#i’m sure there’s some general scientific inaccuracies but. it’s finee this is just a fic i don’t care that much

[unknownarmageddon]

solar system map (? chart?) for my fic sirius!!! would you believe me if i said this was for an undertale au

[btssavedmylifeblr]

Hello Bee, I am « primate science anon » as you named me haha 🙊 I’m sorry you found my ask embarrassing!! Just to set the record straight: 1) You’re the last author who should feel bad about fact inaccuracy! Your fics are always well researched. I enjoy them for their realism and because I always learn something new (especially in science) from reading them. 2) It’s totally fine to make changes for dramatic purposes! You’re writing fiction, not some scientific report... [1/3]

Sorry if you felt like I was fact-shaming you, that was absolutely not my intention 🙈 The reason for my ask was that I thought maybe my numbers were outdated. Since the population of gorillas has significantly declined over the last decades (😔) your number might have been right, as a result of natural selection! You know, if only the bigger males have survived and passed on their genes to the younger generations of males, the male-to-female body size ratio might have increased. [2/3]

I listened to the podcast of your source about the bonobos, it was fun! Your knowledge is so diverse, it’s really interesting how you incorporate it into your stories 🙂 My sources are certainly NOT as entertaining as yours 😂: 1) 'Species, Species Concepts and Primate Evolution' by William H. Kimbel, Lawrence B. Martin 2) 'SEXUAL BODY SIZE DIMORPHISM' by Hector Reynoso 3) 'Body Size, Size Variation, and Sexual Size Dimorphism in Early Homo' by J. Michael Plavcan. 📑 [3/4]

Gorillas are the most sexually dimorphic of apes, which are a sub-(sub-sub-sub-)group of primates and the topic of OC’s presentation. But out of all primates, the most sexually dimorphic is the mandrill (which is not an ape, but an Old World monkey). I hope that answers your question 😊 - primate science anon 🐵 [4/4]

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😍 You cited your sources!! 😍 I was already enamored with you, but this seals it. 

No shame felt! And I was not offended. Just slightly embarrassed about needing to find a source for my exaggerated numbers. Not sure about the natural selection hypothesis, but I did pull my larger size disparity numbers from weights of gorillas in captivity rather than the wild, and they definitely get fatter in captivity. 

Aha! The mandrill! Alright, well I at least feel vindicated in my assumption that the gorillas were the most sexually dimorphic of the great apes. 

Thank you so much for returning to the inbox and being so informative! 💜