Mystery Fossil Game

Use the clues below to guess the mystery fossil. Once completed, you can find the solutions at the link on the bottom of the page.

Mystery Fossil One

• I lived 44 million years ago.
• I have an odd number of toes.
• I am a browser, which means I eat leaves.
• I am small, about the size of a little dog.
• I live in a hot, wet semi tropical jungle and hide under bushes!
• 14 letters make up my scientific name (Genus species).

Mystery Fossil Two

• I lived 40 million years ago.
• I am a perissodactyl, which means I have an odd number of toes.
• I am more closely related to horses, though I look like a rhino!
• I am the largest land mammal to wander through the jungle-like forest.
• I have two knob-shaped horns on my nose.
• 26 letters make up my scientific name (Genus species).

Mystery Fossil Three

• I lived 40 million years ago.

• I only lived in North America though I have relatives who lived in South America.

• I am a large carnivore, the size of a bear.

• I hunted smaller animals like rhinos and tapirs.

• I am also a scavenger, feasting on any carcass or dead animal.

• 19 letters make up my scientific name (Genus species).

Mystery Fossil Four

• I lived 29 million years ago.
• I look like a leopard, but I am NOT a cat!
• I am a predator with long saber teeth.
• I can open my jaws to an almost 90-degree angle!
• My favorite prey could have been three-toed horses and oreodonts.
• 22 letters make up my scientific name (Genus species).

Mystery Fossil Five

• I lived 24 million years ago.
• I look like a giant gorilla-horse-sloth.
• My name means “slow foot” as I have feet with large claws.
• I walk between trees with a shuffling, pigeon-toed gait
• I can reach up into trees and pull branches down to eat leaves.
• 18 letters make up my scientific name (Genus species).

Mystery Fossil Six

• I lived 24 million years ago.
• My name means “dreadful teeth” or “hostile teeth”.
• I look like a giant warthog.
• I have long legs and am over six feet tall at my shoulder!
• I am an omnivore, meaning that I like to eat a bit of everything.
• 16 letters make up my scientific name (Genus species).

Mystery Fossil Seven

• I lived 24 million years ago.
• I look like a large dog, but have a heavy build similar to a bear.
• I am one of the first predators adapted to run in Oregon’s more open landscape.
• Rabbits (Hypolagus), horses and camels make up my diet.
• I can hunt alone for small prey, but hunting in a pack works better for large prey.
• 17 letters make up my scientific name (Genus species).

Mystery Fossil Eight

• I lived 16 million years ago.
• I am a traveler. My ancestors walked to North America over a land bridge.
• I have two tusks on my upper jaw and two tusks on my lower jaw.
• I am a browser, my trunk and tusks are useful to pull branches down from trees and strip leaves.
• I have no descendants as my genus became extinct.
• 13 letters make up my scientific name (Genus).

Mystery Fossil Nine

• I lived 7 million years ago.
• I am a long-legged herbivore, with teeth specialized for eating grass.
• I am a perissodactyl or odd-toed ungulate.
• I am the first mammal to adapt to running on one toe!
• I am dangerous! I can kick with great strength.
• 10 letters make up my scientific name (Genus).

Mystery Fossil Ten

• I lived 7 million years ago.
• I could stand over 12 feet tall and am a relative of modern bears.
• With my long legs, I was a formidable predator.
• Pliohippus (small horses) and Hemiauchenia (camels) were easy prey.
• 20 letters make up my scientific name (Genus species).

Mystery Fossil Eleven, Bonus Points!

• I lived 33 million years ago, and I am a native today of eastern Asia.
• I am a conifer, and yet I drop my needles each fall.
• I live in swamps and along lakes, yet my fossils are found in desert environments.
• My roots growing into water made great hiding places for fish, frogs, and salamanders.
• I am Oregon’s State Fossil.
• 11 letters make up my scientific name (Genus)

Once you've finished the Mystery Fossil Game, you can visit the Online Games Answer Webpage.

Did you answer all the questions correctly?