Shows
Strange Animals PodcastEpisode 342: Giant Snails and Giant CrabsThanks to Tobey and Anbo for their suggestions this week! We’re going to learn about some giant invertebrates!
Further reading:
The Invasive Giant African Land Snail Has Been Spotted in Florida
A very big shell:
The giant African snail is pretty darn giant [photo from article linked above]:
The largest giant spider crab ever measured, and a person:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re going to lea...
2023-08-2110 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 341: The Leaf Sheep and the Mold PigThanks to Murilo and an anonymous listener for their suggestions this week!
Further reading:
The ‘sheep’ that can photosynthesize
Meet the ‘mold pigs,’ a new group of invertebrates from 30 million years ago
A leaf sheep:
Shaun the sheep:
A mold pig:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week let’s learn about two animals that sound like you’d find them on a farm, but they’re much different t...
2023-08-1409 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 340: Whale Lice and Sea LiceThanks to Eilee for suggesting the sea louse this week!
Further reading:
Secrets of the Whale Riders: Crablike ‘Whale Lice’ Show How Endangered Cetaceans Evolved
Parasite of the Day: Neocyamus physeteris
A whale louse [By © Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19259257]:
The salmon sea louse [By Thomas Bjørkan – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7524020]:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
It’s no...
2023-08-0713 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 339: The Tully Monster!Is it an invertebrate? Is it a vertebrate? It’s the Tully monster!
Further reading:
3D Tully monster probably not related to vertebrates
Has the “Tully monster” mystery finally been solved after 65 years?
Possibly what the Tully monster looked like while alive:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re going to learn about an ancient creature surrounded by mystery. When I was working on last week’s updates episode, I found some new information...
2023-07-3113 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 338: Updates 6 and an Arboreal Clam!?!This week we have our annual updates and corrections episode, and at the end of the episode we’ll learn about a really weird clam I didn’t even think was real at first.
Thanks to Simon and Anbo for sending in some corrections!
Further reading:
Lessons on transparency from the glass frog
Hidden, never-before-seen penguin colony spotted from space
Rare wild asses spotted near China-Mongolia border
Aye-Ayes Use Their Elongated Fingers to Pick Their Nose
Homo sapiens likely arose from multiple closely related populations
2023-07-2419 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 337: Ghost Shrimp and Snapping ShrimpThanks to Zachary and Anbo for their suggestions this week! Let’s learn about some shrimp!
Further reading:
This is why the pistol shrimp is immune to its own powerful shock waves
The Symbiotic Relationship Between Gobies and Pistol Shrimp
An eastern ghost shrimp:
A snapping shrimp:
A goby fish and its snapping shrimp buddy:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re going to have an epi...
2023-07-1709 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 336: The Turtle Ant and the Alien Butt SpiderThanks to Kari for suggesting this week’s topics! Definitely check out her book Butt or Face?, which is funny and has lots of animal information!
Further reading:
Butt or Face? by Kari Lavelle
GBIF: Araneus praesignis [the spider pictures below come from this site]
The turtle ant’s body is flattened and the soldier caste ants have specialized head shapes to block the nest entrances:
The alien butt spider has a butt that looks like an alien’s face!
The alien...
2023-07-1009 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 335: Large Blue Butterfly vs AntsWe’re kicking off July with a beautiful butterfly that does horrible things to ants!
Further reading:
UK Butterflies – Large Blue
The large blue butterfly (picture taken from page linked above):
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
I recently realized that I have so many weird and interesting invertebrates saved up to feature for invertebrate August that I can’t fit them all into one month, so let’s kick off invertebrate August in July!
This week we’re...
2023-07-0307 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 334: Piranha!Thanks to David for this week’s suggestion, the piranha!
Further reading:
Florida wildlife officer’s fish seizure nibbles at illegal piranha sales
How Teddy Roosevelt Turned Piranhas into Ferocious Maneaters
The beautiful butterfly peacock bass (not a piranha):
The red-bellied piranha (By H. Zell – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82557603):
Chompy chompy teeth:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re co...
2023-06-2609 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 332: Hunting Partners and MutualismThanks to Vaughn and Jan for their suggestions this week! We’re going to learn about mutualism of various types.
Further reading:
The odd couple: spider-frog mutualism in the Amazon rainforest
What Birds, Coyotes, and Badgers Know About Teamwork
Octopuses punch fishes during collaborative interspecific hunting events
An Emotional Support Dog Is the Only Thing That Chills Out a Cheetah
Buddies [picture from the first link above]:
The honeyguide bird:
Cheetahs and dogs can be friends:
...
