I'm not sure what my favorite animal is. Let's decide it by a market! This March Mammal Madness inspired game will play out in phases. Aside from the Setup phase, expect each phase to last about a day, but I reserve the right to speed up the clock as I deem fit.
Setup phase:
Traders add animals to the market. After the setup phase is complete, traders will no longer be able to add animals to the market. Expect this phase to end some point after this other market resolves. Traders can add as many eligible animals as they wish to the market. To be eligible, add a real, non-microscopic, non-Homo-genus animal by following the provided formatting:
[common name] - [scientific name]
Example: Goldfish - Carassius auratus
A subspecies can be specified, but new animals must have a unique genus + species compares to all other animals already listed.
Selection phase:
The animal with the highest probability (the “Frontrunner”) and the lowest probability (the “Underdog”) will be selected to do battle. I will declare when the approximate cutoff time for when this selection is.
Discussion phase:
Traders can convince me why an animal should win the match up. DO NOT paste an AI / LLM output in the comments. However, I might read an AI / LLM conversation if you paste a link to it.
Battle phase:
The selected animals will appear on “The Field of Battle” in my imagination, but the animals won't necessarily feel that they are supposed to fight each other. At the very least, one should notice the other one.
By default, “The Field of Battle” will be the native habitat of the “Underdog”, and the boundaries of "The Field of Battle" will vary at my discretion. If the probabilities were miraculously a tie, the default habitat would be decided by a coin toss. Other animals may also be present as part of the habitat.
An animal wins the battle if they are last to be incapacitated, or if they are last to be capable of moving (for approximately 10 seconds), or if the other contender flees “The Field of Battle”. I myself will be the sole judge of how this plays out.
If the result doesn't seem manifestly obvious to me, I will use these attributes to guide my decision: temperament, weaponry, armor, body mass, speed, fight style, physiology, and motivation, all relative to the battle's habitat.
I will not take kindly to bribes. Don't even try.
I expect many matches to end by asphyxiation or by an animal wandering off. They won't know where the boundaries are, and they won't know they are in a tournament. They just want to survive and thrive.
Clarification comment on handling lifecycle morphology and parasitism.
If an animal loses a battle, it will be marked as "defeated". If an animal wins a battle, that animal will continue on in the tournament, and that animal will have its memory wiped of the battle. We loop back to the Selection phase after a Battle phase if we're not at the last animal. The last animal on the market that isn't defeated and isn't ineligible resolves YES. All others, NO. "Other" will not resolve YES, but it may be a useful answer during the Setup phase. I cannot resolve market answers until the game is over.
I will award at least 100 mana to the person who adds the animal that wins this tournament. I guarantee no refund of your mana of you add an ineligible animal.
Medals:
🥉: Battles won as Underdog
🥈: Battles won as Frontrunner
🥇: Won a battle while 10 or fewer animals remain. (This is awarded instead of a bronze or silver medal.)
There will be no AI clarifications added to this market's description.
I will not trade on this market.
The close date is a placeholder and has no bearing on this market.
This will be a very subjective market. Expect that something will be scuffed, and I will have to fix things on the fly.
1,000Battle phase #15!
@GazDownright with the Frontrunner
Saltwater Crocodile - Crocodylus porosus
Vs.
@121 with the Underdog
Hotwheels sisyphus spider - Hotwheels sisyphus
Habitat: A mountainous cave
The crocodile finds itself in the rocky crags of a cave in a mountain. The mouth of the cave is nearby, easily within eyesight.
It should be noted: for this matchup, the most "fit" version of the crocodile for this matchup is as a baby! Trust me, this makes sense.
The Hotwheels sisyphus spider clings to its silken home. The baby croc putters about, and approaches the spider. The baby crocodile notices the Hotwheels sisyphus spider first! Baby crocs will eat small bugs!
The croc snaps at the spider, and swallows it whole. It's a predator-prey relationship! Won by a manifestly obvious outcome!
---Places I went for research---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltwater_crocodile
Sexual Dimorphism
The saltwater crocodile has the greatest size sexual dimorphism, by far, of any extant crocodilian, as males average about 4 to 5 times as massive as adult females and can sometimes measure twice her total length.
Metabolic Control
Saltwater crocodiles are able to stay fully submerged underwater for long periods of time. To extend an aerobic dive, they can reduce their heart rate and oxygen consumption.
There is a lot of prey listed here. Might be useful to look into for future matchups.
Notably, there seems to be a predator-prey relationship here for this battle.
Hatchlings are restricted to feeding on smaller animals, such as small fish, frogs, insects and small aquatic invertebrates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5rCogD4e2k
Can "plan ahead" and strategize attacks. Intelligent.
