TONIGHT is ROUND 1 of the Extinction is Forever Division of species lost in recent decades & centuries due to the actions, and inactions, of humans. #HumanImpacts #Anthropocene #2026MMM
— Katie Hinde (@mammalssuck.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:00:17.527Z
Now, we all saw that Time Cover last April and the ecstatic headlines round the world. But “DeExtinction” is marketing. There are innovations in genetics that have the potential to help protect threatened species that are still living. But once lost, a species is lost forever. #2026MMM
— Katie Hinde (@mammalssuck.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:00:53.438Z
Once lost, a species is lost forever. Even though new genetic technologies allow us to bring back phenotypes, maybe even return such mutants to serve ecosystem roles in lost landscapes… it can never be the same species. #2026MMM
— Katie Hinde (@mammalssuck.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:01:56.641Z
A species is made up of individuals who inherit MORE than the genes of their parents. Their inheritance from generation to generation, depending on the species, includes epigenetic mechanisms & nutritional endowments… #2026MMM
— Katie Hinde (@mammalssuck.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:02:15.805Z
& for species w/ parental care complex social behaviors that are learned from mums, dads, &/or others- how to behave, how to find food, how to interact- how to BE ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE THAT SPECIES- without those mums, dads, & others, that ancestral inheritance has been lost FOREVER #2026MMM
— Katie Hinde (@mammalssuck.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:02:52.439Z
Modifying genes in living species, implanting babies in surrogates to be reared in closely related species, does NOT and can NOT bring back an extinct species. This is why we will always need an Endangered Species Act to be enforced to protect species headed toward extinction #2026MMM
— Katie Hinde (@mammalssuck.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:03:25.259Z
The combatants of this Division, give us opportunities for lessons learned from species lost. Environmental degradation, climate change, land-clearing, resource extraction, have our world headed toward widespread ecosystem collapse. If you value nature and wildlife, this is devastating. #2026MMM
— Katie Hinde (@mammalssuck.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:04:27.924Z
But if that isn’t enough of an argument for you, this crisis is also impacting humanity. Human health, animal health, and environmental health are all interconnected, a field known as One Health. #2026MMM
— Katie Hinde (@mammalssuck.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:04:40.241Z
Time has NOT run out, & each of us can make an impact on recovering our ecosystems & reducing our use- through our time, through our effort, through our political engagement, and through our thoughtful conversations with loved ones. #2026MMM
— Katie Hinde (@mammalssuck.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:05:15.124Z
UP NEXT: 1st-seeded Steller's Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) vs. 16th-seeded St Kilda House Mouse (Mus musculus muralis) #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:07:10.432Z
Steller’s Sea Cow was the largest member of order Sirenia, with an estimated length of 7.5m (24.6ft) (Forsten & Youngman 1982). Other members of Sirenia include dugongs and manatees (which can be distinguished from one another by their tails). #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:10:12.914Z
Steller’s Sea Cow was documented in 1741 & extinct by 1768 (Turvey & Risley 2005). Sea Cow was buoyant & had up to 10 cm of blubber. Their skin was thick, hairless, and described by Georg Steller as “more the bark of an old oak tree, than the skin of an animal” (Le Duc et al. 2022). #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:10:48.611Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamStellersSeaCow Art by Valeria Pellicer @veppart.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:11:16.282Z
"Scientists reconstructed the hemoglobin of the extinct H. gigas. It was less affected by ⬇️ temperatures than that of extant sea cows and had ⬇️ blood-O2 affinity, promoting ⬆️ O2 delivery to tissues. #2026MMMEvolution solved the cold problem but not the human hunter problem. doi.org/10.7554/eLif…
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:11:13.236Z
The St. Kilda House Mouse (Mus musculus muralis) likely arrived via Viking ships to the Scottish St. Kilda archipelago & remained commensal with humans until August 1930 when the last of the dwindling St Kilda community departed (Jones et al. 2010). #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:11:57.923Z
St. Kilda House Mouse is a subspecies of Library Legends combatant (house mouse, Mus musculus) but should not be confused with the still-living St. Kilda field mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus hirtensis). #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:12:38.743Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamStKildaHouseMouse Art by Mary C. Freisner @maryfreisner.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:13:07.827Z
Oh dear, it's 1930 + the St Kilda's house mouse (M. m. miralis) may go extinct when the island's people evacuate. We learned in 2011 that they share DNA with nearby populations, but differ in body size, likely from rapid evolution after Norse fisherman brought them #2026MMM doi.org/10.1111/j.14…
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:13:16.852Z
