Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialJess Popescu @jesspopescu.bsky.social · 02/04/2026CHAMPION⛵ #2026MMM EMOJI BATTLE: 🐋🆚🐊: 🪄🪸/🌕🌊🆗/🐋🩹🗡️/ 🐊🤨🏊🏾♂️/🦈🔁🤱🏼🙂↔️/🦈🐊💀🙂↕️/ 🐋🤨👉🏼💀/🐊🙅🏾♂️🍽️🥶/👶🏼🔁🐊/ 👶🏼👉🏼👃🏼🐊/🐊💥👶🏼🐳/🐋👶🏼😡/ 🐋🔜🐊⤵️/🐋🫧🐊😵💫/🐋💥🐊/ 🐊🏊🏾♂️👋🏼/🏆🐋 0309
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialEduardo Amorim @cegamorim.bsky.social · 02/04/2026There are many ways to get animal DNA! In a preprint (not yet peer-reviewed), scientists have shown that instead of invasive biopsies, they can generate whole genomes for humpback whales by non-invasively sampling their exhaled respiratory vapor or ‘blow’! #2026MMM doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.08.710374 2277
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialEduardo Amorim @cegamorim.bsky.social · 02/04/2026Sales‑Oliveira et al. (2023) found that croc chromosomes are conservative maintaining similar karyotype structures & diploid chrom numbers for ~100 MY! Most Crocodylinae (including Nile Crocodile) maintain the ancestral number of 2n = 32 (16 pairs) #2026MMM doi.org/10.1007/s004... 0145
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialKatie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 02/04/2026The Championship Battle of #2026MMM: Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) vs. Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)! #2026MMM 36418
mrsroygbiv.bsky.social @mrsroygbiv.bsky.social · 02/04/2026So excited for tonight! The entire Roy family has the croc as the #2026MMM champ 🤞media.tenor.coma bald man in a red shirt is standing in front of a punching bag and smiling .ALT: a bald man in a red shirt is standing in front of a punching bag and smiling . 160
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialKatie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 02/04/2026Are you ready? #2026MMMmedia.tenor.coma silhouette of a man in a top hat holding a cane in a dark roomALT: a silhouette of a man in a top hat holding a cane in a dark room 97514
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialJess Popescu @jesspopescu.bsky.social · 31/03/2026#2026MMM FINAL R😮AR EMOJI BATTLE 🐊🆚🦡: 🪄🌳/🦡👃🏼🦎/🦡🧗🏾♂️🌳/ 🐊🐊🍽️💀/🐊😑🔊🐊/🦡🦷🦎/ 🦡🦎⤵️💀/🐊👄🐊/🐊 💀💥🦡/ 🇦🇺🐊🤷🏻👋🏻/🦡🍽️🐛/🐊🍽️💀/🏆🐊 🐋🆚🐂: 🪄🇺🇸/🐋🤏🌊/👶🏼🚫🍼/ 🐋🤰🏼🔴😩/🐂🏊🏾♂️📐🐋/🐋🔄🐂/ 🐂🗡️🐋🩻/🐋⬇️🐂/🕳️🔜🌅/ 🐋👶🏼🐂🏊🏼♀️/🐂🏊🏾♂️🏖️/🐋🍼👶🏼/🏆🐋 12410
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialKatie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 31/03/2026NILE CROCODILE with take on HUMPBACK WHALE in the #2026MMM CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE on WEDNESDAY!!!! Until then, be well! Good night, & good luck!media.tenor.coma lion is standing on top of a rock in the sky .ALT: a lion is standing on top of a rock in the sky . 55111
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialElinor Karlsson @elinork.bsky.social · 31/03/2026Is the auroch DNA truly gone from the world? Pereira et al found that modern Anatolian, Levant, Irani, and Balkans cattle share DNA to various degrees with extinct Armenian, British, and Moroccan ancient aurochs. A small amount of auroch DNA still lives today doi.org/10.1126/scie... #2026MMM #RIP 03610
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialElinor Karlsson @elinork.bsky.social · 31/03/2026The extinct auroch had at least three subspecies, and all three contributed some ancestry to modern cattle. For example, Cai et al found East Asian cattle descend from West Eurasian cattle originally but then later admixture with the extinct East Asian auroch doi.org/10.1038/hdy.... #2026MMM 0227
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialElinor Karlsson @elinork.bsky.social · 31/03/2026Every year, humpback whales make long treks btwn where they breed & where they feed. Maternally-inherited mtDNA from >1,800 humpback whales suggest that animals annually return to where they were born to breed themselves & where they fed w/their moms early in life #2026MMM doi.org/10.3354/meps10508 03312
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialElinor Karlsson @elinork.bsky.social · 31/03/2026A chromosome-scale genome for the honey badger doesn't yet exist. Only available genome is in 2,068,312 pieces. Honey badger don't care. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/datasets/gen... #2026MMM #RIP 0369
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialElinor Karlsson @elinork.bsky.social · 31/03/2026Although honey badgers have a dominant male, genetic analysis revealed that subordinate males fathered about half of cubs. journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.1... #2026MMM 0196