Third, see through eyelid
bullet-resistant armor
Will even eat sharks
Feels minute water disturbances with tactile nodes spotted all over their bodies.
3700 lbs/sqin bite force
Death roll is instinctual
Seems to have an "internal GPS" system, somewhat like a homing pigeon?
Infrasound communication, maybe? Like "subwoofers". (Watch the video. It's cool.)
Can cooperate for coordinated hunting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotwheels_sisyphus
Scientists are nerds! The etymology section...
Habitat:
It is only known to be found in China, specifically in the southwestern provinces Guizhou (type specimen location), Sichuan and Yunnan.
https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/115996/list/8/
More specific habitat info
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qp4TTyu1Ig
So I know this now... Haha
So it looks like I get very little information on how this spider hunts. We resort to AI...
---Subscription pings---
@wolf @Bayesian @GazDownright @digory @moobunny @TheAllMemeingEye @Gen @121 @vi
Discussion phase #15!
@GazDownright with the Frontrunner
Saltwater Crocodile - Crocodylus porosus
Vs.
@121 with the Underdog
Hotwheels sisyphus spider - Hotwheels sisyphus
You're up again, @121! Maybe there's a joke in here about something being repetitive and consistent.
---Subscription pings---
@wolf @Bayesian @GazDownright @digory @moobunny @TheAllMemeingEye @Gen @vi @121
Battle phase #15!
@GazDownright with the Frontrunner
Saltwater Crocodile - Crocodylus porosus
Vs.
@121 with the Underdog
Hotwheels sisyphus spider - Hotwheels sisyphus
Habitat: A mountainous cave
The crocodile finds itself in the rocky crags of a cave in a mountain. The mouth of the cave is nearby, easily within eyesight.
It should be noted: for this matchup, the most "fit" version of the crocodile for this matchup is as a baby! Trust me, this makes sense.
The Hotwheels sisyphus spider clings to its silken home. The baby croc putters about, and approaches the spider. The baby crocodile notices the Hotwheels sisyphus spider first! Baby crocs will eat small bugs!
The croc snaps at the spider, and swallows it whole. It's a predator-prey relationship! Won by a manifestly obvious outcome!
---Places I went for research---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltwater_crocodile
Sexual Dimorphism
The saltwater crocodile has the greatest size sexual dimorphism, by far, of any extant crocodilian, as males average about 4 to 5 times as massive as adult females and can sometimes measure twice her total length.
Metabolic Control
Saltwater crocodiles are able to stay fully submerged underwater for long periods of time. To extend an aerobic dive, they can reduce their heart rate and oxygen consumption.
There is a lot of prey listed here. Might be useful to look into for future matchups.
Notably, there seems to be a predator-prey relationship here for this battle.
Hatchlings are restricted to feeding on smaller animals, such as small fish, frogs, insects and small aquatic invertebrates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5rCogD4e2k
Can "plan ahead" and strategize attacks. Intelligent.
Third, see through eyelid
bullet-resistant armor
Will even eat sharks
Feels minute water disturbances with tactile nodes spotted all over their bodies.
3700 lbs/sqin bite force
Death roll is instinctual
Seems to have an "internal GPS" system, somewhat like a homing pigeon?
Infrasound communication, maybe? Like "subwoofers". (Watch the video. It's cool.)
Can cooperate for coordinated hunting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotwheels_sisyphus
Scientists are nerds! The etymology section...
Habitat:
It is only known to be found in China, specifically in the southwestern provinces Guizhou (type specimen location), Sichuan and Yunnan.
https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/115996/list/8/
More specific habitat info
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qp4TTyu1Ig
So I know this now... Haha
So it looks like I get very little information on how this spider hunts. We resort to AI...
---Subscription pings---
@wolf @Bayesian @GazDownright @digory @moobunny @TheAllMemeingEye @Gen @121 @vi
It's the control key! CTRL+Enter is post!
Discussion phase #14!
@prismatic with the Frontrunner
Lion - Panthera leo
Vs.
@121 with the Underdog
Great evening bat - Ia io
Discuss!
---Subscription pings---
@wolf @Bayesian @GazDownright @digory @moobunny @TheAllMemeingEye @Gen @vi @121
@Quroe do bats smell other than their guano. I would expect they shit in a cave precisely to keep the spoor away from their wider territory.
Battle phase #14!
@prismatic with the Frontrunner
Lion - Panthera leo
Vs.
@121 with the Underdog
Great evening bat - Ia io
Habitat: Moon Cave, National Park Cuc phuong in Vietnam
The lion finds itself in the entrance to Moon Cave. Inside, great evening bats cling to the ceiling and flutter about. One lands on the ceiling of the cave, where it slants to become the wall.
