31 December 2012 Last updated at 09:46

Nature's weirdest news quiz 2012

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Chris Packham examines some of the world's freakiest natural phenomena in Nature's Weirdest Events on BBC Two, Tuesday 1 January at 2000 GMT. Find out how much attention you've paid to the weird wonders of nature in 2012 with our quick news quiz.

1.) Question 1

Which dainty discovery earned the title of "world's smallest vertebrate" back in January?

1. Chameleon (Brookesia micra)
   
2. Frog (Paedophryne amauensis)
   
3. Snake (Leptotyphlops carlae)
   

2.) Question 2

Pygmy sharks were found to use which trick to disguise themselves from predators under the waves?

1. Change shape
   
2. Glow in the dark
   
3. Fly
   

3.) Question 3

Conservationists battling invasive snakes on the island of Guam employed which unusual tactic in the spring?

1. Covering trees in toilet roll
   
2. Training monkeys to catch snakes
   
3. Dropping mice from helicopters
   

4.) Question 4

Eyebrows were raised in June by this fossil discovery. What are the prehistoric turtles doing?

1. Copulating
   
2. Defecating
   
3. Fighting
   

5.) Question 5

Bone-eating worms drill with *

1. teeth
   
2. tools
   
3. acid
   

6.) Question 6

Whose conservation work inspired researchers to name this frog, discovered in Ecuador?

1. The Pope
   
2. Prince
   
3. Prince Charles
   

7.) Question 7

Which members of the clever corvid family were found to hold funerals for their dead this year?

1. Scrub jays
   
2. Rooks
   
3. Crows
   

8.) Question 8

This fish, discovered in Vietnam, sports which part of its anatomy on its head?

1. Stomach
   
2. Genitalia
   
3. Heart
   

9.) Question 9

Turtle passes * through mouth

1. young
   
2. waste
   
3. test
   

10.) Question 10

Which human talent linked headlines about a beluga whale and an elephant?

1. Dancing
   
2. Speaking
   
3. Driving
   

11.) Question 11

According to US scientists, which of these mammals can learn to sing in a similar way to birds and humans?

1. Beavers
   
2. Koalas
   
3. Mice
   

12.) Question 12

Light shed on * millipede

1. Laziest
   
2. Longest
   
3. Leggiest
   

Answers

1. At just 7mm long, tiny frogs found in Papua New Guinea are thought to be the smallest of all organisms in the group that includes mammals, birds, fish and amphibians.
2. Researchers in Belgium found that the tiny sharks effectively become invisible to threats from below by lighting up their stomachs to match the light sky above.
3. The US Department of Agriculture dropped paracetamol-laced mice onto the island in a bid to eradicate brown tree snakes, which have devastated the island's native wildlife.
4. Experts found that the 47 million-year old animals were overcome during mating. They suggest the turtles sank in lake water made toxic by the release of volcanic gases.
5. US scientists reported this summer that deep sea worms, known as "zombie worms", use acid to eat the bones of seabed skeletons.
6. Hyloscirtus princecharlesi was named after Prince Charles in recognition of his charity work to protect the frog's rainforest home.
7. When western scrub jays encounter a dead bird, they call out to one another, stop foraging and gather around the body, according to US researchers.
8. In Phallostethus fish both males and females have their reproductive organs behind their mouths. Scientists have yet to find an explanation for the unusual adaptation. P. cuulong was described in the journal Zootaxa in July.
9. Researchers discovered that the Chinese soft-shelled turtle passes waste urea through its mouth, making it the only animal currently known to do so.
10. Scientists reported that an elephant could speak Korean and a beluga whale learned to mimic humans in San Diego, California, US.
11. Researchers suggest that male mice learn ultrasonic songs from others in order to serenade females.
12. Illacme plenipes, a species with 750 legs, was analysed following its rediscovery in California, US, this year.

Your Score

0 - 4 : Normal narwhal

5 - 8 : Odd ocelot

9 - 12 : Weird wombat!

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