Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #MMMagic
Most recents (13)
Last Up: #3-seed Wolverine (Gulo gulo) vs. #6-seed Bat-Eared Fox (Otocyon megalotis) #2023MMM 
With more research projects of wolverine in North America, evidence is accumulating for male parental visits to dens of females with young in their territory, with the most visits occurring in March (Copeland et al. 2017) #2023MMM
Whether male wolverines are engaging in direct behavioral care is unknown, but researchers speculate that increased visits of male may deter predators or stranger wolverines from approaching the dens (Copeland et al. 2017). #2023MMM
NEXT UP: #6-seed Itjaritjari (Notoryctes typhlops) vs #11-seed Silky Anteater (Cyclopes didactylus) #2023MMM
Welcome back to the Itjaritjari!
First appearing as a combatant in 2017, Itjaritjari was a 16th seed who was dug up & scarfed by 1-seed Honey Badger.
Also, in 2022, Itjaritjari was Australia's MAMMAL OF THE YEAR! #2023MMM
First appearing as a combatant in 2017, Itjaritjari was a 16th seed who was dug up & scarfed by 1-seed Honey Badger.
Also, in 2022, Itjaritjari was Australia's MAMMAL OF THE YEAR! #2023MMM
The Itjaritjari, also called a marsupial mole, is SMOL (head & body length 121–159 mm, weight 40–70 g) & has big digging claws on front feet & a thickened "rostral horny shield" to protect its nose & front of its face (Bennison et al. 2014) #2023MMM
NEXT UP: #4 seed Mara v #13 seed Siberian Chipmunk #2023MMM (this battle narration crafted by @am_anatiala)
Here it comes, the rabbit-looking capybara relative that acts & moves like an ungulate! Pretty clear how it was in The Who in the What Now Division as a #15-seed in 2014. #2023MMM
The Mara, weighing in at 37 stoats (8.12 kg) hails from the shrub & grasslands of Argentina. #2023MMM #StoatsAsMeasurement
#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
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
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: 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
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: No. 6 seed Ammonite (Didymoceras nebrascense) vs No. 11 seed Demon Eartheater Cichlid (Satanoperca jurubari)! #2021MMM
Ammonites were so named because of their resemblance to the horns of Ammon - the Greek/Roman version of Amun, the Egyptian God of life and reproduction #2021MMM
That being said...not sure what horns our Ammonite, Didymoceras nebrasense most closely resemble. Didymoceras is an example of a heteromorph ammonite, named because their shells don't follow the normal symmetrical spiral coil of other ammonites #Squiggles #2021MMM
NEXT UP: No.7 seed Tarsier (Tarsius syrichta) vs. No.10 seed Mara (Dolichotis patagonum). #2021MMM
Genetics & phylogeny content for this #TricksyTaxonomy bout is courtesy of @sexchrlab. #Teamwork #2021MMM
Though it may look to some like "someone put a kangaroo's head on a rabbit's body", the Patagonian Mara, aka the Patagonian Cavy, is neither lagomorph nor marsupial, but one of the world's largest living rodents. #MightyMara #2021MMM