TONIGHT’S BATTLE takes place in the early 1760s in the shallow waters around the Commander Islands far West in the Aleutian Islands chain. Sea Cow forages unsuccessfully for Dragon kelp, which is only present May-Sept & Sea Cow may have fasted for months (Le Duc et al. 2022). #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:13:52.368Z
MEANWHILE on Hirta, the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, Mouse is also unsuccessfully foraging. Without humans for the last 6 months on whom she relies for food, starvation is coming- she foraged the last left-behind scattered grains several days ago. #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:14:27.252Z
Mouse is extra hungry due because she is heavily pregnant! Her energy demands are increased (Gittleman & Thompson 1988) & energy balance largely determines reproductive performance in mice… but now starving, her reproduction must be traded off against own condition (Bronson 1979). #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:14:59.466Z
Mouse pauses & clenches… and turns to quickly return to her nest when MMMagic translocates Mouse to damp, almost rock-like terrain not terribly unlike Hirta… BUT it is the the back of Sea Cow!! #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:15:40.252Z
Mouse clenches again and… begins to give birth! Stressors, like famine, can induce early labor in mice (Garcia-Flores et al. 2020). #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:16:13.796Z
Mama mouse catches a whiff of her pup & BEGINS TO EAT THE BEBE! (Lane-Petter 1968). #ForbiddenJellyBean #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:16:37.958Z
Mouse is "nutrient recycling", consuming her offspring to recover the bodily resources, such as calcium from her own skeleton, that she liquified & transported to "3D print" her young in her uterus. Now starving to death, mouse mum needs those resources BACK! (Hood 2012). #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:17:06.668Z
Smaller mammals have higher metabolic rates for their body size & often fuel their reproductive demands based on the “income” of what they eat (Williams et al. 2017; Josefson et al. 2024). Sea Cows can fuel pregnancy & lactation from stored energy (“capital”) when kelp is not abundant. #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:17:42.726Z
Sea Cow lifts his nostrils out of the water to breathe (which they need to do every 4-5 minutes; Forsten & Youngman 1982). Mouse is startled by the sudden noise… and runs to the edge where the Sea Cow's "rocky" back meets the water… #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:18:24.760Z
WOOOSHHHH! Sea Cow lowers himself several inches deeper into the water, using his pectoral fins to grab algae. The ice cold water sweeps Mouse away. #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:18:43.449Z
Mouse drifts off into the shallow waters of the Bering Sea! #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:18:59.549Z
Stellar's Sea Cow DE-SEATS St Kilda House Mouse #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:19:11.169Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamStellersSeaCow Art by Valeria Pellicer @veppart.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:19:40.135Z
Which populations did St. Kilda's house mouse share DNA with? Looks like the Faroe Islands especially, and others in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, indicating a likely history of humans moving among these remote islands over millennia – with mouse stowaways! #2026MMM #RIP doi.org/10.1111/j.14…
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:19:52.013Z
Next up: Aurochs (Bos primigenius) vs. Bramble Cay Meloymis (Melomys rubicola)!!! #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:21:12.132Z
Aurochs were the massive wild progenitors of domestic cattle, standing 1.5m at the shoulder and weighing 1,500lbs (or over 3000 stoats!) #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:22:01.992Z
Widespread across Europe, Northern Africa, India, and China during the Pleistocene, it was gradually extirpated across its' range due to humans hunting & breeding them with domestic cattle. #20206MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:22:45.908Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamAurochs Art by Charon Henning @oddangel.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:23:01.353Z
The first complete mitochondrial genome from an auroch was sequenced by Edwards et al in 2010 from a 6,700 year old bone from a cave in England. The ancient auroch's mitochondrial lineage P, sits outside of the mitochondrial haplogroup T of most domestic cattle doi.org/10.1371/jour… #2026MMM
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:23:04.553Z
Bramble Cay Meloymis were small rodents, up to 160mm long body with a tail slightly longer than their body. The genera Meloymis have distinctively naked tails, with a mosaic pattern unlike other rodents (Limpus 1983) #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:23:52.744Z
The Bramble Cay Meloymis went extinct between 2009-2011, & has the sad distinction as the first mammal to go extinct due to human-caused climate change (Waller 2017) #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:24:31.464Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamBrambleCayMelomys Art by Charon Henning @oddangel.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:24:43.114Z
Roycroft et al. (2021) used #museomics to resolve relationships among 8 extinct Australian rodents, including the Bramble Cay melomys. The result? Since European colonization, >10% of this rodent radiation’s unique evolutionary history has vanished. #2026MMMwww.pnas.org/doi/full/10….
