How well do you know zoology?

By: Jodi C.
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
How well do you know zoology?
Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

Animals ... we love 'em! But there's a lot more to the animal kingdom than YouTube videos of doggies and kitties. Test your knowledge of zoology with our quiz!
The English word "zoology" comes from the _______ words for "animal" and "words/names."
Greek
French
Chinese
Saxon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Greek words in question are "zoion" and "logos." Of course, in English, it's easy to remember because of zoos, the places where we see animals.

Which philosopher was interested in the study and classification of animals?
Aristotle
Epicurus
Marcus Aurelius
Spinoza
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Aristotle was a scientist when it was considered "natural philosophy." He classified animals and studied the ways that their form influenced how they functioned in the world.

Who wrote "On the Origin of Species"?
Darwin
Linnaeus
Mendel
Vesalius
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Darwin is synonymous with evolution and the ongoing debate about evolution versus intelligent design. It's not as well known that Darwin studied to be an Anglican minister in his youth.

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A diurnal animal is one that is active in ________.
daytime
nighttime
mating season
short bursts
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Humans used to be diurnal animals. Our invention of electric light and control over our environment has changed that a lot.

A crepuscular animal is most active at _______.
noon
twilight
the height of summer
midwinter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Crepuscular" means "relating to twilight," and refers to animals most active at dusk. It's also a good word to keep in mind for Scrabble games.

When an animal has disappeared from the earth, it is called what?
exterminated
extinct
catatonic
teleported
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The dodo bird and the passenger pigeon are well-known examples of extinct species. Currently, there is debate over "de-extinction," or using DNA to bring species back to life.

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If you specialize in arachnology, you study animals like ______.
ants
birds
pandas
spiders
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Spiders are part of a group called arachnids. They take their name from a Greek myth about Arachne, a girl so proud of her weaving skills that she challenged Athena to a contest -- and was turned into a spider when she lost.

Which of these is also an arachnid?
ant
cricket
moth
tick
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

These creatures -- feared for their ability to spread Lyme disease -- also have eight legs. They are hardest to spot in the spring, when they're in the small nymph stage.

__________ is the term for how animals (and other living things) are classified and named.
natural philosophy
zoonotics
nominatve determinisim
taxonomy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Nomeclature" is the general English word for how/why things are named what they are. But in science, the correct term is taxonomy.

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Which of these was a giant in the field of taxonomy?
Barbara McClintock
Carl Linnaeus
Richard Burton
Vasco da Gama
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist. People still refer to "Linnean taxonomy," though many changes have been made to his system since he proposed it in 1735.

Which was the largest classification in Linnaeus's system?
class
kingdom
order
phylum
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Linnaeus's system had five kingdoms at the top. Today, it's six, with the kingdom of "monera" broken up into "eubacteria" and "archaebacteria."

The smallest and last group is the ________.
breed
genus
family
species
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The system you probably learned in school was: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. There are a number of mnemonic phrases out there that help students remember this.

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What classification, even larger than kingdom, is sometimes added to the system?
domain
empire
mega-kingdom
supergroup
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There are three domains: Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya. Everything in zoology, all the animals, fall under Eukarya.

If you specialize in ornithology, you study _______.
birds
bugs
inverterbrates
grass-eating animals
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Birds fascinate many people. Many who didn't pursue a degree in ornithology are still out in the fields and bushes with spotting scopes, birdwatching.

If you specialize in mammalogy, you study _________.
ants
snakes
mammals
this is not a field
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mammals are warm-blooded animals that nurse their young. "Theriology" is another name for "mammalogy," if you are looking for a fancier term.

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Which of these is the only mammal that can fly?
the bat
the flying fish
the flying squirrel
the goose
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bats give birth to live young (not eggs) and nurse them. Their furred bodies -- instead of feathered -- led the Germans to name them "Fledermaus," or "flying mouse."

Which of these was a giant in the study of genetics?
Marie Curie
Tycho Brahe
Gregor Mendel
Carl Sagan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mendel worked with pea plants, not animals. But his discoveries about genetics advanced the field of zoology as well.

Which animal started out as a housecat-sized creature called eohippus?
the tiger
the horse
the bat
the camel
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The eohippus is now extinct. It was followed by the mesohippus, which was more recognizably like the horses we know today.

