Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #StoatsAsMeasurement
Most recents (24)
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: #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
UP NEXT, #3 STRIPED HYENA (Hyaena hyaena) versus #14 FIRE-FOOTED ROPE SQUIRREL (Funisciurus pyrropus) #2023MMM
Both of tonight's competitors display #MightyStripes, are found across the African continent, and lead solitary lifestyles. But their similarities stop there #2023MMM
Striped Hyenas tip the scales at 55kg (121lbs, 250 stoats) with stripes adorning their torsos and legs, and are active during dawn, dusk and into the night #StoastAsMeasurement #2023MMM
NEXT UP, #6 seed WILDCAT (Felis silvestris silvestris) vs. #11 seed HIGHLAND STREAKED TENREC (Hemicentetes nigriceps) #2023MMM
Tenrecs are small mammals endemic to Madagascar that range greatly in shape & size - some look like hedgehogs, others like shrews, others still like opossums or rodents #2023MMM
Highland Streaked Tenrec is #TinyButMighty: it weighs 160g (3/4 of a stoat), is covered with a mix of hairs & spines, and has 3 distinctive white stripes along its back #StoatsAsMeasurement #2023MMM
Tonight in #MMMAfterDark: Yellow-footed Antechinus (Antechinus flavipes) vs Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus)!
First, the tiny thunder from down under! Yes, Antechinus comes from Straya & weighs in at a whopping quarter stoat (~55 g) #StoatsAsMeasurement #MMMAfterDark
#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: 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
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…
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: # 3 seed Bay Cat (Catopuma badia) vs # 6 seed Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)! #2021MMM
This battle was a collab between @kwasiscientific & me #2021MMM
Bay Cats are particularly elusive, often being difficult to camera trap unless cameras are placed off-trail (journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…; Wearn et al. 2013). Why avoid trails? Maybe to avoid the four other cat species that it shares the rainforest with! #2021MMM
NEXT UP: 3rd seed Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) vs. 14th seed White Winged Vampire Bat (Diaemus youngi). #2021MMM [bat photo via @inaturalist]
Chimpanzees live in rainforest, woodland, & savannah habitats across equatorial Africa & are one of the most intensively studied primate species. They are very closely related to humans, sharing ~99% of our DNA. #2021MMM [map via @NGKids; illustration via anthroillustrated.com]
NEXT UP: 6th seed Sphinx monkey (Mandrillus sphinx) vs. 11th seed Black and Red Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus lucifer) #2021MMM
Sphinx monkey is named after the sphinx, a mythical creature w/the body of a lion, wings of an eagle, and head of a person. Astute observers may recognize sphinx in hits like #2014MMM, #2017MMM, & as part of the seven Wonders of the Ancient World. [Pic: Clark & Kim Kays] #2021MMM
Sphinx were supposed to be intelligent & ferocious guards. It must be something about these monkey's colorful faces that just strikes us as wise - Rafiki, Simba's mentor in The Lion King, was also a sphinx monkey (or more commonly, mandrill). #2021MMM
Next up: 7th seeded Blue-capped ifrit (Ifrita kowaldi) vs. 10th seeded Brussels Griffon* (Canis familiaris) #2021MMM
Blue-capped Ifrits are small (34-36g, 0.16 of a stoat) passerine (perching & sing well) birds only found in the montane rainforests of New Guinea & Papua New Guinea #LiferBird #StoatsAsMeasurement #2021MMM ebird.org/species/bucifr1
Blue-capped Ifrits are not shy birds & their calls, a sort of whip-crack sound (macaulaylibrary.org/asset/203983621), are similar to Australian whipbirds #SoundsOfNature #2021MMM