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:24:57.149Z
In the mid-12th century, a large bull Aurochs is grazing along the edge of a woodland lake in what is today Poland. Aurochs have high-crowned teeth that are resistant to wearing down (Brudnicki 2011). This enables Aurochs to eat tons of sharp grasses & sedges #PlantCarnage #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:25:40.114Z
However, pressure from humans converting land to pastures have driven this Aurochs and his small herd to more woody habitats. Scientists have detected this shift in habitat by from isotopic signals in auroch bones (Hofman-Kamińska 2019) #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:26:23.344Z
MEANWHILE on a tropical night in Bramble Cay in 2010. A hungry Meloymis searches for succulents to eat, but rising seas & heightened storm surges have killed the edible plants on the island with top elevation of 10feet above sea level. #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:27:07.206Z
Desperate for food, an increasingly weakened Meloymis search scurries as #MMMagic translocates him… #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:27:48.345Z
into a bright world of green- filled with vegetation unlike Meloymis has seen since he was first born – Watts & Aslin (1981) reported that Bramble Cay Meloymis only live for 2 years. Not exactly Methuselah. Excitedly Meloymis darts forward – & skitters out directly in front of the Aurochs! #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:28:19.676Z
Having only ever seen birds and sea turtles (& the rare human anglers or researchers), the Meloymis has never been so dwarfed as now by the massive Aurochs! BUT THE FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD!!!! #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:29:09.194Z
Meloymis is feasting on foliage #PlantCarnage when unnoticing Aurochs steps forward casting a massive shadow as his hoof descends… #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:29:45.375Z
Adept at avoiding aerial predatory birds, Meloymis performs evasive maneuvers, dashing away from the SCENE OF BATTLE! #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:30:39.760Z
Aurochs OUTLASTS Bramble Cay Meloymis! #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:30:52.290Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamAurochs Art by Olivia Pellicer @opellisms.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:31:03.838Z
DNA from museum specimens shows several extinct Australian rodents still had substantial genetic diversity shortly before disappearing. Genomes looked healthy, but extinction came anyway. #RIP Melomys rubicola #2026MMM http://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10….
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:31:20.098Z
NEXT UP: 8-seeded Saudi Gazelle (Gazella saudiya) vs. 9-seeded Japanese Otter (Lutra nippon) #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:32:53.237Z
Saudi Gazelles stand approximately 25 in (65 cm) at the shoulder & weigh up to 44 lbs (20 kg). Like other gazelles, they have two forward-curved horns on their head. #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:33:43.579Z
Saudi gazelles were declared extinct in 2008, w/ the last observed in 1970. Though this species was present from Kuwait to Yemen, they were not common & populations declined due to hunting. Remaining Saudi Gazelle populations decreased due to hybridization with other species of gazelles. #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:34:41.066Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamSaudiGazelle Art by Olivia Pellicer @opellisms.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:34:55.396Z
Gazelles have roamed deserts for millions of yrs. Genetic studies suggest the genus Gazella originated 10-3 Mya, likely in the Middle East. Now one of them, the Saudi gazelle, is gone from the wild. #2026MMMMillions of years of evolution erased in a century.www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti…
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:35:42.191Z
Japanese Otters were up to 31.5 in (80 cm) long & had dark brown fur & webbed feet, similar to extant otters in the genus Lutra. #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:36:12.775Z
Japanese Otter populations were over-hunted for their pelt. No longer a game animal in 1928, their population continued to decline from polluted rivers impacting their health & food supply. Not observed since 1979, Japanese otters were officially declared extinct in 2012 (Park et al. 2019) #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:37:09.191Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamJapaneseOtter Art by Mary C. Freisner @maryfreisner.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:37:18.898Z
It's hard to know if the Japanese otter was its own species. Park et al found that the Jap. otter was distantly related with the Eurasian otters, which include the European and Korean otters, showing a discrepancy between the genetic data and traditional taxonomy doi.org/10.1080/1976… #2026MMM
