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Tonight's Battle is Lion-e-Lion! Which Lion will sleep <forever> TONIGHT!?!? #DoNotClickThisVideo #DontDoIt #2019MMM
The antlion larva is fresh off a victory over the adult Tiger Beetle #StillHungry #TigerBeetleDrumstickWasNotEnough #2019MMM
Pinnipeds are classified as eared, earless (family Phocidae, the "true" seals), or walrus (family Odobenidae). Eared seals like the sea lion use their front flippers for swimming, while the earless seals use their hind flippers #2019MMM @NatlParkService nps.gov/redw/learn/nat… 
Sea lions earned their name because in most species, like the South American sea lion, the males have mane-like fur around their neck & they roar when defending their harems of females #2019MMM britannica.com/animal/sea-lion
California sea lions lack this distinctive look, but they bark (Schusterman 1977), and these males tip the scales between 275-350kg (1250-1590 stoats) #StoatsAsMeasurement #2019MMM pinnipedlab.ucsc.edu/publications/p…
The sea lion has the higher seed, and therefore homecourt advantage this round, so we find both lions on the California coast .... on @PIER39 in San Franciso! THERE'S A WEB CAM! pier39.com/the-sea-lion-s… #2019MMM
8:30pm EST means it's 5:30pm on the west coast, so we find our sea lion catching the last few rays of the day #2019MMM
The antlion is also sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away, and trying to find some leaf litter or debris to hide under #2019MMM
Luckily, the antlion is so small (1.5cm long, Badano & Pantaleoni, 2014), the sea lion does not even notice that it's there, giant mandibles and all #2019MMM
However, that means the sea lion does not see the antlion as it rolls over to sun it's back one more time ...... #2019MMM
.... this larva was not destined to metamorphosize into the dragonfly-like adult form (most adults only live for 25 days anyway, Yasseri et al 1996) #2019MM (c) Stefan Kunz gallery.kunzweb.net/main.php?g2_it…
SEA LION SMOOSHES ANTLION!!! #2019MMM