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. 2 seed Midgardia Seastar (Midgardia xandaros) vs No. 15 seed Hydra (Hydra vulgaris). This battle is a team effort from myself & @je_light #2021MMM
@je_light Midgardia Seastar is a relatively new species, described only 50 years ago! M. Seastar is an echinoderm (star fish, sea urchins & sea cucumbers) with lots of arms - in fact, it has the longest arms of any other known starfish (Downey 1972)! tinyurl.com/m9y6m3fa #2021MMM
@je_light Midgardia Seastars can have 12 long arms, each up to 600 mm in length (that's 1.76 stoats!) & can reach over 130 cm long from arm tip to arm tip (3.8 stoats!) #StoatsAsMeasurement #2021MMM
LAST UP: #8 seed Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus) vs #9 seed Aoudad (Ammotragus lervia) #2021MMM
Tonight's battle is a team effort by @am_anatiala @Mammals_Suck @sexchrlab @AnneWHilborn & me! [gif of man throwing confetti with text saying teamwork make the dream work] #Teamwork #Dreamwork #2021MMM
@am_anatiala @Mammals_Suck @sexchrlab @AnneWHilborn The Musk Deer, Moschus moschiferus, is not a true deer. They are the only surviving member of a group called Moschidae. DNA analyses show musk deer clustering next to the group with cattle (Bos) & Sheep (Ovis): tinyurl.com/2rbenmna #NotADeer #2021MMM
NEXT UP: 5th seed Kinda Baboon (Papio kindae) vs 12th seed Egyptian Fruit Bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) #2021MMM
This battle was a team effort between the #2021MMM team's resident bat expert @alyb_batgirl and baboon expert @chumblebiome, with #TricksyTaxonomy info from @StoneLab_ASU!
5th seed Kinda Baboon (kin-duh, not kind-a) was only recognized as a distinct species from other baboons in 2013. Previously, it was thought they might be a subspecies of the yellow baboon. #2021MMM smithsonianmag.com/videos/categor…
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
NEXT UP: # 6 seed Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) vs # 11 seed Ring-tailed Vontsira (Galidia elegans)! #2021MMM
Red Foxes are found all over the northern hemisphere in North America, Africa, and Eurasia. Generally a woodland dweller, this clever canine has taken advantage of human expansion, and has become quite the city dweller too! #2021MMM
The largest of the foxes, Red Foxes reach up to 57 inches long (about 4.3 stoats) and 14 kilograms in weight (63 stoats!). #StoatsAsMeasurement #2021MMM
NEXT UP: No.5 seed Red Brocket (Mazama americana) vs No. 12 seed Siberian Weasel (Mustela sibirica) #2021MMM
GET THIS: Red Brocket is RED! This South American deer species is reddish-brown in coloration across most of its body, perfect for camouflage in dense, tropical forests #2021MMM
Red Brockets are the biggest of the Mazama cervids. Our male Red Brocket is ~4.3 stoats long (145 cm) & he's dense weighing in at 30 kg (136 stoats) #StoatsAsMeasurement #2021MMM
NEXT UP: 4th-seeded Maroon Langur (Presbytis rubicunda) vs. 13th-seeded Little Red Flying Fox (Pteropus scapulatus). #2021MMM
Maroon Langurs, aka Red Leaf Monkeys, live primarily on the island of Borneo in SE Asia, sharing forest habitat with other primates including orangutans, gibbons, & proboscis monkeys. #PrimatePosse #2021MMM
LAST UP: No. 8 seed Finlayson's Squirrel (Callosciurus finlaysonii) vs No. 9 seed Kowari (Dasyuroides byrnei) #2020MMM
Finlayson's Squirrel is our 3rd #TeamRodent of the night. These "beautiful squirrels" (but aren't they all??) are quite lovely with highly variable coat colors ranging from all white to all black to all red (Boonkhaw et al. 2017 bit.ly/338Fnb0) #2020MMM
In fact, Callosciurus is Greek for beautiful ('callo'), shadow ('skia'), & tail ('oura') (Borror 1960 bit.ly/2THQeWn). Finlayson's Squirrel are #smol squirrels (1.3 stoats #StoatsAsMeasurements), found in the trees (arboreal) in southeast Asia rainforests #2020MMM
