Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #2021MMM
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,
#2021MMM
[Woman at the wheel of a truck, looking over asking "you ready?"]
[Woman at the wheel of a truck, looking over asking "you ready?"]
#2021MMM
[gif is World Wrestler jumping up on arena ropes hollering out "I SAID, ARE YOU READY?!"]
[gif is World Wrestler jumping up on arena ropes hollering out "I SAID, ARE YOU READY?!"]
TONIGHT'S BATTLE FOR #2021MMM CHAMPION HAPPENS NOW!
LAST UP: Of Myths & Monsters #1-seed Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) vs. Sea Beastie #1-seed Saber-Toothed Anchovy (Monosmilus chureloides) #2021MMM
And now time for an #2021MMM Intermission
[gif is anthropomorphic snacks conga line dancing through the theatre]
[gif is anthropomorphic snacks conga line dancing through the theatre]
Art is at the heart of teaching about nature. These rock drawings are in a Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara children’s “classroom” at the base of Uluru, a place used for thousands of years to pass on key knowledge of the world & how all living things are connected. #2021MMM
Every year March Mammal Madness Art Team creates vibrant & compelling imagery of all combatants. #2021MMM saw an incredible #LevelUp in the team's artwork. You can bring this art into your own space in while simultaneously supporting the Art Team! society6.com/mammalmadness
First up: Red, in Fur #1 seed RED KANGAROO (Osphranter rufus) vs Tricksy Taxonomy #3 seed MOUNTAIN TAPIR (Tapirus pinchaque) #2021MMM
This battle was a collaboration between @AnneWHilborn, @MarcKissel & ME! [gif of Jimmy Fallon saying "We are best when we work together & step up!"] #2021MMM
Roo's route to the semi-finals had been smooth-sailing until last round's encounter with Red Hartebeest. Roo's fancy footwork demonstrated how the macro-est of macropods got the name and sent the ungulate hoofin' it. #2021MMM
ONLY THREE MORE BATTLES in #2021MMM
[gif is Homer Simpson ringing bell & wearing a sandwich board that says the end is near]
[gif is Homer Simpson ringing bell & wearing a sandwich board that says the end is near]
TONIGHT THE FINAL ROAR!!!
Kangaroo vs. Mountain Tapir
Saber-Toothed Anchovy vs. Harpy Eagle
#2021MMM
Kangaroo vs. Mountain Tapir
Saber-Toothed Anchovy vs. Harpy Eagle
#2021MMM
The encounters will occur in randomly selected habitats from 4 possibilities: freshwater swamp forest, dwarf forest, semi-arid desert, & seagrass meadow... and will be announced at the start of the battle! #2021MMM
LAST UP: from the Myths & Monsters Division: 1st seed Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) vs 6th seed Sphinx Monkey (Mandrillus sphinx) #2021MMM
This battle brought to you with a little extra spice from @Mammals_Suck! #2021MMM
NEXT UP: championship match of the Red In Fur Division - #1 seed RED KANGAROO vs #2 seed RED HARTEBEEST #2021MMM
Tonight's match is brought to you by the collaborative efforts of @TCastanea @AnneWHilborn and yours truly [gif is of Kelly Clarkson on The Voice saying "my team is so stacked"] #2021MMM
@TCastanea @AnneWHilborn Previously on #2021MMM, Kangaroo slobbered over Southern Red-backed Vole, intimated Red-crested Tree Rat, & chased away Red Brocket. Red Hartebeest squashed Red Squirrel with his hooves, watched on as Vervet Monkeys scared away Red Ruffed Lemur, & chased off Bay Cat.
