Fossils quiz

More questions about Fossils

These visible examples show the question style. LearnClash turns the full topic into ranked duels and spaced repetition.

1. 1 Easy

   What kind of fossils lie in the rock at Everest's summit?

   Answer: Sea creatures

   Why: The summit rock formed on a warm, shallow seafloor about 450 million years ago and was pushed skyward as India rammed into Asia.

2. 2 Medium

   Who found the first complete plesiosaur skeleton, in 1823?

   Answer: Mary Anning

   Why: Anning and her brother found an ichthyosaur skeleton when she was 12 and 13, more than a decade before her plesiosaur.

3. 3 Hard

   Which animals were Dimetrodon's closest kin?

   Answer: Mammals

   Why: Dimetrodon had one skull opening behind each eye, the hallmark of synapsids, the group that includes mammals.

4. 4 Easy

   Where are almost all fossils found?

   Answer: Sedimentary rock

   Why: Igneous rock cools from molten magma or lava hot enough to destroy remains, while sediment buries them gently and hardens at low heat.

5. 5 Medium

   Where did early experts put Iguanodon's thumb spike?

   Answer: On its nose

   Why: Around 30 skeletons dug from a Belgian coal mine from 1878 on showed the spike belonged on the hand.

6. 6 Hard

   Which 'fishpod' fossil bridged lobe-finned fish and tetrapods?

   Answer: Tiktaalik

   Why: Tiktaalik had both fish scales and wrists capable of supporting weight, marking a bridge between water and land.