Wild South America: Lost Worlds True or False?
______1. In the Age of Dinosaurs South America was part of the
supercontinent, Gondwana.
______2. 80 million years ago South America was convulsed by volcanic
eruptions, which today have almost entirely stopped.
______3. The Andes are the world’s longest mountain chain.
______4. Patagonia has the largest ice sheets outside of the polar regions.
______5. Guanacos are South American relatives of the camel.
______6. South America has the largest expanse of salt on the planet.
______7. The flamingoes’ dance is the result of poisons in caustic water.
______8. The IguazúFalls are about the same size as NiagraFalls.
______9. The Amazon River drains about 70% of South America.
_____ 10. River dolphins are almost blind.
_____ 11. The Pirarucu is a small, carnivorous freshwater fish.
_____ 12. The Amazon river drains the world’s largest tropical rain forest.
_____ 13. 650 species of beetle and 80 kinds of ant have been found on a
single tree.
_____ 14. Among Tassel-eared Marmosets only the mother raises the young.
_____ 15. Only the Sahara and Mojave deserts are drier than the Atacama.
_____ 16. Fog is the main source of water in the Atacama Desert.
_____ 17. In the Atacama Guanacos drink water from small ground puddles.
_____ 18. Maras use their burrows to escape from the Patagonian wind.
_____ 19. In Patagonia even birds try to nest underground.
_____ 20. Patagonian parrots excavate holes in sandstone cliffs.
_____ 21. A single anchovy shoal may contain hundreds of millions of fish.
_____ 22. Dolphins try to break up the anchovy shoals.
_____ 23. Dolphins and seabirds are the anchovies’ only natural enemies.
_____ 24. North and South America have always been connected.
_____ 25. Coatis are relatives of the North American wolf.
_____ 26. Tree sloths actually move very quickly.
_____ 27. Coatis are “omnivorous”—i. e., they’ll eat almost anything.
_____ 28. The jaguar sometimes hunts coatis.
_____ 29. The Maned Wolf lives in present-day Brazil.
_____ 30. The Rhea is the “South American Ostrich.”
_____ 31. The Giant Anteater uses its snout to break into termite mounds.
_____ 32. The Maned Wolf prefers to hunt mice.
_____ 33. Human beings have been in South America at least 50,000 years.
_____ 34. The Incas built the city of Machu Picchu.
_____ 35. Llamas are not related to Guanacos.
_____ 36. Llamas are mainly kept for their wool, not as pack animals.
_____ 37. In South America the Indians actually hold “llama races.”
_____ 38. Today most of South America has been settled. There are few
wild areas left.