Next up! #1 seed Red Kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) vs #5 seed Red Brocket (Mazama americana) #2021MMM It has been a wild road for our contenders from the Red, in Fur Division. Kangaroo slobbered over the vole & intimated the Tree Rat, while rockin' red brocket outlasted Siberian Weasel and Maroon Langur. No one has been upset by these outcomes... #2021MMM

Next up: #2 seed Masrasector nananubis Vs. #15 seed Crypt-keeper Wasp. Battle by myself and @c_n_anderson #2021MMM Masrasector nananubis species name means "little Anubis", referring to the jackal-headed ancient Egyptian god of embalming who protects tombs & brings souls through the underworld #2021MMM

Next up: #4 ranked Malagasy Striped Civet (Fossa fossana) vs. #13 ranked Solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus) #2021MMM This battle had a lot of help from @am_anatiala and genetic info from @StoneLab_ASU & @sexchrlab #2021MMM

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

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

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

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

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

Next up: 6th-seeded Diana Monkey (Cercopithecus diana) & Red Colobus Monkey (Procolobus badius) #SimianSquad vs. 11th-seeded Bornean Bat (Kerivoula hardwickii) & Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes hemsleyana) #TeamBatToilet. #2019MMM (n.b. This is a colloboration between myself and @tinkeringprim8 #TagTeamTeamwork #2019MMM)

First up, #3 ranked Lowland tapir vs #14 ranked Water Opossum!!! #2019MMM Lowland tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) are really good swimmers. In Peru they are often refered to as sachavaca, a mixture of Quechua and Spanish, which means “forest cow." They eat mostly fruit & leaves. #2019MMM

Next up: #1 seed Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) vs. # 16 seed ringtail cat (Bassariscus astutus) #2019MMM The ringtail cat is not actually a cat. The scientific name, Bassariscus astutus, means cunning little fox, but it is not a fox either! the ringtail is in the raccoon family. In #2017MMM the ringtail shocked fans by taking out heavily-favored patas monkey. #UpsetCity #2019MMM

And LAST but not LEAST of the #EliteTrait, we have #1 seeded Doedicurus clavicaudatus vs. #2 Amebelodon fricki!!! #2018MMM Tonight's battle is a 3-way collaboration by me, @PKurnath & @tinkeringprim8, so hold on to your tush! #TeamAwesome #TeamDiscoveryChannel #2018MMM

Next up: No. 2 ranked Amebelodon fricki vs. no. 7 ranked Homo floresiensis!!! #2018MMM In the first round Amebelodon sent Deinogalerix koenigswald flying through the air, while Homo floresiensis outwitted the tiny Palaeoloxodon #2018MMM

NEXT UP: #4 Tasmanian Devil Vs. #5 Water Deer!!! #2018MMM Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) devoured the ghost bat in the first round, while Water Deer (Hydropotes inermis) managed to scare away the solenodon (none of this was controversial at all amongst the fandom...) #truth #2018MMM

NEXT UP: 8th seeded Bristol Fox (Vulpes vulpes) vs 9th seeded Racoon (Procyon lotor) #2018MMM Our penultimate battle of the night (written mostly by
@chumblebiome) features two members of the taxonomic order Carnivora, which means they have a specialization for eating meat: #carnassials. Skull images from @NMNH #2018MMM

NEXT UP: #5 seed Water deer ((Hydropotes inermis) vs. #12 seed solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus) #2018MMM The Water Deer ranges from China to Korea, but has been imported to the UK and other parts of the world. The name refers to its preference for coastal plains, marshy areas, & riparian regions (map from: #SATword #2018MMM