Image: Shutterstock
About This Quiz
The animal kingdom: It's huge, varied and diverse. It contains some breathtakingly beautiful creatures, some very dangerous ones, and some that are just plain odd! Can you identify the animal by a distinctive characteristic? Find out now!
I have a call that sounds a lot like a laugh.
elephant
hyena
It's the spotted hyena that has this nickname. Other breeds of hyena include the striped and brown hyenas.
ocelot
macaw
I have a comb -- but no hair!
aardvark
rhinoceros
rooster
Roosters, the male of the chicken species, have a rubbery-looking red "comb" atop their heads. This separates them from the females, called hens.
shark
When my dorsal fin cuts the surface, watch out!
octopus
shark
It was Steven Spielberg, with "Jaws," who made the dorsal fin the popular -- and chilling -- sign of a shark's presence. However, they often attack from underneath without the fin breaking the surface.
squid
whale
Advertisement
I'm the only mammal that flies!
bat
Bats are indeed mammals. Their furry, warm bodies are responsible for their German name "fledermaus" or "flying mouse."
buzzard
hawk
vole
My ability to change color has made my name a metaphor.
chameleon
Many types of chameleon can change color to match their background, thus hiding from predators. When relaxed, these lizards are usually green.
octopus
parrot
raven
Though I don't have a dollar on me, I have a bill.
duck
lynx
platypus
both #1 and #3
When early naturalists were first confronted with the platypus, its duck-like bill was one of the things they found hard to believe. Some scientists thought the oddball platypus was some kind of elaborate hoax.
Advertisement
We're known for service to our queen.
hedgehogs
honeybees
Honeybee colonies have a queen, male drones (for mating), and female worker bees. They provide humans with honey -- yay! -- but their sting can be life-threatening to humans with allergies.
moles
prairie dogs
My beautiful plumage inspired a network logo.
cormorant
golden eagle
peacock
It's the NBC logo, of course, that's shaped like a peacock. Only the males have the gorgeous feather tail -- peahens are rather plain.
raven
Sadly, I'm best known for being extinct.
dodo
The dodo was a flightless bird native to Mauritius. Though it's hardly the only animal to have gone extinct, it's the one most people can name (other than the dinosaurs, who became extinct much earlier).
golden eagle
white rhinoceros
eland
Advertisement
I'm believed to have a very good memory.
dog
elephant
This one isn't a myth. Elephants, which have long lives in general, really do appear to recognize each other after years of separation.
giraffe
polar bear
My distinctive horn is made of a substance similar to fingernails.
elephant
Komodo dragon
rhinoceros
The rhinoceros is hunted for its horn, which is made of keratin, like human fingernails. Superstitions persist about rhino horns having health benefits when powdered and consumed.
bison
My black-and-white stripes are copied by fashion designers.
ocelot
puma
tiger
zebra
A zebra is basically an exotically-colored horse, but much rarer. That's why doctors have a saying: "When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not of zebras."
Advertisement
I'm probably the first animal you think of when you hear the word "antlers."
buffalo
deer
Only male deer, called stags, have antlers. In youth, the antlers are covered with a short-furred skin called "velvet," which weathers away in maturity.
deer ticks
ants
I am a threat to the cleanliness of cars, statues, and sidewalks everywhere.
house flies
cats
pigeons
Though more than one bird frequents urban areas, it's the pigeon who takes most of the blame for fouling sidewalks, statues and more with its guano. Some people go so far as to call them "sky rates."
cows
I'm known for hibernating, though I'm hardly the only animal who does it.
bear
Most members of the Ursidae family hibernate. This means they go into a state of unconsciousness and slow metabolism, burning stored fat, during cold months when food is hard to find.
elephant
fox
tiger
Advertisement
I have many quills, but write no books.
buzzard
house cat
porcupine
The porcupine has an unusual defense mechanism: hairs covered with stiff keratin, called quills. Porcupines are cute, but you'd best keep your distance.
vole
I'm a mammal, yet I lay eggs.
ostrich
Gila monster
platypus
The platypus is one of a group called monotremes, the egg-laying mammals. When the eggs hatch, the platypus nurses its young, called "platypups" or "puggles." (Awww!)
pit viper
I drink blood -- but usually not human blood.
chupacabra
osprey
ocelot
vampire bat
Vampire bats commonly feed on farm animals. However, since they can spread rabies, they are considered dangerous to humans.
