Name a mammal smaller than a house cat - Krillion Answers 2026-10-20

6,515 recorded names on October 20, 2026, 6,298 at 85 or higher. The highest recorded score on this question is 100.

Aim for species-level names from the groups that pack the most tiny bodies per genus — the further you go down a field-guide index, the better the payoff. Any living mammal species whose adult body mass typically stays well under that of a domestic cat counts; single-word catch-all labels for whole groups score far less than a proper species name.

Recorded answers

6,515 recorded answers

How to approach it

Work from size classes instead of from memory of famous animals. Sketch the handful of mammalian orders in which adults commonly weigh under a few hundred grams, then walk each order's family list and pull one or two names per family. Field-guide indexes, national species checklists and museum collection catalogues are the richest sources, because they supply the long descriptive names that casual players never reach. Build a long list rather than a short one: quantity matters here, so aim for twenty or thirty candidates before you start judging them. Where a species has several common names, submit the most formal one. Finally, keep an eye on spelling, since hyphenated and transliterated forms are usually accepted.

Get a hint

Start from body mass rather than from familiarity: list the mammalian orders in which adults routinely weigh less than a few hundred grams, then work downward through them.

A little more

Harvest names from regional mammal checklists and museum species lists; long compound common names built from a place plus a body feature are a strong signal of a valid, rarely given entry.

One step further

Chase the oddities too: species known from a single mountain range, a cave survey or a recent taxonomic revision often carry the highest value, and hyphenated or transliterated forms are accepted.

Reveal answers 6,515

Monteverde Small-eared ShrewDeep Cut85points
Moojen's Pygmy Rice RatDeep Cut85points
Moojen's Spiny-ratDeep Cut85points
Moon Forest ShrewDeep Cut85points
Moon Mountains Striped MouseDeep Cut85points
MoonratDeep Cut85points
Moonshine White-toothed ShrewDeep Cut85points
Moratelli's MyotisDeep Cut85points
Morgan's Gerbil MouseDeep Cut85points
Moroccan GerbilDeep Cut85points
Moroccan HareDeep Cut85points
Moroccan JirdDeep Cut85points
Morris's Flying SquirrelDeep Cut85points
Morris's MyotisDeep Cut85points
Mosaic-tailed ratDeep Cut85points
Moss-forest Blossom BatDeep Cut85points
Mossy Forest White-toothed ShrewDeep Cut85points
Mother Ellen's Wood MouseDeep Cut85points
Mottled Tuco-tucoDeep Cut85points
Mottled-face TamarinDeep Cut85points
Mottled-tailed Shrew MouseDeep Cut85points
Mound-building MouseDeep Cut85points
Mount Amuyao Tree MouseDeep Cut85points
Mount Anacuao Tree MouseDeep Cut85points
Mount Apo GymnureDeep Cut85points
Mount Banahaw Shrew RatDeep Cut85points
Mount Banahaw Tree MouseDeep Cut85points
Mount Cameroon Brush-furred RatDeep Cut85points
Mount Cameroon Forest ShrewDeep Cut85points
Mount Cameroon Shaggy RatDeep Cut85points
Mount Caparao HocicudoDeep Cut85points
Mount Chercher Brush-furred RatDeep Cut85points
Mount Data Shrew RatDeep Cut85points
Mount Elgon Vlei RatDeep Cut85points
Mount Gaoligong Flying SquirrelDeep Cut85points
Mount Gargues PipistrelleDeep Cut85points
Mount Giluwe RatDeep Cut85points
Mount Irid Forest MouseDeep Cut85points
Mount Isarog Hairy-tailed RatDeep Cut85points
Mount Isarog Shrew RatDeep Cut85points
Mount Kahuzi African Climbing MouseDeep Cut85points
Mount Kenya Mole ShrewDeep Cut85points
Mount Kenya Wood MouseDeep Cut85points
Mount Kilimanjaro Vlei RatDeep Cut85points
Mount Korinchi White-toothed ShrewDeep Cut85points
Mount Lefo Brush-furred RatDeep Cut85points
Mount Lyell ShrewDeep Cut85points
Mount Mabu Horseshoe BatDeep Cut85points
Mount Malindang White-toothed ShrewDeep Cut85points
Mount Mingan Forest MouseDeep Cut85points

Why these answers count

Almost every entry in the reveal lands in the same high band, which tells you the puzzle rewards reach rather than precision: 6,485 of the 6,514 recorded answers cleared sixty points, and 6,295 of those sat at eighty-five. That middle tier is where competent, well-read answers live — the long descriptive species names that fill a museum checklist, such as Abert's Squirrel or Aba Horseshoe Bat, both worth eighty-five. The hundred-point pair sit apart because they are nearly impossible to arrive at by brainstorming: a single-species family described from a very limited range, and a small animal whose spine is famously reinforced, each rewarding whoever had read up on a taxonomic curiosity. Only 188 answers fell to sixty, presumably the everyday small mammals most players produce first. The lesson is that obscurity, not correctness, moves the score: a household name is valid but cheap, while a name almost nobody else can recall pays the maximum.