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) #2021MMMresearchgate.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
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?"]
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. #2021MMMacademic.oup.com/jmammal/articl…
RED RUFFED LEMUR TERRIFIES RED-NECKED PADEMELON!!! #2021MMM
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Although the Striped Civet, aka the spotted fanaloka, is Madagascar's second largest carnivore, it's only the size of a house cat. It hunts small birds & mammals, frogs, crabs, & invertebrates (Goodman et al 2003) #2021MMM
NEXT UP: 6th seed Island Fox vs. 11th seed Gray-bellied shrew opossum! #2020MMM
The island Fox is endemic to the Channel Islands, an archipelago of 8 islands off the coast of California. The foxes are about the size of a house cat, w/ greyish to honey brown & red fur. They eat mice, insects, birds, & fruit tinyurl.com/shz6r8m#2020MMM
You might be wondering, what is a cute smol fox doing in a place like this? Scientists aren't sure! Some think they were introduced to the island by Indigenous People while others think the 'rafted' across before humans arrived at the islands tinyurl.com/tuk43fp#2020MMM
NEXT UP: the JUMP JUMP division's entries into tonight's Elite Trait matchups - #1 seed Bengal Tiger vs #3 seed Spinner Dolphin. Battle written by @c_n_anderson#2019MMM
The Bengal Tiger devoured the Ringtail Cat, the Springhare, and Bharal to make it to tonight's matchup. Will his hunger never end? It's becoming a spectacle. #2019MMM
The Spinner Dolphin defeated the Spinefex Hopping Mouse, the Impala, and the 9-banded Armadillo to make it here. Fortunately, for the Spinner Dolphin, every previous battle took place in marine waters. #2019MMM
Next up from the WATERFALLS division: #2 ranked Manatee (Trichechus manatus) vs. # 3 ranked Tapir (Tapirus terrestris). This battle was a tag-team effort with @je_light#teamworkDreamwork#2019MMM
Last time, Tapir displaced Water Opossum & squelched the Moonrat. Meanwhile, Manatee outlasted Ring-tailed Vontsira & startled Aquatic Genet. None of these battles were at all controversial...some have said they were the best ever #noreally#2019MMM
NEXT UP: #2 Coyote & Badger vs. #7 Wattled Jacana & Capybara #2019MMM (co-narrated w/ @TanisBP)
Badger's can bite with 316 Newtons of pressure! Their lower jaws fully lock into their skulls, preventing dislocation & side-to side movement. #2019MMM
Coyotes have elaborate vocalizations & are commonly heard by people in rural areas. Although people tend to overestimate how many they hear, leading to unnecessary fear in humans (figure from: bit.ly/2YlCqBl) #2019MMM
Next up: #1 ranked Moose vs. #8 ranked Flat-headed Cat! #2019MMM
Moose are part of North American culture. For example, kid's books discuss gift-giving & reciprocity among moose who are the recipients of muffins. However, they'd probably rather eat roots, bark, & twigs #2019MMM
In fact, the name "moose" comes from an Algonkian word meaning "twig eater" (nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.113…). While they don’t have front top teeth, their detention are well-adapted to cutting vegetation #veggie#2019MMM