Welcome to the First Four portion of our March Species Madness. As with last year, we’ve selected 34 species found at rare to face off in a contest for your hearts. Over the month of March, we will be pitting species against species who will compete for your votes. The winners go on to the next round. The losers… suffer the humiliation of not being selected. Last year, the Red Fox defeated the Yellow Trout Lily, while the Spring Peeper and the Snapping Turtle filled out the final four. These species are back this year, along with thirty others. Will the defending champion repeat? Or will one of the others cast it from its throne? You decide.
Ahead of the March 1st start, we have two matches called, the first four, which will pare our species list from 34 to 32, to fill our brackets. The first match pits the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) against the Star-Nosed Mole (Condylura cristala). The Virginia opossum is the only opossum that lives north of Mexico; rare is at the very northern part of its range. The creature ranges in size from 33-55 centimetres, and it is an omnivore, eating a wide range of plants as well as insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and even small mammals. It also eats eggs and carrion, so whatever it can find, it’s not picky about it. They especially like ticks, though, and may eat up to 5,000 ticks per season, helping to prevent the spread of Lyme disease. They are most active in the spring and summer, although they do not actually hibernate in winter. To learn more about the Virginia Opossum, check out this page by the Opossum Society of the United States.
Facing against the Virginia opossum is the distinctive face of the Star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata), found in wet lowland areas in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. The name aptly describes its distinctive snout, which has over 25,000 sensory receptors in its touch organs, allowing it to feel its way around. The mole is functionally blind, but the feelers on its nose have evolved to make it the fastest-eating mammal on the planet; it can identify and consume food items like insects, earthworms, mollusks and small fish in as little as 120 milliseconds! These moles can even smell underwater. They may look alarming to our sensibilities, but they have adapted to their environment with their super-sensors! For more information about these distinctive creatures, check out this article by National Geographic.
The winner of this matchup goes on to face the defending champion, the Red Fox, on March 1st, but only you can decide who goes on, and who goes home. Vote now below!