Bones, Tusks and Monsters: teacher key

Dragons and Mythical Creatures, grade 9 edition, written for 9th grade. How a rhinoceros skull, narwhal tusks, manatees and old animal books helped build the monsters of legend, and what the real animals are like.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What animal did the Klagenfurt skull really come from?
   • A flying dragon
   • A woolly rhinoceros (answer)
   • A horse
2. Why might Greeks have imagined one-eyed giants?
   • Sailors saw giants on islands
   • Squid have one eye
   • An elephant skull has one big hole in the middle (answer)
3. What did buyers in Europe think narwhal tusks were?
   • Unicorn horns (answer)
   • Dragon teeth
   • Whale bones
4. What animal were sailors most likely seeing when they told of mermaids?
   • Sirens
   • Giant squid
   • Manatees (answer)
5. What do bestiaries show about how old books treated animals?
   • They only listed real animals
   • True and untrue facts sat side by side (answer)
   • They were science textbooks
6. What does San Diego Zoo say leaves little breeding between Komodo groups on different islands?
   • Habitat loss (answer)
   • Too many hatchlings
   • Colder winters

Words

• lindwurm: German dragon
• fossil: ancient remains
• bestiary: old animal book
• aquatic: living in water
• territorial: defending its area