Here we go:

From pesky mosquitoes that we swat in the summer, to worms that dig in our dirt, to the fish that we try to catch with those worms, to us, humans. There are lots of different kinds of animals we can observe in the world and from the past world. Below is a scavenger hunt meant to get you thinking about some of this animal diversity. Have fun! 

VERTEBRATE DIVERSITY

If you think about an animal that has bones, it is a vertebrate. All vertebrates have a skeleton and, particularly, a backbone. In this first section of the scavenger hunt, gain an appreciation for the diversity of vertebrates, from sea to land.

1) This is the largest species in the dolphin family, but you likely wouldn’t know it by appearances. But take a step back: they hunt in pods, are extremely intelligent, and multiple females in the pod help care for young. They are actually quite dolphin-like when you think about it. 
Size: Medium       Difficulty: Tricky
Science and Technology Park (42.028438, -87.750564)

2) Don’t let the name fool you. This is not a whale. It is not a mammal. The skeleton is made of cartilage, not bone. It is, however, the largest fish in the sea, reaching lengths of 40 feet or more, whale sharks have an enormous menu from which to choose. The whale shark is a filter feeder, slowly swiming around scooping up schools of plankton with its giant jaws.
Size: Medium       Difficulty: Tricky
Science and Technology Park (42.028270, -87.750500)

3) A long neck does not make one a giraffe. The necks of giraffes, like all mammals, only have seven cervical vertebrae, the bones that make up your backbone. This animal had more than twice that, 15. You might also think that these long necks were used to reach tall trees, when it reality these mighty beasts likely fed on dense vegetation in rivers as they stood on the shore.  
Size: Medium       Difficulty: Easy
Veterans Park (42.029495, -87.755456)

4) Animals have a variety of ways of raising their young. Some young simply hatch and take off on their own. In many, mothers raise and protect the young until they can fend for themselves. In some species, the fathers are intimately involved with caring for the young. Find this animal and you will find a bird where the father protects the eggs and helps are for the young bird. 
Size: Medium       Difficulty: Easy
Madison Elementary (42.032478, -87.756489)

5) As humans we rely on animals for companionship, food, and warmth. Find this animal and it might remind you of your warm winter sweater. 
Size: Small             Difficulty: Hard
Madison Elementary (42.032480, -87.753949)

6) Lions, tigers, and bears, Oh My! As humans, we are often attracted to the most charismatic animals. But there is an entire world of smaller animals that don’t often cross our minds. There are adult frogs where three can sit on a dime. There is a fish from Sumatra that could swim in a bottle cap. Find this animal and it will be reminiscent of the smallest lizards, a gecko found on Caribbean Islands (Sphaerodactylus).  
Size: Small             Difficulty: Medium
Madison Elementary (42.032150, -87.755648)

7) Did you know that Chicago houses the largest and most complete fossil of this beast? Although “Sue” was discovered in 1990, the first fossil of these was dug up in 1902. Just imagine the feelings those early scientists had when they discovered the “Tyrant Lizard.” 
Size: Medium       Difficulty: Medium
Civic Pride Park (42.025918, -87.754515)

8) Scientists use technical names for animals. Every species has a first and last name just like people do. Often these names describe characteristics about the animal. Look around for this thick (pachy-) headed (cepahlo) dinosaur. Pachycephalosaurus 
Size: Large             Difficulty: Easy
Historical Museum (42.027173, -87.755566)

9) These creatures are critical to maintaining a healthy ecosystem. A single one of these can eat up to 1,200 mosquito-sized insects every hour, and each bat usually eats 6,000 to 8,000 insects each night. Their appetite for mosquitoes certainly makes a backyard more comfortable. 
Size: Small             Difficulty: Medium
Village Green (42.025852, -87.756889)

10) Did you know that animals have super powers? Just like Spiderman, some lizards can walk right up surfaces as smooth as glass. These lizards have adhesive toe pads covered in microscopic hairs. The hairs are so small that they can only be seen with high-powered microscopes.
Size: Large             Difficulty: Easy
Village Green (42.025433, -87.757155)

 11) On this walk you will see a lot of dinosaurs. This animal is the closest living relative of dinosaurs. Scientists study how this animal moves and senses its world to make the best predictions about how dinosaurs lived millions of years ago. 

