Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #2019MMM
Most recents (24)
Are you having trouble filling out your #2022MMM Bracket? Too hard to make decisions? What's a Sneak of Weasels and can they beat a Glaring of Cats? (That one is easy: No)
DON’T PANIC
Grab your towel and follow along with Professor Bobcat’s March Mammal Madness Manifesto
DON’T PANIC
Grab your towel and follow along with Professor Bobcat’s March Mammal Madness Manifesto
First up, reach down for that confidence and remember that this is YOUR bracket and you don’t have to let anybody else make you second guess.
Why am I saying this?
Because if you’re reading #2022MMM advice from an Internet Bobcat you’ve got some issues, Biped.
Why am I saying this?
Because if you’re reading #2022MMM advice from an Internet Bobcat you’ve got some issues, Biped.
Next up, you’ve got your essential #2022MMM decision to make with that newfound mesopredator level confidence:
Are you going with your head or your heart?
If the latter, you get to pick your favorites and go ahead and cheer for them, but,
Are you going with your head or your heart?
If the latter, you get to pick your favorites and go ahead and cheer for them, but,
FIRST UP: No.1 seed Dugong (Dugong dugon) vs No. 16 seed Colo Colo Opossum (Dromiciops gliroides). Genetics tweets for this battle provided by the awesome @sexchrlab #2021MMM
Dugongs are found in tropical, marine waters of the eastern hemisphere oceans. These large mammals (3m long, 300kg) never come out of the water; they are obligate, aquatic specialists #2021MMM
Having trouble filling out your #2021MMM Bracket? Too hard to make the decisions? What the heck is a Red-Rumped Agouti and can it beat a Bay Cat? (That one is easy: No)
DON’T PANIC
Grab your towel and follow along with Professor Bobcat’s Annual March Mammal Madness Manifesto!
DON’T PANIC
Grab your towel and follow along with Professor Bobcat’s Annual March Mammal Madness Manifesto!
First up, reach down for that confidence and remember that this is YOUR bracket and you don’t have to let anybody else make you second guess.
Why am I saying this?
Because if you’re reading #2021MMM advice from an Internet Bobcat? You’ve got some issues, Biped.
Why am I saying this?
Because if you’re reading #2021MMM advice from an Internet Bobcat? You’ve got some issues, Biped.
Next, you’ve got your essential #2021MMM decision to make with that newfound mesopredator level confidence:
Are you going with your head or your heart?
If the latter, you get to pick your favorites and go ahead and cheer for them, but,
Are you going with your head or your heart?
If the latter, you get to pick your favorites and go ahead and cheer for them, but,
TONIGHT THE WILDCARD: Grandidier's "Mongoose" (Galidictis grandidieri) versus the Pygmy Spotted Skunk (Spilogale pygmaea)! #2020MMM
Galidictis grandidieri was recently better-recognized as a vontsira than a mongoose, but since we <3 our players, we wanted to make it easier to find research on them, hence the air quotes. #2020MMM [gif is man doing air quotes]
Often called the GIANT-striped mongoose, this black & light brown-to-cream striped Feliform typically weighs between 500-590g (an average of 2.5 stoats) #StoatsAsMeasurement #TeamCatsish #2020MMM
Before I start, I want to acknowledge the work @TCastanea and @c_n_anderson put in on this. It was a team effort #2019MMM
First up tonight we have the winner of the CAT-e-GORY division: the Sea Lion against the terrible TAG TEAM twosome. Individually they are the Mongoose and the Warthog, but you know them as theeee WARRRRRGOOSE #2019MMM
Tonight's battle again features a randomly selected habitat. Let's check the machine.. and it comes up with.... Oh folks this is interesting, tonight's battle takes place in the Thorn Forests of the Deccan Plateau in the Southwest of India #2019MMM (Img wikimedia)
UP NEXT for the ELITE TRAIT: #2 MANATEE (Trichechus manatus) versus #1 MOOSE (Alces alces) #2019MMM
The last two mammals standing from the WATERFALLS division have definitely benefited from their higher seeds & home court advantage #2019MMM
NEXT UP: the JUMP JUMP division's entries into tonight's Elite Trait matchups - #1 seed Bengal Tiger vs #3 seed Spinner Dolphin. Battle written by @c_n_anderson #2019MMM
The Bengal Tiger devoured the Ringtail Cat, the Springhare, and Bharal to make it to tonight's matchup. Will his hunger never end? It's becoming a spectacle. #2019MMM
