Quiz

BuzzFeed Staff

I'm sorry, but crocs and gators are the same to me.

Here Are 16 Animals People Commonly Confuse For Each Other, And I Bet You Can't Guess 12 Of Them Right

Can You Tell These Very Similar Looking Animals Apart?

No Pressure, But Can You Actually Tell These Incredibly Similar Looking Animals Apart?

Technically, [a tortoise IS a turtle](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/12/shell-game--how-to-tell-a-turtle-from-a-tortoise/) – the latter is used as an umbrella term for the 200+ species of the Testudine order, which comprises species of turtles, tortoises, and terrapins. The main difference is that tortoises live on land and are not equipped for water, hence why they have feet and not flippers. Tortoises also tend to have domed shells whereas most turtles have streamlined shells for swimming.

It's a turtle!

What is this serene-looking guy?

These mammals are pretty similar in temperament, intelligence, and habitat, but they do [have some physical differences](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/dolphin_porpoise.html)! For instance, dolphins are longer and leaner; they have an elongated snout, a large mouth, and a curved dorsal fin. Porpoises are generally more portly, with no beak, a smaller mouth, and a petite, triangular dorsal fin – some porpoises even have no fin at all!

It's a porpoise!

How about this smiling fella?

Seals and sea lions are both pinnipeds – a suborder which includes species of true seals, fur seals, sea lions, and walruses – but they do [belong to different families](https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-seals-and-sea-lions) and therefore have different physical traits. Sea lions are usually brown in colour, and can walk on land using their large flippers. They also have visible ears unlike true seals which just have ear holes. True seals (like the above) also have smaller flippers and tend to wriggle on their bellies on land. Fur seals are much closer to sea lions in appearance, but they have much thicker fur, are slightly smaller, and have shorter noses than sea lions.

It's a seal!

What is this plump cutie?

In fact, this is a scarlet tiger moth! Moths and butterflies both [belong to an incredibly diverse order](https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/what-is-the-difference-between-butterflies-and-moths) called Lepidoptera. They are very similar looking, and have a lot of overlapping physical traits; the only thing most scientists agree on which is different about them is their antennae. Butterflies have club-shaped antennae often with a bulbous tip, whereas most moths have feathery or tapered ones. Also, when resting, butterflies usually fold their wings together while moths rest them at their sides.

It's a moth!

And this majestic creature?

Hares, or jackrabbits, are [classified in the same family](https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/zhshfg8) as rabbits but do have some key differences. They are generally larger and faster than rabbits, their feet are bigger, and they have slightly longer black-tipped ears. Hares raise their young above ground, thus they are born with fur and can run almost straight away. Newborn rabbits are born blind with no fur, so they are reared underground in burrows.

It's a hare!

Do you recognise this little critter?

In fact it's a honey bee, [which looks remarkably similar](https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-a-bee-and-a-wasp) to the most common genera of wasps – yellowjackets and hornets. However, honeybees have a little coat of downy hair on their upper body and are more rounded in form, as opposed to the aerodynamic shape of the average predatory wasp.

It's a bee!

How about this busy little fella?

These two animals are actually wildly different. Anteaters [are from the order pilosa](https://www.britannica.com/animal/anteater) also comprising of sloths, while aardvarks are [the only living species](https://www.britannica.com/animal/aardvark) within the order tubulidentata. The name anteater is sometimes colloquially applied to aardvarks due to their similar diet but aardvarks are quite unique, having a pig-like snout, long ears, and ever-growing cylindrical-shaped teeth. Meanwhile, anteaters are toothless, with an elongated skull, and a huge bushy tail.

It's an aardvark!

And this adorable lone forager?

While it's definitely tricky to tell these two animals apart, they do have some [pretty straightforward differences](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EDIRR6DXR0). Mature llamas are much larger than their camelid cousins, they have tall, curved ears, and their faces are longer and mostly hairless. Alpacas have smushed, fluffy faces, and triangular, stumpy ears.

It's a llama!

Can you tell what this animal is?

Even though [they are both crocodilians](https://www.livescience.com/32144-whats-the-difference-between-alligators-and-crocodiles.html), crocodiles typically have narrower jaws that are V-shaped, whereas an alligator's snout is wider and U-shaped. Another reliable indicator to tell the difference between these cousins is their teeth – a crocodile's jaws are the same size, so their bottom teeth stick up and visibly slot into their upper jaw when shut. An alligator's upper jaw is wider than the lower one, so when they close their mouths, their bottom teeth are hidden.

