Thread by @MarcKissel

NEXT UP: #7 Red Ruffed Lemur (Varecia rubra) vs. #10 Red-necked Pademelon (Thylogale thetis)!!!! #2021MMM

Red Ruffed Lemur live in the tropical forests of the Masoala Peninsula in Madagascar. Named for their rust red coat & ruff of rust red hair, this lemur is 110 cm long & weights about 3.5 kgs (or, stoatistically speaking, it is 1.76 stoats long!) #2021MMM

Red Ruffed Lemur are active during the day and eat mainly fruit, but also dabble in flowers & young leaves. Like other fruit-eaters, they play a critical role in seed dispersal in the forest (Vasey, 2005) #2021MMM researchgate.net/publication/78…

Sadly the same trees they live in are favored by some logging companies. While almost all lemurs are endangered, Illegal logging, traps, cyclones, and fires make this one of the most endangered of all the lemurs (Rigamonti, 1996) #2021MMM

The Red-necked Pademelon is a macropod marsupial found in the rainforests, eucalyptus forest, and grasslands of Australia. It has length of up to 60 cm, w/ males 7 kg and females ~4 kg #SexualDimorphism #2021MMM

Pademelon eat leaves, grass, and roots "Between periods of sleep during the day, T. thetis moves through the forest grazing or browsing; on chilly winter mornings it often basks where the sun penetrates to the forest floor." (Nowak, 2018) #2021MMM

After conception, pademelons can suspend development of the embryo (embryonic diapause) to ideally space joeys for environmental conditions (Fenlon et al., 2014). #MaximizeReproductiveSuccess #SATWord #2021MMM researchgate.net/publication/26…

Since the extinction of the Thylacine, the primary predator of Tasmanian pademelons (Thylogale billardierii) is the nocturnal Tasmanian Devil, but these Dasyurids were outcompeted by Dingoes on mainland Australia a few thousand years ago #2021MMM

APPARENTLY pademelons are easily mistaken for certain other species so let's just ART ENHANCE (by
@TheOddAngel) #2021MMM

Today's battle takes place in the deciduous tropical forests of the Masoala Peninsula in Madagascar, home to Red Ruffed lemurs, white-fronted brown lemurs, aye-ayes, & one slightly confused Red-necked Pademelon! #2021MMM

Pademelon starts grazing in the undergrowth when multiple screeching, staccato jackhammer "uh-uh-uh-uh-uhs" resonate from the forest canopy! #2021MMM

The Red-necked Pademelon orients to the sound for 15 seconds with an innate anti-predator vigilance (Blumstein et al. 2002), is it the screeching and growling of Tasmanian Devil fights over a carcass?!? () #2021MMM

But it's daytime! And full-grown Tasmanian Devils are trash at climbing trees (Jones & Barmuta 2000)! #2021MMM [gif is Boromir asking "What new devilry is this?"]

THE #2021MMM COMBATANT LEMUR "LOUD CALLS" FROM DIRECTLY ABOVE PADEMELON! (). #ButYouDontHaveToTakeMyWordForIt #2021MMM

Notably "less discriminating" about predator sounds & having been "alarmed on foraging grounds, rednecked pademelon hops low and quickly through the dense cover" (Blumstein et al. 2002) fleeing the lemur. #2021MMM academic.oup.com/jmammal/articl…

RED RUFFED LEMUR TERRIFIES RED-NECKED PADEMELON!!! #2021MMM