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23 Mar, 18 tweets, 8 min read
NEXT UP: No. 6 seed Ammonite (Didymoceras nebrascense) vs No. 3 seed Platyzilla (Obdurodon tharalkooschild)!!! #2021MMM Left: Didymoceras ammonite fossil photograph via Smithsonian
Platyzilla's scientific name O. tharalkooschild acknowledges the Indigenous Australian dreamtime story of Tharalkoo's infant that features the "cautionary tale" & "origin" themes often found in folklore. #2021MMM
In the dreamtime, Tharalkoo ignored the advice of the elders to stay close to home & instead explored upriver #YadaYadaYada leading to "the origin of the first platypus being the offspring of a male water rat (Bigoon) and a female duck (Tharalkoo)" (Pian et al. 2013) #2021MMM
Platypus's first scientific description: "Of all the Mammalia yet known it seems the most extraordinary in its conformation, exhibiting the perfect resemblance of the beak of the duck engrafted on the body of a quadruped... I almost doubt the testimony of my own eyes" (Shaw 1799)
Ammonites are an extinct group of shelled cephalopods. The animal is only inside the last chamber, the rest is a series of chambers called the phragmacone. #2021MMM
Each chamber of the phragmacone is filled with liquid & gas which is used to control buoyancy and maintain orientation within the water column #2021MMM Drawn image of an ammonite in lateral view. Right shows repr
Because each segment is grown throughout life & this Ammonite is not fully symmetric, it would have dramatically different orientations & swimming abilities at various life stages (Peterman et al. 2020) tinyurl.com/fy8243b9 #2021MMM
Tonight's battle takes place 10 million years ago in Riversleigh Australia, home of the better-seed Platyzilla. Hungry, the Playzilla is searching for prey. #2021MMM
Playzilla senses something different in the water, perhaps food? [Gif of Darth Vader saying "I sense something" while looking around] #2021MMM
Modern platypus do not open their eyes underwater, relying on electric receptors in their bills to sense prey. These sensors are common to all modern Monotremes & is thought to be an ancestral trait (Rowe et al. 2008). tinyurl.com/b6a733bd #2021MMM Image via Source: Gregory et al. 1987. Caption reads: A draw
Transported forward 60 million years from its day, Ammonite finds itself in strange waters. Suddenly it notices a large animal's swimming approach and Ammonite spins vertically! The adult orientation of its spirals though is not suited for horizontal movement #2021MMM
There is a lot of debate if Ammonites were able to shut themselves inside their shells for protection using a structure called an aptychus (Parent & Westerman 2015) tinyurl.com/35m93rae #2021MMM
However, Kruta et al. (2010) described the aptychus of this Ammonite species as being thin & likely primarily used for feeding, not protection! (bit.ly/AmmonJaws) #2021MMM
CRRRUNCH!! #2021MMM
Platyzilla bites the wrong end of Ammonite & chips a tooth on the hard calcium carbonate shell! Ammonites lived with many predators in their day, including mosasaurs & fish. Those spirals had tubercule projections to help deter predators! tinyurl.com/36duf6nt #2021MMM
Platyzilla's teeth are adapted for crushing, but mostly soft & resilient foods such as "insect larvae or even small vertebrates such as frogs, small lungfish or even baby turtles" (Pian et al 2010). tinyurl.com/42h55dan #2021MMM
Platyzilla knows the value of it's teeth & rather than risk breaking them, it swims off in search of more easily masticated prey #2021MMM
AMMONITE SURVIVES PLATYZILLA!!!!! #2021MMM

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More from @TanisBP

19 Mar
NEXT UP: #3 Mountain Tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) vs #6 Jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi)! Collaborative battle by me and @annewhilborn with genetics by @sexchrlab #2021MMM Image showing a stout bodied dark grey tapir on the left pic
@AnneWHilborn @sexchrlab Mountain Tapir can be active any time of day, unlike other tapir species which are mostly nocturnal. Activity levels depend on elevation, with more foraging occurring throughout the day in secondary forests below 3000m. (tinyurl.com/4dfrvh9f) #2021MMM
@AnneWHilborn @sexchrlab Mountain Tapir spend lots of time at mineral licks & eating clay for salt, silica, & copper. It is thought these minerals are needed to neutralize plant defense compounds! (tinyurl.com/3tebfhvt) #2021MMM Poor photoshop of Tapir's face with tounge sticking out onto
Read 14 tweets
16 Mar
NEXT UP: Tube Anemone (Arachnanthus lilith) vs Platyzilla (Obdurodon tharalkooschild)!!! #2021MMM
Our first combatant is the Tube Anemone, a member of the diverse group of Anthozoans which live in the sediments of the oceans. #2021MMM A portion of a tube anemone above light colored substrate. I
Named after the parchment-like chambers they reside in, Tube Anemones construct woven networks of tough stinging cells known as "ptychocysts" that help defend the body of Tube Anemones from predators. (tinyurl.com/evbvpd63) #2021MMM
Read 16 tweets
12 Mar
NEXT UP: Mountain Tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) vs Common Treeshrew (Tupaia glis)!!! Genetics tweets for this battle provided by @sexchrlab #2021MMM An adult standing closely behind a juvinile in captivity at Individual on a log facing the camera. It is covered in shor
@sexchrlab Mountain Tapir are the smallest of all tapirs, less than 1 meter at the shoulder & only 150kg. They are distinctly colored - a uniform dark brown, with bright white lips and tips of their ears. #2021MMM Adult Mountain Tapir surounded by lush forest standing in sh
A Malaysian legend tells that Tapirs were made with leftover parts of other animals with an unusual mixture of traits - thick, round bodies & a long, prehensile snout for grabbing food. Early biologists originally thought they were a type of Hippopotamus! #2021MMM
Read 17 tweets
13 Mar 20
NEXT UP: Raccoon Dog (#3) vs. Northern Short-tailed Shrew (#14)!!!! #2020MMM
Raccoon Dogs are omnivores native to Eastern Asia. Despite the characteristic black bandit mask & brown fur, they are actually not closely related to raccoons! Their common name is half correct though, they are closely related to foxes. #2020MMM A dark brown individual facing the camera showing the black crecent mask from eyes to jowls and very fluffy fur
While Raccoon Dogs are smol (~70cm long or 2.3 stoats), they make up for it with floof! Their characteristic long and silky brown fur can provide greater insulating warmth than arctic foxes! #2020MMM A rotund individual standing in front of a tree with side exposed depicting long brown fur tipped in black streaks.
Read 15 tweets
20 Mar 19
UP NEXT: 2-seed Coyote & Badger (Canis latrans & Taxidea taxus) versus 15-seed Ants & Aphids (Formica cinerea & Aphis varians) #2019MMM
Our battle today takes place within Dinosaur National Monument along the Green River in Colorado. It has been another dry winter and the entire desert is feeling the impacts. (nps.gov/dino/index.htm) #2019MMM
Coyote was going along looking for tasty ground squirrels to eat. But making your way in the prairie today takes everything you've got. Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot. #2019MMM
Read 17 tweets

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