It's a croc!

How about this toothy giant?

These speckled big cats are damn near impossible to separate visually, but there are [certain distinctions to be made](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/12/animals-big-cats-jaguars-leopards/). Apart from inhabiting completely different continents, jaguars are actually larger and more bulky than leopards, they have shorter tails, and perhaps most importantly they have smaller spots inside the black rings on their fur.

It's a jaguar!

And this regal looking beast?

The infamous honey badger and the wolverine belong to the same family of mustelidae (weasels) and are the only extant species of their respective kinds, but they are easily distinguishable. [Wolverines are slightly bigger](https://www.britannica.com/animal/wolverine) with visible ears and a passing resemblance to bears, whereas [the honey badger has](https://www.britannica.com/animal/ratel) rudimentary ears holes and a flat body with a broad white stripe down the length of it – although some subspecies lack this distinct marking.

It's a wolverine!

What is this little monster?

Though both are macropods (a taxonomic family of marsupials) and indigenous to Australasia, a wallaby differs from a kangaroo in that it is _much_ smaller. Within the macropodidae family, a [kangaroo is any of the four largest species](https://www.britannica.com/animal/kangaroo) (measuring up to 2 metres tall), and a [wallaby is an umbrella term](https://www.britannica.com/animal/wallaby) that pretty much covers everything else including pademelons and quokkas but not wallaroos. An agile wallaby, like the above, will only grow [to a max of 80 cm](https://parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/discover/nature/animals/agile-wallaby/).

It's a wallaby!

Do you know what this dude is?

If you thought these names were synonymous with each other, you'd be dead wrong! These nocturnal rodents are often kept as pets around the world, but [hamsters are actually closer](https://www.britannica.com/animal/hamster) in relation to voles and lemmings, while [gerbils are more similar](https://www.britannica.com/animal/gerbil) to mice and rats. You can tell them apart by the fact that hamsters are more stout-bodied, as opposed to gerbils which are longer, with pointed noses, and a visible tail like a rat.

It's a hamster!

How about this little cutie?

Emus and ostriches both belong to the [ratite group of flightless birds](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/09/birds-ostriches-emus-biggest/), but they're actually from separate taxonomical orders and therefore vastly different. People are always mixing them up, but one key difference is that ostriches can reach up to 3 metres tall while emus top out at 2 metres. Another major distinction is that emus have three toes and ostriches only have two.

It's an emu!

Can you determine this colossal cobber?

This is actually an emerald tree boa. I'll forgive if you got this wrong because these guys are super difficult to tell apart; in fact, [pythons were once classified](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GQOuswEACAAJ&redir_esc=y) under the boidae (boa) family! Apart from living in mutually exclusive continents, [boas have fewer bones](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Snakes-Natural-History-H-W-Parker/dp/0801410959) in their head and fewer teeth than a python has. Pythons are also bigger than boas on average, but both species are considered crude since they haven't evolved much in a long time.

It's a boa!

And this luminescent lady?

The echidna is a [wonderfully weird creature](https://www.wired.com/2014/07/the-creature-feature-10-fun-facts-about-the-echidna/) that is often conflated with its rodent doppelgänger the porcupine, but in truth they are utterly distinct and the only superficial similarity is their spines. Echidnas are much smaller egg-laying mammals (monotremes) similar to the platypus – in fact, they are the only two monotremes in existence, all other mammals give birth to live young! Unlike the porcupine echidnas are toothless, have no nipples, and the males even have a bizarre, four-headed penis!

It's an echidna!

And lastly, what is this prickly customer?

Oh dear, you only got a couple of these correct but there are no judgements here – this was hard! I hope you at least learned something new about animals?

Not bad at all! you certainly know your basics – i.e. turtles from tortoises – but you did miss a few. Don't worry, now you know for next time!

Erm, wow! How on earth did you get so many of these right? David Attenborough step aside, there's a new animal expert in town!

Sorry, this content is <i>no longer</i> supported.

Here Are 16 Animals People Commonly Confuse For Each Other, And I Bet You Can't Guess 12 Of Them Right

Share This Article

BuzzFeed Daily