The Spinner Dolphin defeated the Spinefex Hopping Mouse, the Impala, and the 9-banded Armadillo to make it here. Fortunately, for the Spinner Dolphin, every previous battle took place in marine waters. #2019MMM
NEXT UP from the CAT-e-GORY division: Sea Lion (1) vs Tiger Quoll (7)!!! #2019MMM
[this has been a team effort between moi & @chumblebiome]
[this has been a team effort between moi & @chumblebiome]
In one corner we have our 15-stoat lightweight tiger quoll, the Cinderella of #2019MMM! He's snacked on catbirds, sat back & relaxed while nimravids duked it out, & scared off (he thinks) the fig-fascinated bear cat in Malaysia! #StoatsAsMeasurement
In the other corner we have our 1300-stoat heavyweight California sea lion. He's smooshed the antlion, smooshed the catshark, & smooshed...uh, I mean, dallied while the tiger owl drowned in [REDACTED]. #2019MMM #StoatsAsMeasurement
Although this battle consists of solo competitors, it does feature a tag team of commentators, namely moi & @AnneWHilborn #TagTeamBackAgain #2019MMM
Anne: So our Tiger Quoll is back & feeling rejuvenated after snacking on catbirds & having a front row seat to a Nimravid v Nimravid death match #DinnerTheater. #2019MMM
Next up from the WATERFALLS division: #2 ranked Manatee (Trichechus manatus) vs. # 3 ranked Tapir (Tapirus terrestris). This battle was a tag-team effort with @je_light #teamworkDreamwork #2019MMM
Last time, Tapir displaced Water Opossum & squelched the Moonrat. Meanwhile, Manatee outlasted Ring-tailed Vontsira & startled Aquatic Genet. None of these battles were at all controversial...some have said they were the best ever #noreally #2019MMM
West Indian Manatees are found in the Gulf of Mexico. They prefer warmer temps due to their lower metabolic rate #seacow #2019MMM (web.archive.org/web/2014022214…)
UP NEXT from the JUMP JUMP division: 1-seed TIGER versus 4-seed BHARAL #2019MMM
Our Bengal Tiger weighs in at 258kg/1173 stoats & the Himalayan Blue Sheep or Bharal weights 75kg/341 stoats #StoatsAsMeasurement #2019MMM
As noted by #TeamStoat, the male Bharal scared away its previous competitors (the stoat & rocky wallaby) in its native montane habitats of Nepal & India #2019MMM
NEXT UP from the CAT-e-GORY division: 1-seed Sea Lion vs. 5-seed Tiger Owl (narration co-written with @TCastanea) #2019MMM
Tiger Owls, aka Great Horned Owls, occur throughout the Americas & are well suited for many habitats from sea level up to 11,000 ft. They live in forests, grasslands, deserts, swamps, marshes, & mangroves. (Smith 2002) #2019MMM
Tiger owls also adapt well to human ecostystems & can help control pest populations, but are sometimes killed when humans use poison on owls' rodent prey. apnews.com/9766f9f7d94045… #2019MMM
Next up from the JUMP JUMP division, we have the #3 seeded Spinner Dolphin hosting the #10 seed 9-banded Armadillo #2019MMM
Both have traveled through ice and fire (or at least some salt water) to get here. Well where is here? Tonight we move from Sri Lanka to the waters off the coast of the Bahamas #2019MMM
We find our little armadillo out for a swim. Sure it's not the most graceful of all swimmers, but Armadillos are actually quite adept in the water bit.ly/2CzFHn1 #2019MMM
Badger's can bite with 316 Newtons of pressure! Their lower jaws fully lock into their skulls, preventing dislocation & side-to side movement. #2019MMM
Coyotes have elaborate vocalizations & are commonly heard by people in rural areas. Although people tend to overestimate how many they hear, leading to unnecessary fear in humans (figure from: bit.ly/2YlCqBl) #2019MMM
NEXT UP: 3rd seed Bearcat (Arctictis binturong) vs. 6th seed Lion-Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus)! #2019MMM
Last round we saw our mammalian #AltCat contestants "triumph" over their herp competitors: Lion-Tailed Macaque held a long protective vigil until the Cat Snake departed for tastier pastures, and Bearcat took a tumble out of a fig tree directly onto Leopard Tree Frog. #2019MMM
Lion-tailed macaques are highly endemic to the Western Ghats - India's monsoon-pattern-changing-mountain chain with forests older than the Himalayas & biodiversity up the wazoo (a UNESCO World Heritage Site!) #2019MMM timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environme…
NEXT UP: # 4 SEED FISHER VERSUS # 5 SEED TIGER OWL #2019MMM photo credits: Tom Kogut
Tiger owls are generally "free from natural enemies" predators such as coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions & are known to attack humans who get too close to their nests (Baumgartner 1939) #TheyWillCutYou #2019MMM
