[For Elementary School Students] 3-Choice Quiz to Deepen Knowledge of Living Things

Flying

Rhinoceros beetles have large bodies and small wings, so they’re not good at flying. Basically, they don’t move much from where they are unless another insect takes over their feeding spot. Even when they do fly, they’re slow and can’t compete with insects like dragonflies.

has a backbone

Humans have a fixed number of 24 vertebrae, but fish do not have a set number. Fish also have more bones than humans—for example, they have three just in the jaw, and several dozen in the fins. By the way, if a fish bone gets stuck in your throat, gargling is recommended as a first step.

puff up one's body

Pufferfish puff up their bodies when they feel threatened or stressed. One theory about the origin of their Japanese name, “fugu,” comes from this puffing behavior. They are also written as “河豚” in kanji because their swollen appearance was thought to resemble a pig.

dolphin

The correct answer is “dolphin.” Sharks are fish that belong to the class of cartilaginous fish, differing from other fish in that their skeletons are made of cartilage. Meanwhile, the ocean sunfish lives in tropical and subtropical seas; although it has an unusual shape, it is a type of fish. However, dolphins are not fish but mammals. Dolphins have characteristics unique to mammals, such as breathing with lungs and nursing their young with milk.

Spider

Praying mantises and flies are classified as insects because their bodies are divided into head, thorax, and abdomen, and they have six legs. Spiders, on the other hand, are also arthropods like insects but are classified in the class Arachnida, so they are not insects. Spiders also differ from insects in that their bodies are divided into the cephalothorax and abdomen and they have eight legs.

Kangaroo

Due to their unique skeletal and muscular structure, kangaroos cannot jump backward. Their long, developed legs and large tail play a role in maintaining balance, and while this body design is well-suited for forward jumping, it prevents backward movement. As a result, kangaroos are greatly limited when it comes to moving in reverse or jumping backward.

Fried shrimp

After squirrels gnaw on pine cones to eat the seeds, the scales on the surface are stripped off, leaving a long, curled shape. Because this looks just like a fried shrimp, people affectionately call it a “squirrel’s fried shrimp.” Finding one is also a clue that squirrels live in that forest.

skin

Frogs don’t drink by putting their mouths to puddles; instead, they absorb water through their skin. A frog’s skin is very thin, allowing it to take up moisture directly through the body surface. The belly area in particular is called the “drinking patch,” a structure specialized for water absorption. This skin-based water uptake is crucial for frogs to survive on land, and if conditions become too dry, replenishing water through the skin becomes difficult and can be dangerous.

Once a week

Sloths are very energy-efficient animals, and it’s said that not only their movements but also their bodily functions are slow. For that reason, going to the toilet about once a week is normal. This is thought to be an adaptation to conserve limited energy and to reduce the risks of coming down to the ground. Because descending to the ground to defecate is dangerous for sloths, they have a unique lifestyle of excreting infrequently and all at once.