Creatures' Features - Christmas Photo Puzzle 2024

gentle lemur

gentle lemur

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15+ year member
Creatures' Features Puzzle - Page 1

Creatures' Features Puzzle - Page 1

gentle lemur's Christmas puzzle 2024
Creatures' Features Puzzle - Page 2

Creatures' Features Puzzle - Page 2

gentle lemur's Christmas puzzle 2024
As you can see, I have included more photos this year, but I hope this puzzle is not as hard as it first seems – because most of the creatures should be quite familiar.

To solve the puzzle, first give the common names of the 48 creatures whose features are shown.
As many species have several common names, please use the English names from Zootierliste, (if you find 2 names there, choose 1, but keep the other in mind). Zootierliste’s German origins do cause minor problems with hyphens and compound names, so for this puzzle I recommend splitting each name into its components, so if you think number 1 is an ivory-billed woodpecker, write the name as 4 separate words. This should help you to understand the structure of the puzzle because all the creatures have something in common, except for the last one.

The order of the species and the different lengths of the names are significant, because the list of names contains clues to answer the second question – which of these animals was my favourite subject to photograph?

The final creature is different. It provides the tie-break question – why is it so special? (Hint: there are at least 3 answers to this question ;))

Take your time. Please don’t post any answers here until I open this thread for answers at noon UST(GMT) on January 1st 2025.

I hope you enjoy unwrapping this puzzle and I send all ZooChatters my best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
 
This thread is now open for suggested solutions, but please save answers for the tie-break question until the earlier parts are solved.
Anyone who thinks they have solved the whole puzzle is welcome to send me a PM.
 
So I believe the species are as follows:

Black crested eagle
Blue striped angelfish
Red eyed tree frog
Black winged stilt
Eurasian blackcap
Blue fronted amazon
Grey headed night monkey
Long finned tetra
Scarlet chested sunbird
Copperhead
Bufflehead
Lilac breasted roller
Short beaked echidna
Snowy crowned robin chat
Grey backed thrush
Slender snouted crocodile
Red ruffled lemur
Goldcrest
Tail less tenrec
Elegant crested tinamou
Rusty spotted cat
Yellow footed tortoise
Shoebill
Razorbill
Laos warty newt
Six banded armadillo
Stump tailed macaque
Round eared sengi
Brow antlered deer
Blue discus
Cut throat finch
Scimitar horned oryx
Cownose ray
Redwing
Smooth helmeted iguana
Cotton top tamarin
Big bellied seahorse
Ring tailed cat
Mindanao bleeding heart
White necked raven
Asian small-clawed otter
Fire tufted barbet
Ashy-faced owl
Green sawfish
Double wattled cassowary
Southern bald ibis
White rumped shama
Ruff
 
My personal calculations ....
Long crested eagle
4 7 5 = 16
Blue striped angel fish
4 7 5 4 = 20
Red eyed tree frog
3 4 4 4 = 15
Black winged stilt // Common Stilt
5 6 5 = 16
Eurasian black cap // black cap
8 5 3 = 16
Blue fronted amazon // Turquoise fronted amazon
4 7 6 = 17
Grey headed night monkey // Grey legged night monkey
4 6 5 6 = 21
Long fin tetra // African long finned tetra
4 3 5 = 12
Scarlet chested sun bird
7 7 3 4 = 21
Copper head [Brown-banded Copperhead?]
6 4 = 10
Buffle head
6 4 = 10
Lilac breasted roller
5 8 6 = 19
Short beaked echidna
5 6 7 = 18
Snowy crowned robin chat
5 7 5 4 = 21
Grey backed thrush
4 6 6 = 16
Slender snouted crocodile // West African slender-snouted crocodile
7 7 9 = 23
Red ruffed lemur
3 6 5 = 14
Gold crest // European goldcrest
4 5 = 9
Tail less tenrec
4 4 6 = 14
Elegant crested tinamou
7 7 7 = 21
Rusty spotted cat
5 7 3 = 15
Yellow footed tortoise
6 6 8 = 20
Shoe bill [Whale-headed stork]
4 4 = 8 [or if whale-headed, then 5 6 5 = 16]
Razor bill [Banded razorbill]
5 4 = 9
Laos warty newt
4 5 4 = 13
Six banded armadillo [Yellow Armadillo]
3 6 9 = 18
Stump tailed macaque [Bear Macaque]
5 6 7 = 18
Round-eared Elephant Shrew // Short-eared Elephant Shrew
5 5 8 5 = 23
Brow antlered deer [Thamin]
4 8 4 = 16
Discus fish
6 4 = 10
Cut throat finch
3 6 5 = 14
Scimitar horned oryx
8 6 4 = 18
Cow-nose ray
3 4 3 = 10
Red wing
3 4 = 7
Smooth helmeted iguana
6 8 6 = 20
Cotton top tamarin [White plumed tamarin]
6 3 7 = 16
Pot Bellied Sea Horse [Big bellied sea horse]
3 7 3 5 = 18
Ring tail [Ring tailed cat]
8 [otherwise, 4 6 3 = 13]
Mindanao bleeding heart
8 8 5 = 21
White necked raven [Cape Raven]
5 6 5 = 16
Asian small clawed otter [Oriental small-clawed otter]
5 5 6 5 = 21
Fire tufted barbet
4 6 6 = 16
Ashy-faced owl [Ashy-faced barn owl]
4 5 3 = 12
Green saw fish [Longcomb Sawfish]
5 3 4 = 12
Southern Cassowary [Double-wattled cassowary]
8 9 = 17
Southern bald ibis
8 4 4 = 16
White rumped shama
5 6 5 = 16
Ruff
4