Males & females tiger owls mature by year 3 & females are larger. They produce 1-6 eggs/season & alternate roosting & hunting during the nesting season. Males do most of the hunting while females spend their time protecting the brood. (Baumgarter 1939) #2019MMM
Up next we have the 5 Crab & Loggerhead Sea turtle hosting the 4 Seed Cleaner wrasse & moray eel #2019MMM
In the last round the "crabberhead" defeated the clownfish & anemone in a tragic battle, while the wrasse & eel overcame the fire coral & algae twosome #2019MMM
Tonight we find the crab swimming around the sea turtle where it's picking off small pieces of algae growing on the shell of the turtle, the warm Fijian sea bathes these peaceful mutualists #2019MMM
NEXT UP: #1 Plains Zebra (Equus quagga) & Yellow-Billed Oxpecker (Buphagus africanus) vs #8 seed Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) & Aardvark Cucumber (Cucumis humifructus) #2019MMM
In Round 1, Oxpecker (& Zebra) picked off the Batfly (& Gammaproteobacteria). Aardvark & Cucurbit advanced against #Tripletrouble monkeys in an epic #BeastieBoys Battle #2019MMM
Why do Zebras have stripes? Scientists had thought these stripes were anti-predator devices, making it difficult for predators to cue in on 1 individual among the herd (called disruptive coloration) #2019MMM
First up is the #1 Sea Lion vs. the #8 Small Spotted-Cat Shark #2019MMM
In the first round the Sea Lion defeated the Antlion while the Small Spotted-Cat Shark fended off the venomous stonecat in a battle of inappropriately named fishes #2019MMM
We join our contestants tonight on the shores of San Francisco where the sea lion is enjoying the attention he gets when out sunning, you know catching some rays and just trying to live its best life #2019MMM
NEXT UP: #5 seed Beaver (Rodentia: Castor canadensis) vs #13 seed Rakali (Rodentia: Hydromys chrysogaster). It's #TeamRodent vs #TeamRodent! #2019MMM
In Waterfalls Round 1, Beaver tail slap sent Mink circuitously for a muskrat meal. A poacher's gunshot took out Peccary & Rakali advanced #2019MMM
Beavers influence entire ecosystems, even in the face of wildfires. #ActualLivingScientist @EmilyFairfax reveals how busy Beavers engineer an ecosystem: #2019MMM
NEXT UP: 9-BANDED ARMADILLO (Dasypus novemcinctus; 10) vs STREAKED TENREC (Hemicentetes semispinosus; 15)! #2019MMM
Last week, the 9-banded armadillo went up against & suffered no injuries due to the sifaka during its nice vacation to Madagascar.
The streaked tenrec also suffered no injuries (other than to its pride) against its battle with the markhor. #2019MMM
The streaked tenrec also suffered no injuries (other than to its pride) against its battle with the markhor. #2019MMM
The tenrec is now transported from the rocky ledge in cold northeast Afghanistan to a patch of scrubland in the much milder state of Texas, where our armadillo is just leaving his burrow & where tonight's battle takes place! #2019MMM
Next up: #1 ranked Moose vs. #8 ranked Flat-headed Cat! #2019MMM
Moose are part of North American culture. For example, kid's books discuss gift-giving & reciprocity among moose who are the recipients of muffins. However, they'd probably rather eat roots, bark, & twigs #2019MMM
In fact, the name "moose" comes from an Algonkian word meaning "twig eater" (nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.113…). While they don’t have front top teeth, their detention are well-adapted to cutting vegetation #veggie #2019MMM
NEXT UP: 2nd seed West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) vs. 10th seed Aquatic Genet (Genetta piscivora) #2019MMM
In the first round of the Waterfalls Division, we saw Manatee triumph over the Ring-tailed Vontsira via nibble and Aquatic Genet eek out a victory over the Marine Otter thanks to a close encounter of the orca kind. #2019MMM
We again find Manatee facing off against a much smaller furry reddish opponent. Will the extra three stoats the Aquatic Genet has on the Vontsira be the key to victory?? #SoVeryDifferent #SuchAdvantage #2019MMM
UP NEXT: 4-seed BHARAL versus 12-seed ROCK-WALLABY #2019MMM
During round 1, the rock-wallaby upset the serval with one wicked kick #CrouchingMacropodHiddenWallaby #YouGotSERValED #2019MMM
And to recap, this 10lb/4.5kg/21stoat sized marsupial edemic to northeastern Queensland in good ol' Oz bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:ls… photo by @MichalKrause #StoatsAsMeasurement #2019MMM
