Winter Trivia Contest 2013 Results

Although I originally planned on having several rounds in our Winter Trivia Contest of 2013, I have decided to save the questions of the other rounds for later.  For now, here are the winners, followed by the answers to the trivia questions!  In first place, we have Carla, who got a 46/50!  As promised, her reward is a blog post with a topic of her choice, which is Top Ten Extinct Prehistoric Crocodilians: look for that post this week!  Second place goes to Alex Lambrecht, with 40/50!  And finally, we have Aidan Cook, who got 24/50!  Here are the answers to the questions!  See you guys for the next contest!

1.  Which of the following is NOT an archosaur? 

A.     American Alligator

B.     Tyrannosaurus rex

C.     Pteranodon

D.    Komodo dragon

E.     Stegosaurus

2.  Though they are called the “Buffaloes,” what is really the mascot of the University of Colorado in Boulder?

American Bison

3.  In terms of their names, name the odd one out:

A.     Dracorex

B.     Guanlong

C.     Triceratops

D.     Hippodraco

4.  What dinosaur is pictured here?  (1 point for a relatively close answer, 2 points for the correct answer.)

Amargasaurus

5.   Is Megalodon still alive today?  Should we trust Discovery Channel?

No, it most certainly is not, and no, we most certainly should not.

6.  Which of the following birds is made up? 

A.     Hammerkop

B.     Screwdriver-bill

C.     Helmeted Hornbill

D.     Shoe-bill

E.      Spoon-bill

7.  Which of the following species of snake is most closely related to the milk snake, Lampropeltis triangulatum?

A.     Corn Snake

B.     Anaconda

C.     Rattlesnake

D.    Kingsnake

E.     Pit Viper

8.  Which of the following is NOT a textbook case of convergent evolution:

A.     Thylacosmilus/Smilodon

B.     Musk Deer/Chinese Water Deer

C.     Mammoth/Mastodon

D.     Gray Wolf/Thylacine

9.  What in the world is THAT!  (1 point for a relatively close answer, 2 points for the correct answer.)

Binturong/Bear Cat

10.  For almost every single constellation that we recognize here on Earth, the stars that make up that constellation almost always have no physical relationship with each other, and just appear to be close together from here on Earth. Name the one major exception, known to the Japanese as “Subaru.”

The Pleiades

11. What shape is wombat poop? 

Cubic

12.  True or False: On average, hyenas scavenge more than lions.

False

13.  Some people think that the discovery of fossilized Protoceratops bones in the Gobi Desert was the inspiration behind what mythical creature?

A.     Dragon

B.     Griffin

C.     Mermaid

D.     Cyclops

E.      Centaur

14.  What’s wrong with this story: “As the giant man used his pocketknife to help him circumnavigate the great jungles of the Amazon Basin, he was startled by the abundant diversity of life.  He saw everything from piranha, macaws, and anaconda, and even saw a black leopard attack a javelina!”

Leopards don't live in South America.

15.  Dermal armor is a feature seen by all of the following except:

A.     Giant ground sloths

B.     Armadillos

C.     Pangolins

D.    Glyptodonts

E.     Ankylosaurs

F.     Clouded leopard

16.  All of the following dinosaurs have been discovered in the Morrison Formation, which has outcrops in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and several other states.  All, that is, except for which one? 

A.     Utahraptor

B.     Apatosaurus

C.     Stegosaurus

D.    Camptosaurus

E.     Allosaurus

F.     Gargoyleosaurus

17.  What is pictured here?

A.     Mosasaur

B.     Dinosaur

C.     Pterosaur

D.    Ichthyosaur

E.     Plesiosaur

F.     Dolphin

18.  What strange feature seen in the young hoatzin sets it apart from any other living birds, and forges a resemblance with its extinct ancestors like Archaeopteryx?

A.     Tentacles

B.     Claws on wings

C.     Teeth in mouth

D.     Marshmallows

E.      Flightlessness

19.  How many species of penguin live and breed in the Northern Hemisphere, above the Equator?

A.     Two, the African and Galápagos Penguin

B.     None, everyone knows penguins live at the South Pole

C.     None, everyone knows penguins live at the North Pole

D.    One, the African Penguin

E.     None, everyone knows penguins live in Antarctica

F.     One, the Galápagos Penguin

G.    None, penguins don’t exist

20.  What Triassic animal is pictured here, courtesy of Sam Lippincott?  (1 point for a relatively close answer, 2 points for the correct answer.)