The lion think a bat could be a small morsel of a meal, but it's right here, so why not try? It's basically a bird to it. The lion notices the bat first as it comes to a landing!
It's dark in here, but scant light trickles into the cave from the night sky outside. Lions have night vision, but bats can echolocate.
The lion springloads herself, ready to pounce at the cluster of bats on a nearby cave wall. The bats do not register this as a threat, but they also are aware of her physical presence in the cacophony of echolocation.
The lion pounces... and lands its mark. Our lion scores a small snack. Barely worth the effort of getting up to move, but it's a cat. When have humans ever understood what goes on in a cat's thoughts?
The lion wins! If the lion missed the pounce, the bat probably would have flown out of the cave, so I think this is a manifestly obvious win.
---Places I went for research---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROPTP0yyroA (Tier Zoo!)
I wonder if a lion could catch a bird... That would be a close analog to this fight...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvv3yTdUCaQ
Evidently, yes. They very much so can and will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGfXKio49io (Smithsonian!)
Lions have night vision, but they cannot identify prey if the prey stays still.
Night vision requires a non-zero amount of ambient light. It doesn't need to be much, but it cannot be pitch black.
Pack hunting tactics on display.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_evening_bat
This might be tough to research:
Not much is known about its habits and behavior.
https://opuscula.elte.hu/PDF/Opuscula10_2_1970/Topal,%20Gy_10_2_14.pdf
Habitat identified:
https://www.originvietnam.com/destinations/cuc-phuong-national-park/
This will give me a general idea about what's in this park, even if the exact cave is not pictured here. Maybe they meant "Con Moong Cave"...?
A Google Image search of "great evening bat ia io"
Cool, now I can know if a video I look up is actually this species.
Huh. I am not convinced that the videos I've seen are the Ia io. I have to disregard them.
Well, I don't have much to go on here for Ia io. Let's use our imagination a bit.
---Subscription pings---
@wolf @Bayesian @GazDownright @digory @moobunny @TheAllMemeingEye @Gen @vi @121
Discussion phase #13!
@SpeaksForTrees with the Frontrunner
Honey Badger - Mellivora capensis
Vs.
@moobunny with the Underdog
Lesser Flamingo - Phoeniconaias minor
Discuss!
---Subscription pings---
@wolf @Bayesian @GazDownright @digory @moobunny @TheAllMemeingEye @Gen @vi @121
@Quroe Behold, Lake Natron:
A desolate, shallow lake whose high salt concentrations give it an eerie reputation for petrifying animals unlucky enough to die in it, whose alkaline waters reach up to 10.5 pH and can burn eyes and skin, whose temperatures sometimes reach 106 degrees Fahrenheit. A truly inhospitable place to most, but, surprisingly, the primary breeding ground of the lesser flamingo! 75% of the world's lesser flamingos gather here between August and October to...
wait fuck
uhhhhh lemme go look up what flamingos do in Feburary
@moobunny the honey badger doesn't care about Lake Natron; the honey badger doesn't give a shit about Lake Natron
@Quroe I did consider whether I could keep the flamingos out of the ring for the next six months and then count on them winning on habitat in the endgame. I decided against it, partly because I think Lake Natron isn’t that potent a habitat threat.
@Quroe So! If you look at the map here, Lake Natron is listed as a year-round habitat for lesser flamingos! https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/lesfla1/cur/introduction#hab
Additionally, here: https://www.africantrektravel.com/best/en/tour/best-time-to-see-flamingos-at-lake-natron.php
November - February (Good Viewing)
- Flamingos continue feeding along shallow lake edges...
Wet Season (November - May)
- Scattered groups along shoreline
- Lake becomes deeper, sometimes reducing nesting activity
That said, if the lake is deeper during the wet season I expect it's less saline and alkaline, and the flamingos are closer to the shore.
Back to the Birds of the World site (what a great resource!)
General Habitat
Inland saline and alkaline lakes, and also coastal lagoons . Tolerates or actively seeks out more alkaline water than Phoenicopterus ruber due to specialized diet. Breeds on extensive mudflats usually far out from shore in large lakes or pans.
There's also some good pictures and videos there.
So I think we can expect to find our flamingos wading in the shallows of a lake or coastal marsh which is saline and perhaps alkaline, but probably not dangerously so. (If it is Lake Natron, it's the wet season.)
Unfortunately it seems that the honey badger is a good swimmer and will swim to hunt food. So, I think this encounter will come down to whether the honey badger is interested in swimming out to attack the flamingoes, whether it can succeed (I'm not sure it's big enough, its normal prey seems to be more turtles and frogs), or whether it just leaves them alone and wanders off.