Size: Small             Difficulty: Tough
Lorel Park (42.028470, -87.760455)

12) Male lions, with their big flashy mane, get all the attention. Lioness don’t get enough credit. They are the main hunters, providing the males with a free meal. Lionesses are fast, much faster than lions. Lions have the well-known reputation of just lion around in the shade (hehe!   
Size: Medium             Difficulty: Easy
Lorel Park (42.028240, -87.759740)

13) This creature is not a lizard. It is not a dinosaur, although it often appears in bags of plastic dinosaurs. It is actually a relative of mammals, the group of vertebrates that you belong to. That sail on its back was likely used for this animal to regulate its body temperature. 
Size: Small             Difficulty: Medium
Lorel Park (42.029288, -87.760615)

PLANTS, MEAT, and TEETH

As humans, we often choose whether we want to eat plants or meat. Animals often cannot make that choice. They always eat plants (herbivores). They always eat meat (carnivores). Or they eat both (omnivores). These dietary options are reflected in the shape and size of an animal’s teeth.  As you look at the next several animals, think about what’s in your mouth and what’s in theirs. You will see some striking differences.

14) Animals that eat meat have teeth made for ripping and tearing. They tend to be pointy or have serrations like a bread knife. No animal in history has led to more movies and nightmares than this beast. 
Size: Small             Difficulty: Medium
Edison Elementary (42.030060, -87.766725)

15) Herbivores need to shred dense plant material. Some herbivores, like horses and cows, bite and grind the plants in their mouths with huge molar teeth. Others shear the plant material off with sharp “beaks” and then digest it in their bellies. Take a close look at the mouth of this dinosaur and make a prediction about what this one did?
Size: Small             Difficulty: Medium
Edison Elementary (42.029712, -87.765131)

16) Some herbivores had mouths filled with tiny peg-like teeth, like the teeth at the front of a horse’s mouth. These are used for stripping the leaves from branches or shreding dense vegetation. This species, Iquanadon, was the first herbivorous dinosaur to be described (1822). Until this time paleontologists though that all dinosaurs we carnivorous monsters. 
Size: Small             Difficulty: Easy
Edison Elementary (42.029495, -87.765721)

ANIMAL WEAPONS

The antlers of deer, elk, and moose. The canines of saber-toothed cats. The tusks of elephants, narwhals, and walrus. Animal weapons capture our imagination. Let’s take a moment to think about the diversity of ways that animal weapons are used. They can be used to fight (obviously), but can also be used to prevent fights. Weapons allow individuals to size one another up and avoid fights that could lead to injuries. No one wants to be injured unnecessarily. Likewise, turtle shells and camouflage can also be used to prevent fights and injuries, just like a shield or military uniform. Understanding the ways that animals use their weapons is a major area of study for many scientists. 

17) Many animals are brilliantly colored. These colors provide information they way we get information from a phone or book. Some colors may say, “Watch out! I am poisonous.” Other colors may scream, “I am tough and this is my territory!” Unfortunately, contrary to the bag of plastic dinosaurs, we don’t know the colors of most extinct dinosaurs, like this one. 
Size: Tiny               Difficulty: Good luck
Oakton and Lorel Park (42.026131, -87.760349)

20) Bony plates and a tiny, walnut-sized brain, this plant eating dinosaur is a fan favorite. In life it was the size of a bus. What do you think those plates on the back of this dinosaur were used for? Paleontologists have hypothesized that they could have been for temperature regulation, defense, or just for showing off. 
Size: Medium       Difficulty: Medium
Niles West (42.026262, -87.769420)

19) This was a massive animal, comparable in size to an African elephant. The head was among the largest of all land animals. This head was thought to serve two roles, combat and communication. The dinosaur used its horns and frill in fights against its main predator, tyrannosaurs. It also used the horns and frill as a display to tell others “Don’t mess with me.”
Size: Large             Difficulty: Easy
Niles West (42.022556, -87.770601)

18) Horns and antlers are not the same thing. Horns are permanently attached to the skull, while antlers are grown and shed each year. Growing antlers take a lot of energy to produce, particularly calcium, the main mineral in bone. The skeleton of some animals will even get weaker during the times when their antlers are growing! 
Size: Larger           Difficulty: Medium
Niles West (42.022038, -87.771231)

Thanks for playing.