FIRST UP: No. 2 seed Midgardia Seastar (Midgardia xandaros) vs No. 6 seed Ammonite (Didymoceras nebrascense) #2021MMM Sea Beasties should be TERRIFYING based on the origins of their names: fabulous sea monster of middle earth (Midgardia Seastar) & paired horns (Ammonite). But Round 1 & 2 action has been, well, NOT TERRIFYING. Maybe this round will be different??? #2021MMM

NEXT UP: No. 2 seed Midgardia Seastar (Midgardia xandaros) vs No. 7 seed Yeti Crab (Kiwa hirsuta). This battle is #TeamWork between myself & @Mammals_Suck #2021MMM In Norse mythology, Migard (Migardia) Serpent was the child of LOKI! Our Seastar's species name, xanderos, is Greek for fabulous sea monster. More about deep-sea starfish from #ActualLivingScientist @echinoblog here: echinoblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/brisin… [gif is Loki flipping knives] #2021MMM

FIRST UP: No.1 seed Dugong (Dugong dugon) vs No. 8 Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus). Teamwork battle by myself & @MarcKissel (& a great assist from @Mammals_Suck), with genetics info from @sexchrlab & @StoneLab_ASU #2021MMM Although our two combatants may seem really different (one being obligate aquatic in tropical, marine waters & the other terrestrial in mountain forests), they do have one thing in common......TUSKS #2021MMM

FIRST UP: No.1 seed Dugong (Dugong dugon) vs No. 16 seed Colo Colo Opossum (Dromiciops gliroides). Genetics tweets for this battle provided by the awesome @sexchrlab #2021MMM Dugongs are found in tropical, marine waters of the eastern hemisphere oceans. These large mammals (3m long, 300kg) never come out of the water; they are obligate, aquatic specialists #2021MMM

NEXT UP: No.5 seed Red Brocket (Mazama americana) vs No. 12 seed Siberian Weasel (Mustela sibirica) #2021MMM GET THIS: Red Brocket is RED! This South American deer species is reddish-brown in coloration across most of its body, perfect for camouflage in dense, tropical forests #2021MMM

LAST UP: No. 8 seed Finlayson's Squirrel (Callosciurus finlaysonii) vs No. 9 seed Kowari (Dasyuroides byrnei) #2020MMM Finlayson's Squirrel is our 3rd #TeamRodent of the night. These "beautiful squirrels" (but aren't they all??) are quite lovely with highly variable coat colors ranging from all white to all black to all red (Boonkhaw et al. 2017 bit.ly/338Fnb0) #2020MMM

FIRST UP: No.1 seed Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) vs No. 16 seed & wildcard winner Pygmy Spotted Skunk (Spilogale pygmaea) #2020MMM Our #TeamDogsish Pygmy Spotted Skunk is a #smol skunk, blackish-brown in color w/creamy-buff longitudinal stripes over most of the body. The genus name Spilogale is derived from the Greek "spilos" (spot) and "gale" (weasel) (Kinlaw 1995 bit.ly/3aOmtJ1) #2020MMM

NEXT UP: #1 Plains Zebra (Equus quagga) & Yellow-Billed Oxpecker (Buphagus africanus) vs #8 seed Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) & Aardvark Cucumber (Cucumis humifructus) #2019MMM In Round 1, Oxpecker (& Zebra) picked off the Batfly (& Gammaproteobacteria). Aardvark & Cucurbit advanced against #Tripletrouble monkeys in an epic #BeastieBoys Battle #2019MMM

NEXT UP: #5 seed Beaver (Rodentia: Castor canadensis) vs #13 seed Rakali (Rodentia: Hydromys chrysogaster). It's #TeamRodent vs #TeamRodent! #2019MMM In Waterfalls Round 1, Beaver tail slap sent Mink circuitously for a muskrat meal. A poacher's gunshot took out Peccary & Rakali advanced #2019MMM

NEXT UP: #7 seed Capybara & Wattled Jacana vs #10 seed Fork-tailed Drongos & Sociable Weavers #2019MMM We all know that things like to sit on Capybaras (Rodentia: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) aka R.O.U.S. (rodents of unusual size #PrincessBride): animalssittingoncapybaras.tumblr.com. What's so special about Wattled Jacanas (Charadriiformes: Jacana jacana) sitting on Capybaras? #2019MMM

NEXT UP: #3 seed Bearcat (Carnivora: Arctictis binturong) vs #14 seed Leopard Frog (Amphibia: Lithobates pipiens, previously Rana pipiens) #2019MMM The common names of each of these species lands them in the Cat-e-Gory division: BearCAT & LEOPARD frog #2019MMM

NEXT UP: #5 seed Beaver (Rodentia: Castor canadensis) vs #12 seed Mink (Carnivora: Neovison vison) #2019MMM Rodents continue to impress with their adaptations. North American Beavers are the largest rodents in North America, with an average size of ~20 kg (90 stoats #stoatsasmeasurement). The only rodents larger than beavers, on average, are capybaras. Why are beavers so big? #2019MMM

FIRST UP: #8 seed Springhare (Rodentia: Pedetes capanesis) vs #9 seed Jackrabbit (Lagomorpha: Lepus californicus) #2019MMM Why are these 2 species in the Jump Jump division? They're highly adapted for saltatorial, or jumping, locomotion. In fact, Springhares belong to the rodent family Pedetidae, which is Greek for "leaper or dancer" #2019MMM

UP FIRST TONIGHT: everyone's favorite river horse, the 1-seeded PYGMY HIPPO Hexaprotodon (formally Choeropsis) liberiensis, vs. the scrappy 4-seeded brush wolf, COYOTE Canis latrans! #2018MMM Many minds came together to bring you tonight's first battle, so a quick hat-tip to @AnneWHilborn, @PKurnath, @TCastanea, & @tinkeringprim8. Seriously, the #teamwork has been amazing #Monstars #2018MMM

UP NEXT: #3 seed Berlin Boar (Sus scrofa) vs #7 seed Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) #2018MMM The top-ranked competitor still has homefield advantage, so this Urban Jungle battle takes place in Berlin, Germany. Berlin Board & Porcupine don't have a lot in common; they last shared a common ancestor ~96 mya (timetree.org) #2018MMM

First up in Kat's Away division, Orinoco Crocodile (#1 seed) vs Goliath Tarantula (#9 seed) #2018MMM This battle was written by the fabulous @c_n_anderson, & it's a doozy. Buckle up folks #2018MMM

NEXT UP: #3 Crabeater Seal Vs. #6 Jaguarundi!!! #2018MMM This battle was written by @Drew_Lab. Josh is in the UK right now & he was at Darwin's House today. How cool was that? #2018MMM

NEXT UP: 8th seeded Bothrops asper (Terciopelo or Lancehead) vs. 9th seeded Theraphosa blondi (Goliath Tarantula or Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula) #2018MMM AKA, THE GREAT VENOM BATTLE OF 2018!! We've seen a lot of venom tonight. Who's ready for more?? #2018MMM

NEXT UP: 7th seeded Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) vs 10th seeded Delhi Rhesus (aka, Rhesus Monkey or Rhesus Macaque; Macaca mulatta) #2018MMM Erethizon dorsatum are the 2nd largest rodents in North America (1st place goes to beavers), weighing anywhere between 5-14 kg (23-64 stoats #stoatsasmeasurement) #2018MMM

NEXT UP: 6th seed Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) vs 11th seed Desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) #2018MMM Wait, a who and a what? You know...jaguarundi...a New World cat that looks sort of like like a big weasel #2018MMM