The first two are types of rodents while a ladybird is a type of beetle. And jellyfishes are no fish; 12. A natural pink dye called ‘canthaxanthin’ which they obtain from their diet of brine shrimp and blue-green algae; 13. Great Barrier Reef; 14. Insects; 15. 39.
