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 A photo taken by Clark and Kim Kays showing the Great Sphinx
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
Both male & female mandrills have this coloration, but these monkeys are VERY sexually dimorphic: an adult male is 3.4x bigger than an adult female! This makes mandrills the most sexually dimorphic primate & one of the most sexually dimorphic mammals. [Pic @sandiegozoo] #2021MMM Image from @sandiegozoo showing a captive male and female ma
The Black and Red Bush Squirrel's species name is Lucifer, which means "light bringer" or "morning star" in Latin. In English this is often the name of the original fallen angel in the Hebrew and Christian bibles, ie. the Devil. #2021MMM [Pic: Gustave Doré, Public Domain] A beatiful line drawn illustration of Lucifer's fall from he
#SpaceTangent Venus, aka morning star, is super bright & easy to see w/o a telescope. Depending on its orbit, It can sometimes be seen either prior to sunrise OR in the evening! This positional swap may have fueled the "fall from grace" myths #2021MMM space.com/39240-when-to-…
In any case, the use of Lucifer as the sp name for a squirrel feels a taaaad dramatic for this biologist, especially given that it's basically the size of a chonky stoat (1.5lbs/3 stoat-weights and 10in/.72 stoat-lengths) #StoatsAsMeasurement #2021MMM [Pic J. Smit, Public Domain] An 1897 biological illustration of the black and red bush sq
Tonight's battle takes place squarely in mandrill territory: we're in the mature semi-evergreen tropical rainforest of Lopé National Park. This park is part of a @UNESCO World Heritage site located in central Gabon. #2021MMM [Pics: Flickr user jbdodane; © jbdodane.com] A landscape photo of Lopé National Park by Flickr user jbdoA photo of Lopé National Park by Flickr user jbdodane. The
Our black and red bush squirrel is walking high up on a tree branch when it stops in its tracks and looks around. Something is off...this rainforest smells different than its home forests in southern Tanzania and northern Malawi. #2021MMM [Pic: IUCN Red List] A subset of a topographic map from the IUCN Red List. The ma
But the squirrel is high up in a tree, what could go wrong? It starts walking around when it spies a nest slightly below. Hungry, squirrel goes to check it out. #2021MMM [Photo Markus Gmeiner, iNaturalist.ca] inaturalist.ca/observations/5… A photo by Markus Gmeiner from iNaturalist.ca. The photo is
As squirrel approaches the nest, it notices a lot of rustling below. It treads cautiously, not knowing what to expect. It reaches the empty nest (ugh) and peers over the edge to see what's making the ruckus. #2021MMM
The squirrel sees the edge of a mandrill group being recorded by a researcher! But this isn't just a group. No, no, no, no, no, no, no...this is a horde. (White et. al 2010) #2021MMM [Image from anthroillustrated.com] An illustration from the website Anthro Illustrated that dep
MANDRILLS AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE!! There are easily over 700 mandrills foraging in the forest underbrush. (White et al 2010) #2021MMM bit.ly/38RaKuT A version of the panik-kalm-panik meme made on imgflip.com w
Squirrel's fight or flight instinct kicks in, and it's all flight, baby. Squirrel rockets out of the nest, sending it flying! #2021MMM
The flying nest attracts the attention of a HUGE male! At 82 lbs (169 stoats) & beautiful bold blue coloration, this male is in his prime. And Big Blue's ready for some fresh meat. (Setchell and Wickings 2005; Hongo et. al 2018) #2021MMM core.ac.uk/download/pdf/1…
Despite his size, Big Blue can MOVE. He shoots out of his spot and after the squirrel! All his commotion attracts the attention of other males foraging! It's free for all, but none of them can catch up with Blue's sizable lead #2021MMM
Squirrel is sprinting as fast as it can! A dead end on its branch forces it to hop onto another and in its hurry, it ends up going the opposite way... #2021MMM
...onto a branch right above Big Blue! He grabs Squirrel by the tail and... #2021MMM
#DirectorsCut
"The basic process was as follows:

attack the head,
pull the hind legs to eat them,
and then skin the abdominal region to eat the bulk of the prey."