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialElinor Karlsson @elinork.bsky.social · 31/03/2026How related are Nile crocodiles across Southern Africa? Van Asch et al. (2019) used STRs & mtDNA to examine phylogeography & genetic diversity. Primary differentiation across east/west & secondarily across major river systems #2026MMM doi.org/10.1371/jour... 0105
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialKatie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 31/03/2026TONIGHT IS THE CLASH OF THE DIVISION CHAMPIONS! #2026MMMmedia.tenor.coma statue of an owl with a clock on its headALT: a statue of an owl with a clock on its head 3427
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialKatie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 27/03/2026WOW!!! WHAT A NIGHT!!!! Your #2026MMM FINAL ROAR: HONEY BADGER #MightyMustelid AUROCHS HUMPBACK WHALE NILE CROCODILE!!!! See you MONDAY MONDAY MONDAY!!! Until then, be well! Good Night & Good Luck!media.tenor.coma cartoon alligator is playing a piano with yellow eyesALT: a cartoon alligator is playing a piano with yellow eyes 75110
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialAnne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Severe declines of lion populations have been documented over the last century. Curry et al. (2020) used microsatellites & mtDNA to show a significant diversity ⬇️ in the nuclear genome & more structure (less gene flow) in modern compared to historic lion pops. doi.org/10.1093/molb... #2026MMM #RIP 2133
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialJess Popescu @jesspopescu.bsky.social · 27/03/2026#2026MMM ELITE TR8️⃣ EMOJI BATTLE 🦡🆚📿: 🪄🌳/🦡🙄🌳/🦡💥📿/ 📿🙂↔️🔊/📿🫦🦡/🦡🤷🏻♂️🍽️📿/🏆🦡 🐮🆚🐂: 🚣🏼🏹🐮/🪄🏜️/🐮🐂🥵/ 🏹🫀🩸/🐂➡️👥🐮/🐮☁️👀/🏆🐂 🐋🆚🦛: 🪄🪸/🦛🏊🏾🪨/🐟✂️🦛/ 🐋🔊👶🏻/🦈🔜🦛🩸/🦈🍽️🦛/🏆🐋 🐊🆚🦁: 🪄🇺🇬/🦁🦁🏊♂️/🐊👂🦁/ 🦁😱↩️/🐊🍽️🦵🏻🧫/🦁🦁👋🏻/🏆🐊 4229
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialAnne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Genomic work from de Manuel et al. revealed deep divergence (~70,000 years) between northern (including Asia, west, & north Africa) and southern (including south, east, & central Africa) lion lineages. Post split, these lineages have experienced gene flow. doi.org/10.1073/pnas... #2026MMM 093
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialAnne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Fernino et al. (2013) studied DNA from trypanosomes affecting S. Am & African crocodilids (including Nile Croc). Results = SA & Afr croc trypanosomes show relationships consistent w/ 4-5 MY croc dispersal across Atlantic & then host switch to infect alligatorids! doi.org/10.1186/1756... #2026MMM 0113
mrsroygbiv.bsky.social @mrsroygbiv.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Student had a lot of questions about what role the mold will play in this battle #2026MMM 270
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialKatie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 27/03/2026FINAL BATTLE OF THE NIGHT: 1-seed Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) vs. 2-seed Lions (Panthera Leo) #2026MMM 55317
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialAnne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Hippo DNA shows that they expanded across Africa in the Pleistocene when overflooding created a large network of lake and river systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Lack of geographical clustering in the haplotype network = recent population expansion. #2026MMM #RIP doi.org/10.1038/sj.h... 0153
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialAnne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026The enamelin (ENAM) gene is associated with tooth development in vertebrates. H. gigas harbors inactivating mutations in this gene, similar to birds, turtles, pangolins, & baleen whales, and analyses show signals of positive selection in the stem dugongid lineage. #2026MMM doi.org/10.1016/j.ym... 0133
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialAnne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026The extinct auroch was domesticated into modern cattle, but some modern cattle breeds are more genetically similar to the auroch. Park et all found modern British and Irish cattle are more similar to a 6,750-year-old British auroch than the other Eurasian breeds doi.org/10.1186/s130... #2026MMM 2236