UP NEXT from the Tricksy Taxonomy division: No.1 seed Dugong (Dugong dugon) Vs. No 3 seed Mountain Tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) #2021MMM
Tonight's battle is a team effort with genetics tweets by @sexchrlab and battle narration by @MarcKissel, @TanisBP, and me! #2021MMM
While Mountain Tapirs are "precariously balanced on the edge of extinction's precipice" they also play a critical role in the ecosystem, both as seed dispersers & since they topple trees that open paths for other herbivores (Padilla et al 2010, bit.ly/3dblHbW) #2021MMM
FIRST UP from the Sea Beasties Division: No. 1 seed #1 Saber-Toothed Anchovy (Monosmilus chureloides) vs No. 2 seed Midgardia Seastar (Midgardia xandaros) #2021MMM
Tonight's Battle is a collaboration with @je_light, and I frantically double-checked some things with @DrewLab an hour ago. #2021MMM [gif is rabbit running late]
Saber-Toothed Anchovy has had a pretty uneventful tournament so far. Round 1 was easy, with a swish of the tail sending Copepod out of the field of battle & Rounds 2 & 3 ended with Pink Vent Fish & Vampire Squid meals #NomNomNom #2021MMM
NEXT UP: 6-seed Sphinx Monkey (Mandrillus sphinx) vs. 7-seed Blue-Capped Ifrit (Ifrita kowaldi) #2021MMM
Sphinx Monkey brutally devoured Bush Squirrel & avoided confrontation with Chimpanzee (& Hawk-Eagle) to reach the #Sweet16. Ifrit, meanwhile, made an eye-popping escape from the mouth of Brussels Griffon before repelling Cryptkeeper Wasp. #2021MMM
The @IUCNRedList classifies Sphinx Monkeys (aka Mandrills) as 'vulnerable'. Deforestation & habitat destruction are major threats & have caused population decline in recent years. #2021MMM
P NEXT: From the Tricksy Taxonomy Division, 2nd-seeded RED WOLF versus 3rd-seeded MOUNTAIN TAPIR #Sweet16 #2021MMM
This battle was a group effort by @sexchrlab, @TanisBP, @StoneLab_ASU & yours truly! [gif is of four men jumping in air together, from Anchorman movie, with "Best Team Ever" text at top] #DreamTeam #2021MMM
@sexchrlab @TanisBP @StoneLab_ASU Red Wolf has some majorly tricksy taxonomy, which has made protecting this critically endangered, small-ish & slender (27.5kg, 125 stoats) member of genus Canis challenging #StoatsAsMeasurement #2021MMM iucnredlist.org/species/3747/1…
Ok next up is the #5 Vampire Squid at the #1 Saber Toothed Anchovy #2021MMM
The squid arrived here after escaping from the basket star and the black dragonfish while the anchovy ignored the copepod and eviscerated the pink vent fish #2021MMM
Tonight's battle takes place in the warm shallow waters off of what would one day become Pakistan, and the sabretooth anchovy is on patrol #2021MMM
Next up! #1 seed Red Kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) vs #5 seed Red Brocket (Mazama americana) #2021MMM
It has been a wild road for our contenders from the Red, in Fur Division. Kangaroo slobbered over the vole & intimated the Tree Rat, while rockin' red brocket outlasted Siberian Weasel and Maroon Langur. No one has been upset by these outcomes... #2021MMM
Red Kangaroos are designated as “Least Concern.” A 2011 survey by the Australian government found over 11 million Red Kangaroos within the surveyed areas! environment.gov.au/biodiversity/w… #2021MMM
UP NEXT: #1 seed Dugong vs #12 seed Egyptian Fruit Bat, featuring #TricksyTaxonomy tweets from @StoneLab_ASU and @sexchrlab! #2021MMM
The Dugong has floated through the past two rounds, mostly busy making sure it gets its several hundred square meals a day. The Egyptian Fruit Bat (EFB) surprised everyone in an early upset before defeating the Solenodon in a well-timed figfall #FigGate #2021MMM
Taxonomic relationships within the fruit bats (Pteropodidae) are also tricksy but combining mtDNA & nuclear DNA shows that Egyptian fruit bat is closest to the Malagasy & Comoros fruit bats diverging from them ~2.3 MYA (Almeida et al 2016, bit.ly/FruitBatGen) #2021MMM
FIRST UP: No. 2 seed Midgardia Seastar (Midgardia xandaros) vs No. 6 seed Ammonite (Didymoceras nebrascense) #2021MMM
Sea Beasties should be TERRIFYING based on the origins of their names: fabulous sea monster of middle earth (Midgardia Seastar) & paired horns (Ammonite). But Round 1 & 2 action has been, well, NOT TERRIFYING. Maybe this round will be different??? #2021MMM
What IS Midgardia Seastar, anyway? Seastars also go by the name starfish, but starfish are not fish! They are echnioderms along with sand dollars, sea urchins & sea cucumbers. Midgardia Seastar belongs to the order Brisingida, which are primarily deep-sea animals #2021MMM
Next Up: #3 Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) vs #6 Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) #2021MMM