2023-06-1210 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 331: Ompax, the Mystery FishThis week we have a mystery fish from Australia, the ompax!
Main source consulted:
Whitley, G. P. (1933). Ompax spatuloides Castelnau, a Mythical Australian Fish. The American Naturalist, 67(713), 563–567. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2456813
The fateful Ompax drawing:
The freshwater longtom (picture by Barry Hutchins):
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
For the Patreon episode this month, we had a bird mystery from Queensland, Australia. While I was researching it I came across this mystery fish, also...
2023-06-0510 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 330: Vintana and TiarajudensThanks to Lorenzo for suggesting Tiarajudens! We’ll learn about it this week along with another extinct animal, Vintana.
Further reading:
Funky facial flanges [the skull picture below comes from this site]
First Postcranial Fossils of Rare Gondwanatherian Mammal Unearthed in Madagascar
The Earliest Saberteeth Were for Fighting, Not Biting [the skeleton picture below comes from this site]
Vintana’s skull had weird jugal flanges:
Tiarajudens had saber teeth as well as palatal teeth:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Anim...
2023-05-2908 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 329: Manatees and a Surprise SlothThanks to Alexandra and Pranav for their suggestions this week! Let’s learn about manatees and sloths, including a surprising extinct sloth.
Further reading:
Sloths in the Water
A West Indian manatee:
A three-toed sloth:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we have a suggestion from Alexandra and Pranav, who wanted an episode about manatees. We’ll also talk about another marine mammal, a weird extinct one you may never have heard of.
2023-05-2213 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 328: Giant AntsThanks to Richard from NC for suggesting Titanomyrma!
Further reading:
‘Giant’ ant fossil raises questions about ancient Arctic migrations
A fossilized queen Titanomyrma ant with a rufous hummingbird (stuffed) for scale:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we have a suggestion from Richard from North Carolina, who sent me an article about an extinct giant ant called Titanomyrma. This episode is short, but I think you’ll find it interesting.
We’ve talked about ants in pr...
2023-05-1506 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 327: The Humble MarmotThanks to Dean for suggesting this week’s topic, the marmot!
Thanks also to Al-Ka-Lines Studio for the beautiful bat pin! You should definitely visit their online shop, because all their jewelry is hand-made by the two of them.
Further reading:
The secret to longevity? Ask a yellow-bellied marmot
The yellow-bellied marmot doing a sit [By Inklein, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2675916]:
A groundhog keeping an eye out for danger:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Po...
2023-05-0808 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 326: The Harpy Eagle and FriendsThanks to Eva and Anbo for suggesting the harpy eagle!
Further reading:
Crested Eagle Feeding a Post-Fledged Young Harpy Eagle
Harpy eagle with a food [By http://www.birdphotos.com – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3785263]:
The harpy eagle has great big feet and talons:
The harpy eagle with its feather crown raised [photo by Eric Kilby]:
The New Guinea harpy eagle looks similar to its South American cousin [By gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K...
2023-05-0112 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 325: The BurrunjorWe have merch available again!
Thanks to Will for suggesting this week’s topic, the burrunjor!
Muttaburrasaurus had a big nose [picture by Matt Martyniuk (Dinoguy2) – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3909643]:
The “rock art” that Rex Gilroy “found”:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
Recently, Will suggested we learn about an Australian cryptid called the burrunjor. As it happens, this is a short chapter in my book Beyond Bigfoot & Nessie: Lesser...
2023-04-2407 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 324: The Tenrec and AdalatheriumWe have merch available again!
Thanks to Eva and Leo for suggesting the tenrec!
Further reading:
Marooned on Mesozoic Madagascar
Introduction to Adalatherium hui
The lowland streaked tenrec:
The hedgehog tenrec rolls up just like an actual hedgehog [photo by Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons]:
Actual hedgehog, not a tenrec:
Lesser hedgehog tenrec REALLY looks like an actual hedgehog [By Wilfried Berns www.Tierdoku.com – Transferred from de.wikipedia to Commons.Orig. source: eigene Fotografie, CC...
2023-04-1714 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 323: The KinkajouThanks to Lincoln for suggesting this week’s subject, the kinkajou!
Further reading:
Early Primates Groomed with Claws
Not actually a monkey:
Not actually a bear [photo taken from this site]:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re going to learn about an animal suggested by Lincoln. It’s the kinkajou, an adorable but weird little animal from Central and South America.
In episode 302 we talked about the coatimundi and the...
