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Mar 16, 2018 17 tweets 9 min read Read on X
NEXT UP: #4 seed Andrewsarchus mongoliensis vs #13 seed Nuralagus rex! #2018MMM
Not much is known about A. mongoliensis because the only evidence we have of their existence is one massive, 3-foot long skull with enormous teeth (see quoted tweet). We know that they lived in Inner Mongolia about 45 mya. #2018MMM
Here’s a picture of what A. mongoliensis might have looked like (credit: Bogdanov 2006) #2018MMM
Based on the skull and closely related species, scientists believe A. mongoliensis was almost 5 feet high (7 stoats) and could have weighed up to 1,000 kg (4,500 stoats). Its head was 2.5 stoats long! #2018MMM #StoatsAsMeasurement
Aside: although it was a thicc boi, built like a brickhouse, much like my favorite dark space prince son, A. mongoliensis likely had a hump to balance out its giant head. Meanwhile, Kylo is perfectly proportioned (credit: dark-side-of-everything.tumblr.com/post/171877313…). #2018MMM
TPTB wanted me to mention Kylo for some reason.
Ahem.
Either way, we think that A. mongoliensis was closely related to hippos and whales. So just imagine this happening, but on land. #2018MMM
So, what is this competitor that will be taking on A. mongoliensis?
Well, it’s a giant rabbit, but without the rabbit benefits. 😐 #2018MMM
N. rex lived in the middle of the Mediterranean, on the island of Menorca, from 7 to 3 mya. It eventually went extinct, possibly due to a goat-like species colonizing the island. 🐐 vs 🐇 #2018MMM
N. rex was a BIG bunny. It was 1.5 feet high (2 stoats) and 26 pounds (53 stoats). Here’s a depiction of what it might’ve looked like by @paleofan for newdinosaurs.com (here's there site: ntamura.deviantart.com). #2018MMM #StoatsAsMeasurement
N. rex didn’t have the large eyes & floppy ears of today’s bunnies, which are useful for things other than looking cute (mainly, predator detection). And it couldn’t hop. It didn’t need to since it had no predators. #2018MMM
Unfortunately, that’s all about to change. #2018MMM
Tonight’s battle takes place in a humid forest in Inner Mongolia, 40 mya. N. rex is used to open scrubland, but it starts moseying along.
Digs in the soil for delicious roots and tubers.
Unaware that
something
is
watching it. #2018MMM
A. mongoliensis, which might have eaten turtles & molluscs with those heavy jaws, is a bit confused at the appearance of this round thing in its home environment.
Is it food?
A. mongoliensis creeps closer. #2018MMM
N. rex continues digging for food. It can’t hear the heavy A. mongoliensis walking towards it. Doesn’t notice the larger animal until it’s right on it. #2018MMM
N. rex isn’t sure what to think of the larger animal. It has no experience with predators.
A. mongoliensis isn’t sure what to think of the smaller animal.
It’s a confused stare-off! #2018MMM
That is, until A. mongoliensis tests the ‘food-or-not’ hypothesis the only way it knows how: with its mouth. Its heavy jaws close around N. rex’s ribs, and although the bite is gentle, it crushes the pre-bunny’s bones. #2018MMM
ANDREWSARCHUS MONGOLIENSIS CRUNCHES NURALAGUS REX!!!!!! #2018MMM

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More from @am_anatiala

Apr 3, 2018
UP NEXT: #1 seed Orinoco Crocodile vs #2 seed Amebelodon! #2018MMM
Tonight's battle also brought to you by @chumblebiome, @drew_lab, @MarkKissel, and @c_n_anderson. #2018MMM
Our fierce competitors tonight have crushed all that have dared stand before them in previous rounds. #2018MMM
Read 32 tweets
Mar 30, 2018
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))
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
Read 22 tweets
Mar 29, 2018
'TIS THE FINALE!! #1 seeded Doedicurus clavicaudatus vs. #4 seeded Andrewsarchus mongoliensis!

(DC: gettyimages.ca/detail/news-ph…; AM: Bogdanov 2006) #2018MMM
Tonight's battle has been brought to you by the mighty collaboration of @PKurnath & I. #teamwork #TeamKylo #2018MMM
Doedicurus, a.k.a. #TankMammal, made it to the #Sweet16 by being large like a boulder and tough like a battering ram. #2018MMM
Read 20 tweets
Mar 27, 2018
NEXT UP: #4 seed Andrewsarchus mongoliensis vs #5 seed Thylacoleo carnifex! #2018MMM
To get here, Andrewsarchus taste-tested Nuralagus rex & the giant short-faced kangaroo blundered against our marsupial lion from down under, Thylacoleo! (AM: Bogdanov 2006; TC: Roman Yevseyev romanyevseyev.deviantart.com) #2018MMM
Now the 135kg Thylacoleo has bought a ticket to Inner Mongolia to face off against the (estimated) 810kg Andrewsarchus. Whether that ticket is one-way or round-trip remains to be seen. #2018MMM
Read 19 tweets
Mar 23, 2018
NEXT UP:
#1 seed Harar hyena
vs
#8 seed Bristol fox!
#2018MMM
Less than two days ago, the hyena from the walled eastern Ethiopian city of Harar devoured the Belo Horizonte marmoset, & the Bristol fox scare off a raccoon from some choice eggshells. Now these carnivores will face each other! #2018MMM
The Harar hyena & Bristol fox diverged around 54 mya, near the beginning of the Eocene (timetree.org). The Earth was warming, the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere doubled, & Antarctica was nearly tropical 🌴 (researchgate.net/publication/23…). #2018MMM
Read 14 tweets
Mar 22, 2018
NEXT UP:
#1 seed Orinoco crocodile 🐊
VS
#16 seed praying mantis! 🙏🏽🦗
#2018MMM
The croc & mantis diverged ~797 mya (timetree.org). Around this time the Earth went through an ice age that covered the entire world.

This might have led to the rise of algae due to glaciers grinding up stone into nutrients! #2018MMM cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/how…
The praying mantis showed itself to be a stealthy predator of the bigger goldcrest in the wildcard battle (here's a play-by-play of that battle: wakelet.com/wake/45f524b8-…). #2018MMM
Read 19 tweets

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