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialAnne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026The extinction of Steller’s sea cow may be more complex than we thought. Ancient DNA reveals Steller’s Sea Cows were already in long-term decline before humans reached the Bering Sea, suggesting fur traders didn’t *start* the extinction, they just finished it. #RIP #2026MMM doi.org/10.1038/s414... 2203
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialAnne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Humpback whale 🧬 harbors clues about it's past. 🧬 patterns suggest that like its whale relatives, humpback whales had ⬆️ effective population sizes a few million yrs ago relative to today. It’s #️⃣s were approx stable 1 million➡️ ~30,000 yrs ago and then ⬇️ by 2/3 #2026MMM doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aap987 0162
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialAnne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Cetaceans & hippos are close relatives & some genes contribute to their aquatic adaptations. Cetaceans have 461 genes under pos selection while hippos have 64. The genes that evolved after the 2 groups split are involved in lipid metabolism, brain & muscle function. #2026MMM doi.org/10.1098/rsos... 0143
mrsroygbiv.bsky.social @mrsroygbiv.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Okay please let the hippo win 🙏🏻 #2026MMM 110
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialBrian Tanis @tanisbp.bsky.social · 27/03/2026NEXT UP: 1st-seeded Steller's Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) vs. 3rd-seeded Aurochs (Bos primigenius) #CowVsCow #2026MMM #ExtinctionIsForever #EliteTrait 4339
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialAnne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Honey badger is one of the species sequenced as part of the Zoonomia project, in an effort to better understand evolutionary constraint, and novel evolutionary genetics. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #2026MMM 0134
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialAnne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026The first draft of the Gila monster genome was used to study whether there is equal expression of genes on the Z chromosome between males (who have two Z chromosomes) and females (who have a single Z chromosome). academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... #2026MMM 1229
mrsroygbiv.bsky.social @mrsroygbiv.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Diet generalist #2026MMMmedia.tenor.coma pink cartoon character is sitting at a table with a knife and fork in his mouthALT: a pink cartoon character is sitting at a table with a knife and fork in his mouth 020
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialKatie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 27/03/2026TONIGHT, we have HALF THE BATTLES but TWICE THE ACTION in the #2026MMM ELITE TRAIT!!media.tenor.coma woman in a gold dress is singing on a stage with the words are you ready for it .ALT: a woman in a gold dress is singing on a stage with the words are you ready for it . 39010
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialErin Rowland-Schaefer @docrowschaef.bsky.social · 27/03/2026FIRST UP: 1-seed Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis) vs. 3-seed Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum). Tonight's battle is a collaboration with @mammalssuck.bsky.social #2026MMM 23010
mrsroygbiv.bsky.social @mrsroygbiv.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Another night of #2026MMM battles & I’m at another 🥍 game. This time it’s not freezing but it is incredibly windy! Let’s see how the loss of how habitat advantage affects the combatants & for my bracket, I hope it takes out the whale 🐳media.tenor.coma little girl is running down a sidewalk in the rain .ALT: a little girl is running down a sidewalk in the rain . 040
mrsroygbiv.bsky.social @mrsroygbiv.bsky.social · 26/03/2026I can’t wait to see the reactions of #mnapbio today when we watch #2026MMM Rundown. Last night was brutal to their brackets!media.tenor.coma little girl in a red jacket is laying on a brick sidewalk covered in leavesALT: a little girl in a red jacket is laying on a brick sidewalk covered in leaves 130
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialKatie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 26/03/2026WOW WHAT A NIGHT! Steller's Sea Cow Aurochs Honey Badger Gila Monster Humpback Whale Hippo Nile Crocodile LIONS ADVANCE! #2026MMMmedia.tenor.coma cat wearing a lion 's mane is laying on a bed with the word rawr above it .ALT: a cat wearing a lion 's mane is laying on a bed with the word rawr above it . 4489