Chimpanzees, among wild primates, are the most studied species yielding extensive knowledge of their natural history, social behavior, diet, hunting, & development (@bezanswer & @allison_mcnama 2019) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10… #2021MMM
Chimpanzee males spend their lives in the community they are born into, developing bonds, friendships, & coalitions with other males. These relationships begin during development, often with kin (Sandel et al. 2020) #2021MMM pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31903634/
NEXT UP: #1 seed Harpy Eagle vs #8 seed Ghost Bat, with lots of battle narration guidance from @Mammals_Suck #2021MMM
The Harpy Eagle is an avian 'QUEEN of the jungle', documented to prey upon at least 102 species of mammal, bird, and reptile (Miranda 2020, bit.ly/EagleDiet) #2021MMM
Learning to hunt by juvenile Eagles seems to be mostly trial-and-error. Juveniles are unlikely to learn to hunt directly from their parents. Instead, parents stop providing food, forcing youngsters to just figure it out (Cavalcante et al 2019, bit.ly/JuvEagle) #2021MMM
Next up: 5th seeded Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) vs. the 4th seeded Black Dragonfish (Idiacanthus atlanticus) #2021MMM
The Vampire Squid avoided the grasping vine like arms of the Basket Star while the Black Dragonfish consumed the nugatory nautical navigator the Blue Glaucus #2021MMM
Since both of these creatures inhabit the deep cold places of the earth's oceans home habitat may not be a huge factor. Vampire squids are found from 600-900m down while Dragonfish are found deeper up to 2000m down. #2021MMM
NEXT UP: No. 6 seed Ammonite (Didymoceras nebrascense) vs No. 3 seed Platyzilla (Obdurodon tharalkooschild)!!! #2021MMM
Platyzilla's scientific name O. tharalkooschild acknowledges the Indigenous Australian dreamtime story of Tharalkoo's infant that features the "cautionary tale" & "origin" themes often found in folklore. #2021MMM
In the dreamtime, Tharalkoo ignored the advice of the elders to stay close to home & instead explored upriver #YadaYadaYada leading to "the origin of the first platypus being the offspring of a male water rat (Bigoon) and a female duck (Tharalkoo)" (Pian et al. 2013) #2021MMM
NEXT UP: No. 2 seed Midgardia Seastar (Midgardia xandaros) vs No. 7 seed Yeti Crab (Kiwa hirsuta). This battle is #TeamWork between myself & @Mammals_Suck #2021MMM
In Norse mythology, Migard (Migardia) Serpent was the child of LOKI! Our Seastar's species name, xanderos, is Greek for fabulous sea monster. More about deep-sea starfish from #ActualLivingScientist @echinoblog here: echinoblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/brisin… [gif is Loki flipping knives] #2021MMM
Unfortunately, little is known about our long-legged creature of the deep. There are less than 20 specimens in natural history collections, most at the @TAMU Biodiversity Research & Teaching Collections #BRTC #CollectionsAreEssential #2021MMM
NEXT UP: #4 seed PICADO'S JUMPING PIT VIPER (Atropoides picadoi) vs #5 seed DEVIL FROG (Beelzebufo ampinga) #2021MMM
Pit viper's namesake Atropos is featured in the poem Shield of Heracles. Some descriptions of Atropos & Pit Viper are comparatively on point: "teeth are bright-white (λευκούς) like those of Fear; the long nails (fangs) w/ which they seize bodies" (Brockless 2017) #2021MMM
While other descriptions are perhaps less on point. Some may perceive Pit Viper as having "antagonistic glares (δέρκομαι)" but snakes lack eyelids so they can't help but glare (Simões et al 2016) #StopLookingAtMe #2021MMM doi.org/10.1093/molbev…
UP FIRST: From the Sea Beasties Division, 1st-seeded SABER-TOOTHED ANCHOVY vs 8th-seeded PINK VENT FISH #2021MMM
#RecapStats: Saber-toothed Anchovy is about 1m long (about 3 stoats), an ancient (45-50 MYA) marine predator & named after a vampire-like demon due to it's large single tooth (artwork by @JoschuaKnuppe) #StoatsAsMeasurement #2021MMM tinyurl.com/5bx5ths2
@JoschuaKnuppe Described just last year by #ActualLivingScientist @acapomorphic & @Friedman_Lab, the existence of Saber-toothed Anchovy suggests this ancient family of fish was diverse, from large predators to small planktivores (Capobianco et al 2020) #2021MMM tinyurl.com/254ya7jr
Next Up: 4th-seeded Maroon Langur (Presbytis rubicunda) vs. No.5 seed Red Brocket (Mazama americana) #2021MMM
After last night's amphibian vs amphibian, reptile vs. reptile, named for an Egyptian god vs named for an Egyptian god...
Tonight we bring you brutal Ruminant on ruminant* action! #2021MMM
Tonight we bring you brutal Ruminant on ruminant* action! #2021MMM
Cause we're really gonna rock tonight! #2021MMM