(Kudo and Mitani 1985) #2021MMM bit.ly/3ttnDTK
SPHINX MONKEY DEVOURS BLACK AND RED BUSH SQUIRREL! #2021MMM A photo from Anup Shah/naturepl.com of a male mandril walkin

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More from @chumblebiome

12 Mar
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…
Read 21 tweets
12 Mar 20
NEXT UP: 7th seeded Tayra (Eira barbara) VS 10th seeded Falanouc (Eupleres goudotii) #2020MMM Arkive photo of a tayra, a large black weasel, sitting on a rock and among foliage. Taken by Pete Oxford.Arkive photo of a falanouc, a mongoose like creature, taken at night. The falanouc is walking among grass. Photo by Pete Oxford.
Bushdog, irara, gato negro, perro de monte, lepasil, tayra. Our first combatant is a #MustelidofManyNames - every country in its range has their own name. The genus alludes to this: Eira is Guarani [indigenous language spoken by peoples of Bolivia/Paraguay] for tayra. #2020MMM A close up photo of a tayra's face. It appears to be smiling. Photo from Arkive.org, taken by Nick Gorden.<br />
Found throughout Central and South America, the tayra [common name in Colombia] is one of the most common carnivores in its range since it can live near humans in smaller (or more fragmented) habitats. The IUCN currently lists them as "Of Least Concern". #2020MMM An IUCN map showing the tayra's range. The tayra is of " src="/images/1px.png" data-src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ES37FcVXgAMwQTs.png">
Read 18 tweets
26 Mar 19
NEXT UP: 3rd seed Bearcat (Arctictis binturong) vs. 6th seed Lion-Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus)! #2019MMM Close up of a bearcat's faceClose up of a lion tail mac...
Last round we saw our mammalian #AltCat contestants "triumph" over their herp competitors: Lion-Tailed Macaque held a long protective vigil until the Cat Snake departed for tastier pastures, and Bearcat took a tumble out of a fig tree directly onto Leopard Tree Frog. #2019MMM
Lion-tailed macaques are highly endemic to the Western Ghats - India's monsoon-pattern-changing-mountain chain with forests older than the Himalayas & biodiversity up the wazoo (a UNESCO World Heritage Site!) #2019MMM timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environme… ImageImage
Read 16 tweets
22 Mar 19
NEXT UP: 2nd seed West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) vs. 10th seed Aquatic Genet (Genetta piscivora) #2019MMM
In the first round of the Waterfalls Division, we saw Manatee triumph over the Ring-tailed Vontsira via nibble and Aquatic Genet eek out a victory over the Marine Otter thanks to a close encounter of the orca kind. #2019MMM
We again find Manatee facing off against a much smaller furry reddish opponent. Will the extra three stoats the Aquatic Genet has on the Vontsira be the key to victory?? #SoVeryDifferent #SuchAdvantage #2019MMM
Read 16 tweets
20 Mar 19
FIRST UP: 1st seed Plains Zebra (Equus quagga) and Yellow-Billed Oxpecker (Buphagus africanus) vs 16th seed Batfly (Penicillidia jenynsii) and Gammaproteobacteria #2019MMM
Today's first battle pits two of the most classic mutualisms against one another. When I say classic, I mean so classic that there's actually a picture of a zebra and an oxpecker next to the definition of mutualism on Google. #2019MMM
This mutualistic relationship is very clear: oxpecker gets to make a meal of all the ticks and other harmful parasites trying to take advantage of the zebra, and the zebra gets to avoid the horrifying fate of a "ghost moose". #TrypophobicsBeware #2019MMM news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150601…
Read 15 tweets
15 Mar 19
NEXT UP: 6th seed Crab-Eating Fox (Cerdocyon thous) vs. 11th seed Greater Moonrat (Echinosorex gymnura) #2019MMM
The dawn is rising on the Brazilian Cerrado, or tropical woodland savanna of central Brazil. The Cerrado is the most biodiverse savannah in the world: 5% of the world's plants & animals are native to this biome. #2019MMM kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.338…
The Cerrado is the "cradle of waters" since provides headwaters for S.America's most important rivers+3 large aquifers. However, the region's biodiversity is threatened by the growth of cattle ranching & soybeans. #2019MMM news.mongabay.com/2018/03/cerrad… PC: sciencedirect.com/science/articl… Map of the Cerrado showing land usage
Read 15 tweets

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