Here's some footage of how flamingoes react to a baboon attack: https://youtu.be/L9IQDocJUWU?si=pYkQSCQw5cUVj80V
Battle phase #13!
@SpeaksForTrees with the Frontrunner
Honey Badger - Mellivora capensis
Vs.
@moobunny with the Underdog
Lesser Flamingo - Phoeniconaias minor
Habitat: Lake Natron
The Honey Badger is a clever beast. It finds itself on the edges of Lake Natron. It sees a massive sea of flamingos in the shallows around the lake. It notices the flamingos first!
Our main character flamingo is in the flock. It feeds on the algae in the water, giving it its characteristic pink coloration. It knows it doesn't have to be afraid of any predators because Lake Natron is inhospitable to any would-be threats. It lets it guard down.
But somehow, our honey badger finds itself here. It slinks toward the flamingos with a disarming demeanor. It begins splashing in the shallows of the lake, and the alkaline water begins to irritate its skin and eyes.
It hurts, but this is the honey badger. The honey badger doesn't give a f***. It wants that meal, and it is used to taking damage to score some prey.
The flamingos don't seem too frightened by the approaching honey badger. A few fly off, but the honey badger is sneaky enough to avoid sounding a greater alarm. Once it gets close to the edge of the flock, it pounces. Some of the flamingos respond quickly enough to the attack and take off.
Unfortunately, our main character flamingo did not notice the commotion quickly enough. One moment, its head was bobbing for algae in the water. The next, it is being wrung out by the neck by an alkaline-burned honey badger. The flamingo thrashes and squirms, but this is no match for our rascal ratel. The honey badger dredges the downed flamingo to the shore.
The honey badger is partially blinded by the alkaline water, but it doesn't care. It has its meal. It thinks it can walk off the injury. The honey badger gnaws at the flamingo, swallowing the feathers alongside the raw meat.
Finally, a predator-prey conclusion to a fight! The honey badger wins by a manifestly obvious outcome.
---Places I went for research---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_badger
the honey badger is best known as an aggressive, intelligent animal that is fearless and tough in nature.
...
The honey badger is famous for its strength, ferocity and toughness. It is known to savagely and fearlessly attack almost any other species when escape is impossible, reportedly even repelling much larger predators such as lion and hyena.
It has an eversible anal pouch, a trait shared with hyenas and mongooses. The smell of the pouch is reportedly "suffocating", and may assist in calming bees when raiding beehives.
...
In some instances, honey badgers deter large predators by unleashing a pungent yellow liquid produced by the anal glands.
Excuse me, what? I have to know more...
https://books.google.com/books?id=bQjh35ER6ggC&pg=PR7#v=onepage&q=suffocating&f=false (page 89)
It can kill bees with its B.O.?! WHAT?!
Okay, back to Wikipedia...
The honey badger is mostly solitary, but has also been seen in Africa hunting in pairs.
The honey badger is a skilled digger, able to dig tunnels into hard ground in 10 minutes.
Bee stings, porcupine quills, and animal bites rarely penetrate their skin.
If horses, cattle, or Cape buffalos intrude upon a honey badger's burrow, it will attack them.
It also feeds on insects, frogs, tortoises, turtles, lizards, rodents, snakes, birds and eggs.
honey badgers were also observed to attack domestic sheep and goats, as well as kill and eat black mambas.
Their skin is hard to penetrate, and its looseness allows them to twist and turn on their attackers when held.
Due to its ability of using tools, the honey badger is considered an intelligent creature
TOOL USE?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c36UNSoJenI
Yup, that's tool use, alright!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg
I can't not include this timeless classic.
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/lesfla1/cur/introduction#hab
https://www.africantrektravel.com/best/en/tour/best-time-to-see-flamingos-at-lake-natron.php
We're in Lake Natron. They are, in fact, here year-round.
February has high water levels. The flamingos will be around the edges of the lake, feeding. This reduces their ability to retreat into a section with more shallow lake terrain around them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9IQDocJUWU
A ferocious enough ground creature can nab a flamingo.
WOO! No AI usage this time!
---Subscription pings---
@wolf @Bayesian @GazDownright @digory @moobunny @TheAllMemeingEye @Gen @vi @121
@Quroe Catching up on these after I've been falling behind on Manifold notifications for a while is always such a delight!
@SimonWestlake I'm glad you're enjoying them. It has been a challenge to keep this locked into my schedule.
@Quroe No judgement from me if you ever feel the need to slow down. I know how life gets.
@SimonWestlake I can't wait until we hit a critical mass of animals that have won a battle such that I don't have to research as hard every time.