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:37:48.635Z
Tonight's encounter occurs on the Arabian peninsula in 1934, near the western part of Ar-Rub' al Khali, where desert dunes meet the limestone escarpment of Jabal Tuwayq at the end of the greatest expanse of windblown sand on Earth. (Carruthers & Schwarz 1935) #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:38:29.002Z
Particles of dust and sand of a great mid-March sandstorm have arrived, blowing across the sea from the Indian sub-continent, adapted to the hyper-arid environment, a female Saudi Gazelle walks toward the limestone escarpment for a windbreak refuge (Kunte & Aswini 2015). #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:39:33.481Z
The female Saudi Gazelle back to the wind her head away from the dust and sand whipping in the wind, revealing her particularly long, rapier horns, longer than found in nearly every other gazelle species, her large ears bent against the wind. #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:40:21.096Z
MEANWHILE… in 1965 Japan, once widespread, the endemic otter has this year been designated "Special Natural Monument Animal" in light of its declining population numbers. (Yamamoto & Ando 2011) #2026MMM"
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:41:23.056Z
A large male Japanese Otter, bane of local aquaculture, has successfully swiped a prized Ayo from a commercial fishing operation. Gripping the fish in his SHARP POINTY TEETH, Otter scurries out of the water to bank & shakes droplets of water from his thick fur pelt (Yamamoto & Ando 2011) #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:42:14.566Z
Sitting with casual mustelid satisfaction, Japanese Otter begins ripping and shearing fish flesh with his CANINES and CARNASSIALS when #MMMagic translocates him to the Arabian peninsula! (Yamamoto & Ando 2011) #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:43:02.775Z
Back to the wind, desert dust & sand begins clinging to Otter's damp coat, blowing into his fur, swirling around him to cover cover fish flesh! Mid-rip Otter can feel the sand gritting against his teeth! #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:43:45.888Z
PHwiusSH #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:44:28.160Z
Unheard in the sand-laden wind, female Saudi Gazelle's front hoof whisper-grazes the Otter, who whips sideways in the wind around toward the intruder! #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:45:17.142Z
WIND BLOWS SAND INTO OTTER'S LEFT EYE! #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:45:52.644Z
Left eye sand-filled & watering, Japanese Otter leaps away from the Saudi Gazelle…. no longer up-wind, she has detected fish & Otter! WILL SHE BOLT!?!?! #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:46:38.605Z
Otter's one good eye has already spotted the limestone escarpment and he flees BEYOND THE FIELD OF BATTLE! #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:47:48.457Z
Saudi Gazelle OUTLASTS Japanese Otter!! #2026MMM
— Dr. Chloe Josefson (@chloejosefson.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:48:13.373Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamSaudiGazelle Art by Charon Henning @oddangel.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:48:25.697Z
But the story is always more complex! Du Pleissis et al found that some Japanese otter ancient individuals group on their own, and some group with the other Eurasian otters, so maybe they were not an isolated species after all doi.org/10.1080/1976… #2026MMM #RIP
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:48:40.859Z
Next Up: #6-seed Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) vs. #11-seed Little Swan Island Hutia (Geocapromys thoracatus)!! #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:51:08.005Z
Thylacine were medium sized marsupials that converged on dog-like traits. They had short brownish-red fur with distinctive transverse stripes along the hips and rump, leading them to sometimes being called the 'Tasmanian Tiger'. #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:52:49.971Z
While Thylacines are mostly associated with Tasmania, they used to inhabit all of Australia (& New Guinea). However they were outcompeted for resources & killed by introduced domestic dogs that rewilded into dingo. Thylacine went extinct on Australia's mainland ~3000 years ago (Letnic 2012) #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:51:53.743Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamThylacine Art by Olivia Pellicer @opellisms.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:53:22.119Z
There is large interest in sequencing Thylacine genomes from hundreds of museum and private collection specimens, yet it was only in 2009 that Miller et al were successful in sequencing the mitochondrial genome from one such museum specimens https:// doi: 10.1101/gr.082628.108 #2026MMM
