MrsT's MAGICAL MYSTERY QUIZ#4

Almost every corner of the globe is home to a wide array of different organisms. But despite this diversity, there are groups of animals that share the most unlikely of similarities. Sticking to the UK, each week for 12 weeks I will test your skills in identifying 12 different organisms that share one characteristic. They can be a plant or a fungi, a bird or a mammal, a fish or an insect!

MAGICAL MYSTERY QUIZ#4
Clue: On prescription.

  • I will have a go and say a Leech, as they are used in medicine a lot and are a type of parasites.

    Regards Shane

     

    My Photos in Flickr.

  • Had a look at my extensive repeat prescriptions but was no wiser but Shanes Leech sounds good.

    Pete

    Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

  • Quick as lightening there Shane :)  I think you are probably right.

    Caroline in Jersey

    Cin J

  • Clue: no need for shoes.

  • I thought Shane was on to something and he may still be.

    As for me, I'm shoeless and clueless.

    ____________________________________________________________________

    Tony

    My Flickr Photostream 

  • join the club TJ

    Pete

    Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

  • Could it be that, if it is a leech, then they don't have feet (only suckers) therefore they have nowhere to put shoes - or shoeless & clueless could mean 'barefoot in the dark' which helps me not one bit!!!

    These are the ramblings of a tired, old brain cell LOL!

     

     2013 photos & vids here

    eff37 on Flickr

  • As the leech slithers along and has no feet it would have no need for shoes so still going for Shane's suggestion.

    Pete

    Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

  • Congratulations to all of you who guessed Leech. First a bit about the clues! First clue: On prescription. The practice of ‘leeching’ for medicinal purposes can traced to Ancient India and Greece and is said to have continued well into the 18th and 19th Century in North American and Europe and this is what this clue refers to.  The use of leeches in medicine made a comeback in the 80’s and they are now actively used in microsurgeries, where the anticoagulant ‘hirudin’ in the leech’s saliva has beneficial properties. The second clue: Footless. Leeches do not have feet, two reproductive organs and 21 neuronal ganglia - yes, but no need for shoes.

    Leeches are segmented worms. Most leeches live in fresh water, but occur on land. They are hermaphrodites and suck blood from both vertebrate and invertebrate animals. There are 700 species of leech, but we are probably most familiar with the European medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis. Leeches can also engage in head movements and body waving.

    A picture of a Leech is found here.

    Did you know that: leeches has 32 brains! One brain segment in located in each body segment.

    Keep an eye out for next week’s mystery quiz!

    Take care,

    Claire