Ok next up is the #5 Vampire Squid at the #1 Saber Toothed Anchovy #2021MMM The squid arrived here after escaping from the basket star and the black dragonfish while the anchovy ignored the copepod and eviscerated the pink vent fish #2021MMM

Next up: 5th seeded Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) vs. the 4th seeded Black Dragonfish (Idiacanthus atlanticus) #2021MMM The Vampire Squid avoided the grasping vine like arms of the Basket Star while the Black Dragonfish consumed the nugatory nautical navigator the Blue Glaucus #2021MMM

LAST UP: Alright, alright, alright the finale is the #13 Blue Glaucus vs the #4 Black Dragonfish #2021MMM As you might guess from the scientific names of #13 Glaucus atlanticus and #4 Idiacanthus atlanticus tonight's battle is going to take place in.... The Atlantic. Specifcally about 1000 km south west from the Azores, at a depth of 1000m #2021MMM

Next up the #5 Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) vs. the #12 Basket Star (Gorgonocephalus eucnemis) #2021MMM Tonight's battle takes place in the depths of the West Atlantic in the Gulf of Guinea about 300 miles south southeast off the Ivory Coast #2021MMM

NEXT UP: the #2 Caspian Seal vs. the #15 Common Kusimanse #2020MMM Our first battle tonight takes us to the shores of Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan where the Caspian Seal is lounging on the shore sleeping off some herring #2020MMM

Before I start, I want to acknowledge the work @TCastanea and @c_n_anderson put in on this. It was a team effort #2019MMM First up tonight we have the winner of the CAT-e-GORY division: the Sea Lion against the terrible TAG TEAM twosome. Individually they are the Mongoose and the Warthog, but you know them as theeee WARRRRRGOOSE #2019MMM

Next up from the JUMP JUMP division, we have the #3 seeded Spinner Dolphin hosting the #10 seed 9-banded Armadillo #2019MMM Both have traveled through ice and fire (or at least some salt water) to get here. Well where is here? Tonight we move from Sri Lanka to the waters off the coast of the Bahamas #2019MMM

Up next we have the 5 Crab & Loggerhead Sea turtle hosting the 4 Seed Cleaner wrasse & moray eel #2019MMM In the last round the "crabberhead" defeated the clownfish & anemone in a tragic battle, while the wrasse & eel overcame the fire coral & algae twosome #2019MMM

First up is the #1 Sea Lion vs. the #8 Small Spotted-Cat Shark #2019MMM In the first round the Sea Lion defeated the Antlion while the Small Spotted-Cat Shark fended off the venomous stonecat in a battle of inappropriately named fishes #2019MMM

NEXT UP: the aquatic assault of the OCEANIC CRAB & LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE against the mutualism with pugilism the CLOWN FISH & SEA ANENOME. #2019MMM Our battle takes place in the home turf of the Crab and Loggerhead (AKA #CrabberHead), which tonight is going to be the Sargasso Sea, an area of still waters in the middle North Atlantic #2019MMM

NEXT UP: our second battle tonight takes place under the sea in a coral reef in Fiji pitting the 4-seed Wrasse & Moray Eel against the 13-seed Fire Coral & Algae #2019MMM Our home team, the Moray and Cleaner Wrasse have a special relationship where in the Cleaner Wrasse will zoom over the moray and remove parasites, and on occasion even entering the mouth of the eel to clean #2019MMM

NEXT UP: We have a battle that exemplifies the best of March Mammal Madness. A battle of fishes! The small-spotted CAT SHARK vs. the STONECAT. Finally that degree in Marine Biology is paying off #2019MMM The small-spotted cat shark is a member of a group of small, bottom dwelling sharks (Ironically also called dog fish). This particular species is found in the northeast Atlantic down to Senegal #2019MMM

Our next battle features two incredibly leaping contestants, the third ranked Spinner Dolphin and the 14th ranked Spinifex hopping mouse #2019MMM The Spinnifex hopping mouse (or Tarrkawarra, its name from the indigenous the Noongar people), from Western Australia is a rodent that can use a bipedal jump to navigate around its arid home library.dbca.wa.gov.au/static/FullTex… #2019MMM

Next up is the #5 Secretary Bird against the #13 Mantis Shrimp #2018MMM The Sec. Bird arrived here through stomping the Horseshoe Crab, while the Mantis Shrimp pulled off an upset over the Alligator Snapping Turtle #2018MMM

Next Up: #7 Cookie Cutter Shark and the #10 Common Octopus #2018MMM Both of these species are found broadly, with the common octopus having a nearly global distribution in shallow ocean areas #2018MMM

Next up is the #4 Alligator Snapping Turtle against the #13 Mantis Shrimp #2018MMM Tonight is truly a battle of tiny vs. middling, with the Alligator Snapping turtle coming in at 85 kg while the Mantis Shrimp weights about 50 g. That's a 1700x difference in mass #2018MMM

Next up we have #14 seeded Eastern Grey Squirrel vs. #3 Berlin Boar #2018MMM The plucky Grey Squirrel as a proud member of the Sciuridae has long been a favorite of March Mammal Madness and comes in tonight with a strong fan base #2018MMM