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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
To reach the #FinalRoar, Hippo crushed star-nosed mole, intimidated both maned rat & Tasmanian devil, & STOMPED the cheetah out of competition #hangryhippo #2018MMM
NEXT UP: #1 seeded PYGMY HIPPO vs. #2 seeded CHEETAH! #2018MMM
(photo credit: #actuallivingscientist @AnneWHilborn, Dr. John Carroll (snr.unl.edu/aboutus/who/pe…), Dr. Hernandez (warnell.uga.edu/people/faculty…) & @conservationorg (pygmyhippo.uga.edu/index.html))
(photo credit: #actuallivingscientist @AnneWHilborn, Dr. John Carroll (snr.unl.edu/aboutus/who/pe…), Dr. Hernandez (warnell.uga.edu/people/faculty…) & @conservationorg (pygmyhippo.uga.edu/index.html))
Tonight's battle was a tag-team collab between @AnneWHilborn (Anne) and @am_anatiala (Asia)! #whapalabmates #2018MMM
ASIA: So, Anne, I wouldn't think that this 130lb/265 stoat-heavy fast cat would make it this far. Cheetahs aren't generally considered great fighters, right? *whispers* Unlike Kylo. #2018MMM #StoatsAsMeasurement
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
Did you know what "Porcupine" is Latin for "Quill Pig"? Follow #ActualLivingScientist @porcupinedoc for some more amazing porcupine facts #2018MMM
FIRST UP: 1st-seed Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius) vs. 5th-seed Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius)! #2018MMM
Our competitors in this first battle have so far only faced off with much smaller Arthropod foes, so the Sweet 16 Round will be their first tournament tumble with large vertebrate competitors. #2018MMM
The Secretary Bird has used its lengthy gams to crush the carapace of a horseshoe crab and given the mantis shrimp the ol' one-two kick right out of the tournament (and this life). #2018MMM
NEXT UP: 3rd seeded Dimetrodon limbatus vs 7th seeded Pseudaelurus quadridentatus (aka Puff quaddy or Puffy) #2018MMM
In R1 (seems so long ago, right?), Dimetrodon & Puff quaddy both took out extinct primates. Dimetrodon (early synapsid around ~300-260 mya in the Permian Period) shredded an exposed, & much smaller, Aegyptopithecus zeuxis (early catarrhine primate) #2018MMM
NEXT UP: #2 seed Cape Town Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus) vs #7 seed Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) #2018MMM
It's round 1 all over again: Primate vs Spiky thing! #2018MMM Unlike R1, tonight's battle was a collaboration between @je_light and I!
Baboons are in the same primate group as rhesus macaques (Cercopithecidae). These Old World monkeys last shared a common ancestor with New World porcupines (Erethizontidae) ~90 mya (timetree.org) #2018MMM
Next Up: #4 Coyote (Canis latrans) vs. #12 Sewer Rat (Rattus norvegicus) #2018MMM
Our combatants advanced entirely unscathed from round 1: Coyote gave up on pursuing a possum while Sewer Rat was very fortunate to have encountered a Moscow Dog that prefers human handouts to hunting #2018MMM
Coyotes have been particularly adept at adapting to human landscapes, and are important at controlling deer, geese, and RODENTS in suburban & urban areas urbancoyoteinitiative.com/10-fascinating… #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
The Crabeater Seal skated into R2 after lightly munching on the surprisingly aptly named Edible Dormouse, while the Jaguarundi defeated the Desman #2018MMM
FIRST UP: #1 seed Pygmy Hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis) vs. #9 seed Maned Rat (Lophiomys imhausi)!! #2018MMM
In round 1, the pygmy hippo inadvently stabbed a wandering star-nosed mole with its tusk in a swamp #oops #mybad #2018MMM
While the maned rat dared the platypus to fight over a burrow #ComeAtMeBro but the monotreme, lacking his venom, wisely passed on the encounter #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
First, a brief review of venomous vs poisonous. Both competitors in this match-up are venomous #2018MMM
NEXT UP: 2nd-seed Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus) vs. 15th seed Tardigrade (Milnesium tardigradum) #2018MMM
The tardigrade was discovered by German Pastor J.A.E. Goeze in 1773. He dubbed it a "water bear" based on the way it moves-like of a bear lumbering around. Water bear isn't the only name for the tardigrade, however. It is also known as the "moss piglet". #2018MMM
A moss piglet known by any other name would be just as indestructible. Tardigrades are "extremophiles" that withstand environments up to and including the vacuum of space. The post-apocalyptic world is one of cockroaches and tardigrades. #2018MMM
NEXT UP: #3 seed Komodo Dragon versus #14 seed Hellbender #2018MMM
The Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is a bohemith of a lizard, the largest extant species can be up to 3m (10ft) in length and weighs in at up to 70 kg (150lb) It is listed as Vulnerable by @IUCNRedList en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dr… (Ciofi 2004) #2018MMM
Varanus komodoensis occurs on a few isolated islands in eastern Indonesia, between Java and Australia, where it is the dominant terrestrial carnivore (Hocknull 2009). Photo: @NatGeo #2018MMM journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…
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
When we think porcupines, we think quills, right? Quills & spines have evolved multiple, independent times across the mammal tree of life as a defense strategy & are excellent examples of convergent #evolution (see the hedgehog battle) (animaldiversity.org/collections/sp…) #2018MMM
NEXT UP: #4 Tasmanian Devil vs. #13 Ghost Bast #2018MMM
The ghost bat (Macroderma gigas) gets its name from the Greek "macros"=large and "derma"=skin #2018MMM
Hopefully you didn't confuse our competitor with the south american bats of a similar name (genus Diclidurus, way more fuzzy) #2018MMM