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:53:34.746Z
Little Swan Island Hutia were large rodents – around 330mm long & up to 1kg in mass with short tails similar in length to the hind feet. They had short brown & tan fur covering their bodies, except for large rounded ears that were often covered in scars from scuffles with other Hutia. #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:54:42.902Z
Endemic to one island raises extinction risk. This was predicted in 1942 that, with changes "..such as clearing, or the introduction of goats or mongooses, its future would at once be in danger". While goats & cats were introduced to the isle something bigger led to their ultimate demise… #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:55:22.503Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamLittleSwanIslandHutia Art by Charon Henning @oddangel.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:55:40.349Z
Humans can shape biodiversity as they move. Oswald et al used a combination of ancient DNA and radio carbon dates to reveal that Indigenous Lucayans introduced hutias into the Little Bahamas Bank from their original habitats in the Great Bahamas Bank doi.org/10.1038/s415… #2026MMM
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:55:40.846Z
Our battle takes place in 1830 Tasmania, in the NW region known as Temdudheker/Woolnorth. This grassy area had been kept relatively free of trees & shrubs by the Peerapper Aboriginal people who managed the landscape with fire (McWethy et al. 2017). #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:56:32.397Z
However, 3 years ago a royal charter granted this region to the Van Diemen's Land Company. Now the area has been largely colonized for farming. #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:57:17.092Z
Now many sheep and cattle farms dot the rolling grasslands. Between them a lone Thylacine is slinking among the grass, sniffing for food. Thylacine hunted along the edges of open areas, where they could use some cover to ambush prey #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:57:54.919Z
MEANWHILE, it is 1700 UTC on Sept 27, 1955 on Little Swan Island. Inside a small limestone cave sits a female Hutia. There used to be many living in the cacti-covered cliffs, researchers once caught 12 in 2 hrs. But goats & a box of abandoned cats have lowered the Hutia population. #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:58:46.746Z
Wind & rain batters the small cave. Several miles offshore, Hurricane Janet has just become a category 5 storm – with winds in excess of 157mph. The storm is barreling towards the island. #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T00:59:54.632Z
Around the shallow cave entrance, there is a faint glow of St. Elmo's fire. Electric charges build in the atmosphere as a giant discharge of lightning is imminent! #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T01:00:46.065Z
The glowing becomes more pronounced. But before lightning can strike #MMMagic translocates Hutia away from the killer storm that would end the island reign of Little Swan Island Hutia! #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T01:01:45.540Z
Hutia finds itself in a large open, Tasmanian grassland. Directly in front of the Thylacine!! #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T01:02:27.430Z
The Thylacine pauses looking at the Little Swan Island Hutia out in the open. Certainly this new mammal would run away after seeing the Thylacine! But the Hutia remains still. #SweetSummerChild #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T01:03:20.400Z
On Little Swan Island, the Hutia did not have any predators & has no instinctual fear of Thylacine. As Lowe wrote in 1911 after bringing a Little Swan Island Hutia to London: "The rat [Hutia] exhibited not the faintest signs of fear or suspicion in the presence of the dog…" (Morgan 1989) #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T01:03:54.285Z
The Hutia remains perfectly calm #SweetSummerChild as the Thylacine quickly advances & grabs the unresponsive Hutia in its' jaws. With a smooth motion the Thylacine crushes the neck of the Hutia, & digs into his tucker. #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T01:04:37.016Z
Thylacine DEVOURS Little Swan Island Hutia!!! #2026MMM
— Brian Tanis (@tanisbp.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T01:05:01.089Z
#2026MMM #ExtinctionDivision #TeamThylacine Art by Olivia Pellicer @opellisms.bsky.social
— V Pellicer- looking for work! (@veppart.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T01:05:16.082Z
Why are so many island hutias extinct? Woods et al found that all island hutias were related and each island harbored a small population of a new species. Unfortunately that same isolation makes these species vulnerable to complete extinction #RIP doi.org/10.1093/molb… #2026MMM
— Anne Stone (@acstone.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T01:05:36.642Z
Christopher N Anderson 
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