Mammals of the World

89 flashcards by MentisLibrary

Name the mammal from its most striking trait, from blue whales and pangolins to naked mole-rats and star-nosed moles. Every card adds the scientific name, range, diet, and conservation status.

Which animal is the largest that has ever lived, reaching over 30 meters and 150 tonnes?

Blue whale

Which is the largest land animal alive today?

African bush elephant

Which elephant is smaller, has smoother rounder ears, and lives in dense rainforest?

African forest elephant

Which elephant has smaller ears, a domed forehead, and only males that usually grow tusks?

Asian elephant

Which is the tallest living animal, with the same number of neck vertebrae as a human?

Giraffe

Which big cat is the largest, with vertical stripes unique to each individual?

Tiger

Which big cat lives in social groups called prides?

Lion

Which cat is the fastest land animal, reaching around 100 kilometers per hour in short bursts?

Cheetah

Which spotted cat has the strongest bite of any big cat and kills by piercing the skull?

Jaguar

Which big cat routinely hauls its kills into trees to protect them?

Leopard

Which cat of high Asian mountains has a long thick tail it wraps around itself for warmth?

Snow leopard

Which is the most critically imperiled big cat subspecies, numbering roughly one hundred in the wild?

Amur leopard

Which bear is the largest land carnivore and hunts seals from sea ice?

Polar bear

Which bear has a distinctive shoulder hump of muscle used for digging?

Brown bear, including the grizzly

Which bear feeds almost entirely on bamboo despite a carnivore's digestive system?

Giant panda

Which South American bear has pale markings around its eyes?

Spectacled bear

Which is the smallest bear, with a short sleek coat and a pale chest crescent?

Sun bear

Which mammal has the longest known gestation among land mammals, at nearly two years?

African elephant

Which African mammal kills more people than lions, despite eating only plants?

Hippopotamus

Which rhinoceros has a pointed prehensile upper lip for browsing?

Black rhinoceros

Which rhinoceros has a wide square lip for grazing and is the largest rhino species?

White rhinoceros

Which rhinoceros has a single horn and armor-like folds of skin?

Greater one-horned rhinoceros, also called the Indian rhinoceros

Which rhinoceros is the rarest large mammal, with a single tiny population in one national park?

Javan rhinoceros

Which great ape is the largest primate?

Gorilla

Which ape shares roughly 98 to 99 percent of its DNA with humans and uses tools to fish for termites?

Chimpanzee

Which ape lives only south of the Congo River and has famously female-centered social groups?

Bonobo

Which great ape is largely solitary, red-haired, and almost entirely tree-dwelling?

Orangutan

Which primate has a long bony middle finger for tapping wood and extracting grubs?

Aye-aye

Which lemur has a black and white banded tail and sunbathes in a seated posture?

Ring-tailed lemur

Which monkey has a bright red and blue face and is the largest monkey species?

Mandrill