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialLucas R Moreira @lucasrocm.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Orange cat mystery solved! Orange cats lack ~5,100 bases of DNA that normally regulate the gene ARHGAP36. The gene is still there, but switched on when it should be off. www.cell.com/current-biol... #2026MMM #RIP 3429
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialLucas R Moreira @lucasrocm.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Bengal cats (house cats that are ~4% Asian leopard cat) look wild, but domestic cat controls the coat color. Leopard cat color genes are suppressed. Genome version of home habitat advantage www.cell.com/current-biol... #2026MMM 3196
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialLucas R Moreira @lucasrocm.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Lions & tigers & bears? Genomic work from Sun et al. (2025) found the Japanese Archipelago housed lions, not tigers, during the Late Pleistocene. Originally, all big 🐱 fossil remains were attributed to tigers. Oh my! doi.org/10.1073/pnas... #2026MMM 0254
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialKatie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 26/03/2026LAST BATTLE OF THE NIGHT! 2-seed Lions (Panthera leo) vs. 6-seed Library Cat (Felis catus) #2026MMM 105412
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialLucas R Moreira @lucasrocm.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Across 27 dromedary camel-types, DNA analysis showed that names based on coat color often didn’t match real genetic boundaries. The strongest pattern was geography: camel-types cluster broadly by origin (Asia vs. Africa). #2026MMM #RIP doi.org/10.1093/jher... 0215
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialLucas R Moreira @lucasrocm.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Aurochs used to live in Northern and Southern Europe and carried many mitochondrial genome lineages. Lari et al found that Southern Italy aurochs have similar lineages as modern cattle unlike northern Europe Aurochs, suggesting a role in domestication for Italy doi.org/10.1186/1471... #2026MMM 0113
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialBrian Tanis @tanisbp.bsky.social · 26/03/2026UP NEXT: #2-seed Wild Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius) vs. #3-seed Aurochs (Bos primigenius) #2026MMM 2319
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialLucas R Moreira @lucasrocm.bsky.social · 26/03/2026#RIP Genome-wide heterozygosity of the ossifrage: 0.0011 sites/bp, roughly half the avian average. Zou et al. 2021 traced this genetic impoverishment to the Last Glacial Maximum (~20 kya), suggesting vultures were never genetically diverse to begin with. doi.org/10.1093/molb... #2026MMM 0144
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialLucas R Moreira @lucasrocm.bsky.social · 26/03/2026The ossifrage hides Ice Age history in its mtDNA! Godoy et al. used museum specimens of now-extinct populations to reveal 2 lineages: one from W. Europe, one from Africa & C. Asia, shaped by separate glacial refugia. doi.org/10.1046/j.13... #2026MMM 0154
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialLucas R Moreira @lucasrocm.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Gila monsters get viruses, like other species. 33 microvirus genomes were discovered from studying fecal samples from 14 Gila monsters. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC... #2026MMM 0134
Reposted by @mrsroygbiv.bsky.socialMarc Kissel @marckissel.bsky.social · 26/03/2026UP NEXT: #2 Ossifrage (Gypaetus barbatus) vs #3 Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) #2026MMM 3348
![STRUCTURE bar plot showing the distribution of Nile crocodile populations. The most likely number of population clusters, K = 2 (based on ΔK, representing the upper hierarchical level) and K = 5 (based on all other estimates, giving a more “localised” regional evaluation of population structure). [OR-BNP-Nam: Okavango River system—Bwabwata National Park–Namibia, OR-OD-Bot: Okavango River system—Okavango Delta—Botswana, OR-OCR-Nam—Okavango Crocodile Ranch—Okavango River—Namibia, LK-Nam–Lower Kunene River—Namibia, LS-N-Mal–Lower Shire River (North)—Malawi, LS-S-Mal–Lower Shire River (South)—Malawi, Limpo-SAf–Limpopo River—South Africa, KZN-SAf–KwaZulu-Natal—South Africa].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:b6oxx2ptij2znhzrcxtuczrr/bafkreie6lnne3leowrzycztj2dgn3e6orsqcw3p36fumpktj3dot7ribk4)
