Match List-I with List-II :
| List-I | List-II |
|---|---|
| Placental mammals | Counterpart Marsupials |
| (A) Anteater | (I) Spotted cuscus |
| (B) Bobcat | (II) Numbat |
| (C) Lemur | (III) Flying Phalanger |
| (D) Flying squirrel | (IV) Tasmanian tiger cat |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A)-(II), (B)-(IV), (C) - (I), (D) - (III)
(A) Anteater — this matches (II) Numbat. The numbat is the banded anteater of Australia, a marsupial. Both animals live on ants and termites. The same way of feeding gave two unrelated animals a similar long snout and sticky tongue.
(B) Bobcat — this matches (IV) Tasmanian tiger cat. Both are small, cat-like hunters of other animals. Hunting the same kind of prey shaped them alike, though one is placental and the other a marsupial.
(C) Lemur — this matches (I) Spotted cuscus. Both are tree-living animals with grasping hands and large eyes, feeding on fruits and leaves. Life in the trees made them look alike.
(D) Flying squirrel — this matches (III) Flying Phalanger. Both have a fold of skin between the fore and hind limbs and glide from tree to tree. In each pair, a marsupial of Australia and a placental mammal elsewhere came to look alike because they live the same way. This is convergent evolution.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2026 on 19-05-2026 (Slot 2), and in CUET (UG) 2022 on 20-08-2022 (Slot 1).