Advertisement
As my name implies, I'm known for sleeping a LOT.
pig
mule
shrew
sloth
The word "sloth" means "laziness." But the sloth isn't the top sleeper of the animal kingdom -- that's the koala, which sleeps up to 22 hours a day! The sloth weighs in at about 19 hours of sleep each day.
Despite my name, I have a snow-white head and neck.
bald eagle
In adulthood, the bald eagle has a dark body and a white head. Young bald eagles are dark all over.
blue tick hound
grey goose
calico cat
I'm loved for my anthropomorphic "smile."
bat
dolphin
It's mainly the bottle-nosed dolphin that always looks like it's smiling. That, and it's friendly "chattering" noise, make it a favorite at water parks.
dormouse
penguin
Advertisement
I'm best known for my odor -- which is a defensive weapon.
mole
lynx
skunk
In their defense, skunks smell OK on a day-to-day basis. It's just when they're threatened that they release that powerful, sour-smelling spray.
Gila monster
Make way: I'm the largest of the animals, period.
blue whale
The blue whale can weigh up to 40,000 pounds and measure nearly 100 feet long. Surprisingly, it doesn't eat sharks and smaller whales, but has a simple diet of krill.
Komodo dragon
killer whale
great white shark
I'm the largest of the birds -- unfortunately, I can't fly!
condor
golden eagle
ostrich
The ostrich, a land bird, does not fly. It is, however, quite a speedy runner.
stork
Advertisement
I am the tallest of the domestic dogs.
chihuahua
mastiff
Irish wolfhound
Though mastiffs are known for their size and powerful build, the Irish wolfhound is the tallest of dogs. (If you said chihuahua, go to your room, right now.)
FInnish lapphund
I'm the fastest of the land animals.
cheetah
If a cheetah were a car, it would break the speed limit of many roadways! It reaches speeds of up to 70 mph.
eland
mule deer
road runner
I'm known for my glossy black plumage.
crow
kestrel
raven
both #1 and #3
In romantic novels, you'll often see a black-haired character described as "raven-haired." "Crow-haired" would be equally accurate, but for some reason, it never caught on.
Advertisement
My size has made my name a synonym for "a big lug of a man."
antelope
mastiff
moose
Just witness "Moose Mason" of the Archie Comics world -- he's the jock who struggles with his schoolwork.
buzzard
I have the longest wingspan of any bird.
albatross
The wandering albatross has a wingspan of nearly 12 feet across. They can glide for hours -- yes, hours -- at a time, enabled by this virtual parasail.
eagle
ostrich
turkey vulture
I'm best known for my super-high metabolism.
ferret
hummingbird
Hummingbirds have a very high metabolism, feeding on large amounts of nectar from flowers. At night, they go into a hibernation state called torpor to conserve energy.
housecat
chihuahua
Advertisement
I'm not an adventurous eater; I mostly prefer eucalyptus leaves.
kangaroo
koala
Koalas have an unusually limited diet. Range, too -- they're found exclusively in eastern Australia.
platypus
Gila monster
I have an adorable tendency to stand on my hind legs.
domestic cat
desert fox
meerkat
Meerkats live in desert areas of southern Africa, like the Kalahari desert. They have a way of standing up on their hind legs that makes them look like the gossips and rubberneckers of the desert.
panda bear
I have a forked tail.
cobra
antelope
kestrel
swallow
The swallow is a bird which often has a forked tail. A similar bird with an un-forked tail is the martin.
Advertisement
I've become more feared in recent years because I carry Lyme disease.
mouse
flea
tick
A member of the arachnid class, ticks can carry a number of diseases. Lyme disease has stolen the headlines in recent years, though, because it affects people in northern climates (e.g. America and Canada) that usually evade parasitic diseases.
vulture
You Got:
/35
Shutterstock