The animals listed all have some sort of adjective in their name.

Not sure about favourite though
 
@dillotest0 has sent me a PM with his names and calculations, and a suggestion of my favourite. The names are almost exact, which is very good :) - but you have to choose one for each creature. I was not thinking about numbers at all: so I am afraid they are a dead end and do not reveal my favourite. I gave @dillotest0 this advice, which I also pass on to everybody.

Study the photos again and consider the rhythm of the answers.
 
The only link I have is body parts. Most of the names given already refer to an anatomical feature, e.g. ear, crest, wing. That's all I've got so far.
 
Mo Hassan said:
The only link I have is body parts. Most of the names given already refer to an anatomical feature, e.g. ear, crest, wing. That's all I've got so far.
Click to expand...
Yes, they all have features, but the creatures and the names matter too. Leaving the ruff aside, concentrate on the names. As I said at the start, the order and length of the names are significant. Don't worry about geograpical locations
One more clue for everybody; when I wote the list I'm almost certain that ZTL gave the name of the 'Luzon bleeding heart pigeon' in full first, but I think an edit has relegated the last word from the first choice, so in this case choose the pigeon version and forget Luzon.
 
I keep looking at this thread, but without inspiration. If others agree, maybe it is worth confirming which answers are absolutely correct, which need tweaking and which (if any) are wrong.
 
Tetzoo Quizzer said:
I keep looking at this thread, but without inspiration. If others agree, maybe it is worth confirming which answers are absolutely correct, which need tweaking and which (if any) are wrong.
Click to expand...
OK @dillotest0 has given the correct identifications, as I tried to explain before. I have have copied her list below, removed the numbers and some irrelevant alternatives, then added a few spaces and a few minor corrections (in blue).
Long crested eagle
Blue striped angel fish
Red eyed tree frog
Black winged stilt
Black cap
Blue fronted amazon
Grey handed night monkey
Long fin tetra
Scarlet chested sun bird
Copper head
Buffle head
Lilac breasted roller
Short beaked echidna
Snowy crowned robin chat
Grey backed thrush
Slender snouted crocodile
Red ruffed lemur
Gold crest
Tail less tenrec
Elegant crested tinamou
Rusty spotted cat
Yellow footed tortoise
Shoe bill
Razor bill
Laos warty newt
Six banded armadillo
Stump tailed macaque
Short eared elephant shrew
Brow antlered deer
Blue discus
Cut throat finch
Scimitar horned oryx
Cow nose ray
Red wing
Smooth helmeted iguana
Cotton top tamarin
Pot bellied sea horse
Ring tail
(Luzon) bleeding heart pigeon
White necked raven
(Asian) small clawed otter
Fire tufted barbet
Ashy faced owl
Long comb saw fish
Double wattled cassowary
Southern bald ibis
White rumped shama[/QUOTE]

Some of these names contain more information than others: think about the difference between the pintail (pin tail) and the long-tailed duck (long tailed duck). That should suggest where to look for the hidden clues.
 
After a dogged intellectual effort, @dillotest0 has solved the puzzle by deciphering the acrostic clues. She sent me a PM naming the short-eared elephant shrew as my favourite species to photograph. Well done!
I have posted the full solution as a pdf file in the New Resources section Creatures' Features Solution - Christmas Photo Puzzle 2024
If I ever decide to create another photo puzzle, it will not be as complicated as this one :confused:

By the way, has anyone worked out why the ruff is so special?
 
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