Three animals.
Two are close relatives.

Try a round

Tap the two animals that share the most recent common ancestor.

Kinships that surprise

Some of the pairs you meet in the game.

• 

  The Chinese pangolin and the dog

  The pangolin and the anteater eat ants with very long tongues, but this resemblance appeared twice. The pangolin's closest living relatives are the carnivores, like the dog.

  Their most recent common ancestor dates back to about 68 million years ago.

• 

  The spotted hyena and the domestic cat

  The hyena looks like a dog and lives in clans, but it is closer to cats and meerkats than to dogs.

  Their most recent common ancestor dates back to about 33 million years ago.

• 

  The †thylacine and the red kangaroo

  The †thylacine had a wolf's body and a tiger's stripes, but it was a marsupial, which lived in isolation in Tasmania: among these three, its closest relative is the kangaroo. With the tiger it shares only an ancestor from about 160 million years ago.

  Their most recent common ancestor dates back to about 62 million years ago.

• 

  The rock dove and the †dodo

  The †dodo and the owl have a stocky body, a big head and a hooked bill, but the †dodo was a giant pigeon that had lost the ability to fly. The owl is a nocturnal bird of prey, on a distant branch.

  Their most recent common ancestor dates back to about 30 million years ago.

• 

  The red panda and the raccoon

  The red panda and the giant panda share only their name and a passion for bamboo: the giant panda is a bear, while the red panda is closer to the raccoon.

  Their most recent common ancestor dates back to about 30 million years ago.

• 

  The European hedgehog and the llama

  The European hedgehog and the porcupine look like twins because of their spines, but these are modified hairs that appeared independently on two different branches: the porcupine is a rodent, while the hedgehog is closer to the llama, which has no spines at all.

  Their most recent common ancestor dates back to about 85 million years ago.

What’s in the game

The Naturalist's Journey

10 stops, each with a theme and hand-picked rounds, from “Tricks of the sea” to “Mammals in disguise”. The first 3 are free.

Every answer comes with a why

After every round a diagram shows the branches and the age of the common ancestors. The explanation tells you what the two relatives share and which resemblance led you astray, with the scientific sources.

Your Tree of Life

Every animal you meet joins your Tree. There are 150 species, all illustrated, each with its own card.

Build the Tree

At the end of every stop you rebuild the Tree of the animals you met, one merge at a time.

Quick games and challenges

Ever-changing rounds, with a difficulty that follows your answers. Then you can challenge anyone with a link.

No surprises

• No ads

  You play without interruptions.

• No account

  Open the app and play. Your progress stays on your phone.

• One-time purchase

  Quick games and the first 3 stops are free. Closest Kin PLUS unlocks the rest, with no subscription.

• Science with sources

  159 scientific works behind the answers.

  How it works