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Which of these deals with dinosaurs and extinct animals?
cetology
ophiology
paleontology
protozoology
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Don't be fooled by "protozoology," which is the study of protozoa. Amoebas, for example, fall under the umbrella of protozoology.

If you specialize in primatology, you study _________.
apes and similar animals
wolves and similar
alpha males
nocturnal animals
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Jane Goodall is a famous primatologist. She did a 55-year study of chimpanzees in Tanzania, and founded the Nonhuman Rights Project.

The preserved or hardened remnants of extinct animals that paleontologists study are called what?
bones
fossils
records
substrate
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Fossils can be plants or animals. The entirety of the fossils we have, including those yet undiscovered, is the "fossil record."

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If you are interested in morphology, you are interested in what?
how animals think
what animals eat
how climate change affects animals
the structure and features of animals
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Early animal science dealt a lot with morphology. The ability to study animal cells or DNA had to wait for technology to develop.

The most morphologically diverse species in the world is the _____.
eagle
dog
human
lion
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

No species on Earth has as much variation in height, weight, color and other characteristics as the canis familiaris, aka domestic dog. From the teacup Maltese to the Irish Wolfhound, humans have created a dog for every climate, job and lifestyle.

If you study ichthyology, you study ______.
birds
fish
snails
baby animals
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Unsurprisingly, this comes from the Greek word for fish, "ichthys." There's even a related word, ichthyophage, for a person or animal that eats primarily fish.

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"Felidae" is the zoological family that contains _______.
ants
eagles
cats
horses
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

These include the big cats, like lions, down to the housecat, which is called "felis catus." (Sometimes it seems like zoologists really aren't putting in an effort when they make up these names!)

A common way to tell African and Asian elephants apart is ________.
the length of their trunks
the size of their ears
the thickness of their tails
a map
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

African elephants have bigger ears than Asian elephants do. There are only three species of elephant extant (still alive) today: two are African, the Loxodonta africana and the Loxodonta cyclotis, and one is Asian, the Elephas maximus.

If an animal is a frugivore, what does it eat?
grass
fruit
milk
very little
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

An animal doesn't have to exclusively eat fruit. This just means it's a preferred and significant part of the diet. Some kinds of bats are frugivores.

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If an animal is an obligate carnivore, what does that say about its meat-eating?
it eats its own species
it has to eat meat to survive
it eats meat in huge quantities
it eats birds and fish
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Most kinds of cats are obligate carnivores, including housecats. People who put their cats on vegetarian feed will need to give them nutritional supplements to keep them healthy.

Which of these is the fastest animal on land?
cheetah
greyhound
thoroughbred horse
wildebeest
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The cheetah might be able to achieve short bursts of speed of 70 miles per hour (though reports on this conflict). More commonly, when hunting, they run at about 40 mph.

In which of these are males and females called bulls and cows?
camels
elephants
whales
both #2 and #3
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

We are most familiar with the terms "bull" and "cow" in domestic cattle. But the term is used with other species as well.

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If an animal is an omnivore, what does it eat?
mostly grains
mostly vegetation
its own kind
all kinds of things
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Humans are famously omnivorous. Our dogs, which adapted to living in our environments, are omnivorous too, though they still show a preference for meats.

The young of which species is called a cygnet?
eagle
rat
swan
whale
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Leave it to the swan to have an elegant name for its young. These creatures are well-known for their beauty -- but also for their bad temper.

If you are a myrmecologist, you study ______.
ants
animal diseases
flatworms
roundworms
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

If you got this one without the hint, admit it: Did you learn this word by watching the extremely cheesy 1954 movie, "Them!"? (We did!)

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What is a zoonotic disease?
one that only affects animals
one that is spread by animals
one that only affects exotic animals
one named after an animal
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

If you've ever volunteered at a wildlife rescue or animal shelter, you've probably been taught procedures to guard against zoonotic diseases. Step one: wash your hands. A lot.

Which of these was also a famous primatologist?
Emilie du Chatelet
Dian Fossey
Rosalind Franklin
Tu Weiwei
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas are sometimes called "the Trimates," They are/were all ground-breaking female primatologists. For some reason, German-born Galdikas isn't as well-known as the other two.

You Got:
/35
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