Biodiversity MCQs

More than two pairs are correctly matched. Cassava is indeed a woody shrub, ginger has a pseudostem, and Malabar spinach is a herbaceous climber.

Mint is a perennial herb, not an annual shrub, and papaya has a soft, hollow trunk making it herbaceous rather than a woody shrub. So only three pairs match.

Mint is a creeping perennial herb and papaya is technically a large herbaceous plant, so two of the five pairings are incorrect.

All three fruits were brought to India by the Portuguese, not just one. Papaya, pineapple and guava are all New World species introduced during Portuguese colonial trade.

All three, not just two, were introduced by the Portuguese. There is no basis for excluding any one of them from the list.

All three are well-documented introductions from the New World via Portuguese traders and are not indigenous to the Indian subcontinent.

Statement II is factually wrong. The Indian Flying Fox is a frugivorous bat that feeds on fruits and nectar, not on blood. Only vampire bats feed on blood.

Statement II is incorrect because the Indian Flying Fox is a fruit bat, not a blood-feeding species.

Statement I is correct as the species is indeed listed under the vermin schedule. Statement II is wrong because it is a frugivore, not a haematophagous species.

Only one is native. Cashew originated in northeastern Brazil and papaya in Central America. Both were introduced to India during the colonial period.

Cashew and papaya are New World species introduced to India, so all three are not native.

Red sanders is endemic to the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh and is certainly native to India.

Statement II is factually wrong. Marsupials occupy diverse habitats from deserts to rainforests in Australia, and their absence from India is due to biogeographical history, not habitat limitation.

Statement II is incorrect. Marsupials thrive in forests, deserts and grasslands across Australasia and the Americas.

Statement I is correct; India has no native marsupials. Statement II is false since marsupials inhabit everything from Australian deserts to South American rainforests.

Two statements are correct, not just one. Indian squirrels do cache food and are omnivorous.

Statement 1 is wrong. Indian squirrels are arboreal and build their nests (dreys) in trees using twigs, bark and leaves, not by burrowing in the ground.

Statements 2 and 3 are well-documented behaviours of Indian squirrels; they are scatter-hoarders and include insects in their diet.

Two of the three are deciduous, not just one. Both mahua and teak shed their leaves seasonally.

Jackfruit is an evergreen species, so all three are not deciduous.

Teak is one of the most well-known deciduous timber species of India, and mahua is also deciduous. At least two of the three are deciduous.

Statement 2 is also correct. Gucchi (Morchella esculenta) grows naturally in the temperate forests of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Kashmir.

Statement 1 is also correct since Gucchi is a morel mushroom (a fungus). Statement 3 is incorrect as it has not been successfully cultivated commercially.

Statement 1 is correct; Gucchi is indeed a fungus. Statement 3 is wrong because commercial cultivation of morel mushrooms has not been achieved in India.

The Indian Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) is a nocturnal bird found across South Asia, so it is indeed a bird.

Spoonbill (Platalea species) is a wading bird known for its distinctive flat, spoon-shaped bill.

White Ibis is a wading bird of the family Threskiornithidae, commonly seen in wetland habitats.

Catfish are bottom-feeding omnivores that actively search for food. They do not filter water to obtain nutrition.

Octopuses are active predators that hunt crabs, molluscs and small fish using their tentacles. They do not filter feed.

Pelicans are active fish hunters that use their large pouched bills to scoop fish from water. They are not filter feeders.

Congress grass (Parthenium hysterophorus) is a notorious invasive weed that causes allergies and dermatitis. It is not used as a mosquito repellent.

Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is a tall tropical grass used primarily as fodder and for biomass. It has no known mosquito-repellent properties.

Nut grass (Cyperus rotundus) is a perennial weed. While it has some traditional medicinal uses, it is not a recognized mosquito repellent.

None of these are primates. They are all avian species belonging to different bird families found in the Indian subcontinent.

These are all bird species, not reptiles. Their names include typical avian family suffixes like frogmouth, barbet, minivet and redstart.

None of these species are amphibians. They are all well-documented bird species in Indian ornithology.