Photo Credit: Sam Lippincott

Tanystropheus

21.  Why is it ironic when people kill bull snakes, mistaking them for rattlesnakes?

A.     Because bull snakes ARE rattlesnakes

B.     Because bull snakes kill and eat rattlesnakes

C.     Because bull snakes are more venomous than rattlesnakes

D.     Because rattlesnakes and bull snakes live on different continents

E.     Because bull snakes don’t exist

22.  A blast from the past: having been around for hundreds of millions of years, what is the name of this “living fossil?”  (1 point for a relatively close answer, 2 points for the correct answer.)

Horseshoe crab

23.  Which of the following is a habitat that you would NOT expect to find a kangaroo in?

A.     The Australian Outback

B.     In the forest canopy of New Guinea rainforests, 60 feet above the ground

C.     Swimming in the shallows of the Great Barrier Reef, consuming kelp and other             oceanic plants

D.    The Australia Zoo

E.    Oh, kangaroos definitely exist, I would just expect to find them in all of these                   locations.  After all, they ARE kangaroos.

24.  Which of the following is NOT a term used in reference to a past mass extinction? 

A.     K/T Event

B.     Cambrian Explosion

C.     The Great Dying

D.     Deccan Traps

25.  Scientific names too hard to remember?  That’s not the case for this “river horse.”

Hippopotamus

Thanks again for participating everyone, and see you next time!

Trivia Contest of Winter 2013

Welcome to the Trivia Contest of the Winter 2013 here at The Natural World!  Here's how I think it's going to go down:

The contest will be composed of three rounds (possibly four or more if we have a bunch of people sign up, but I'm guessing three will probably do).  The dates that I put forth here are subject to change, but I will give you plenty of notice if this is the case.  Right now, I anticipate uploading the first round of questions within the next day or so, and you will have until Saturday the 28th to answer the questions.  I will include an answer sheet that you can email to me with your answers.  Please include your team name and the names of the team members.  I will figure out each teams score on the 28th, and upload the results to the blog.  That day, I will also upload the second round of questions.  You will have until that Friday, January 3rd to answer that round.  That Friday, I will again calculate the scores for round 2, and add them to your total score.  I'm not going to plan any further ahead than that for now.  Same goes for prizes: don't expect anything TOO huge, probably just a write up on the blog about something that you want me to write about, but stay tuned: if we have enough people participate, I might up the ante to something that you all might actually want!  Oh, and also, bragging rights, and a place of championship on the blog's right sidebar, until our next trivia contest!

The questions will focus heavily on animals, both living and extinct.  There will also be several questions (probably about 25% overall) that don't really fall into either category, including topics such as astronomy, Latin/Greek roots, riddles, and some scientific terms relating to the natural sciences.

Who or what can you consult in your quest for answers?  Your team mates, for starters.  I obviously have no way of enforcing these rules, but I would like this to be more of a contest in which you use your own knowledge, and not display your prowess in regards to surfing the Internet.  So for Round 1, which has 25 questions, I think I will ask that you use your own knowledge and the knowledge of your teammates for all except for three questions.  One question, you can post to Facebook and ask your Facebook friends to help you.  (If you don't have a Facebook, I suppose just call a friend).  A second question, you can look up on the Internet.  Finally, a third question you can search for on the blog.  Most, but not all, of these questions can be at least partially answered by various posts on the blog.  Again, I have no way of enforcing these rules, so let's just try and keep it on the up and up!

There is no age limit for this contest, and there is no level of experience that is required, although a rudimentary knowledge of animals and/or dinosaurs definitely can't hurt!  I hope this proves to be as much fun as I hope it will be, and any feedback that you all have will definitely prove beneficial in the future!  I think I've covered pretty much everything, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to inform me.  I will address future problems as they come up!  My email is tnaturalworld1@gmail.com, I look forward to hearing from all of you!