2023-04-1007 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 322: The Javelina and Other PeccariesThanks to Oceana and Leo for suggesting this week’s episode about the javelina! We’ll even learn about a mystery peccary too.
Further reading:
New Species of Peccary–Pig-Like Animal–Discovered in Amazon Region
A javelina, also called the collared peccary [By Wing-Chi Poon – Own work by uploader; at Cottonwood Campground, Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4394434]:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we have a suggestion...
2023-04-0308 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 321: ArchaeopteryxWe have merch available again!
Thanks to Eilee for suggesting this week’s topic, Archaeopteryx!
Further reading:
Dinosaur feather study debunked
Archaeopteryx fossil provides insights into the origin of flight
An Archaeopteryx fossil [By H. Raab (User: Vesta) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8066320]:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
We’ve had a lot of mammal episodes lately, so this week let’s learn about a reptile…uh, a bird...
2023-03-2709 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 320: More ElephantsThanks to Connor and Pranav who suggested this week’s episode about elephants! It’s been too long since we had an elephant episode and there’s lots more to learn.
Further reading:
Asian elephants could be the maths kings of the jungle
Many wild animals ‘count’
A big difference between Asian and African elephants is diet
Study reveals ancient link between mammoth dung and pumpkin pie
The Asian elephant (left) and the African elephant (right):
The African bush elephant (left) and the African fo...
2023-03-2011 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 319: The PhascogaleThanks to Kristie for suggesting this week’s topic, the phascogale!
Further reading:
Red-tailed phascogales (all photos below come from this site)
Sleeping phascogale:
Wide-awake phascogales:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
Ages ago, Kristie suggested I look up the phascogale, a really cute Australian animal. It’s definitely adorable and a little bit weird, so let’s learn about it this week!
Like most mammals that live in Australia, the phascogale is a mar...
2023-03-1306 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 318: The Mysterious Malagasy HippoThanks to the Tracing Owls podcast for this week’s suggestion. I’m a guest on that podcast so make sure to check it out (but while my episode is appropriate for younger listeners, most episodes are not, so be warned).
Further reading:
Huge Hippos Roamed Britain One Million Years Ago
Kenyan fossils show evolution of hippos
The Kilopilopitsofy, Kidoky, and Bokyboky: Accounts of Strange Animals from Belo-sur-mer, Madagascar, and the Megafaunal “Extinction Window”
A sort-of Malagasy hippo:
Actual hippo (not from Madagascar, By Muhammad Mahdi Ka...
2023-03-0615 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 317: Wild PoniesThanks to Leo for suggesting this week’s topic, the ponies of Assateague Island!
Further reading:
Assateague Wild Ponies
Some ponies running free on Assateague Island [photo taken from the site linked above]:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re going to learn about the feral horses of Assateague! Thanks to Leo for the suggestion! That’s the grown-up Leo; we also have a young Leo who’s sent some great suggestions, including one we’re hopefully...
2023-02-2714 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 316: The Blobfish and a Round BunnyThis week we learn more about the blobfish thanks to Matilde’s suggestion, and we’ll also learn about a primitive rabbit.
Further reading:
In Defense of the Blobfish: Why the ‘World’s Ugliest Animal’ Isn’t as Ugly as You Think It Is
A rare rabbit plays an important ecological role by spreading seeds
The Amami Rabbit: A Living Fossil in the Wilds of Amami Ōshima [amazing photos in this article!]
The blobfish as we usually see it:
The blobfish as it looks when it’s in its d...
2023-02-2009 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 315: Dogs and CatsThanks to Fabiana and Hazel for their suggestions this week, where we learn more about dogs and cats!
Further reading:
Gene mutation that makes dogs small existed in ancient wolves
Feline genetics help pinpoint first-ever domestication of cats
Cats Learn Names of Their Feline Friends
A cat (Dracula, specifically, with Dracula the toy):
A dog, in case you’ve never seen a dog before:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This...
2023-02-1309 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 313: The Wolverine and the KakapoThis week we learn about two interesting animals from opposite parts of the world! Thanks to Felix and Jaxon for suggesting the wolverine and the kakapo.
Further reading:
Study: Wolverines need refrigerators
Kakapo Comeback [this article has some fantastic pictures!]
The wolverine likes cold weather:
So many young kakapos!
The kakapo is a really big bird:
(Photo by Matu Booth)
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we...
2023-01-3013 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 312: Little Bouncy AnimalsThanks to Zachary and Oran for this week’s topic, some little animals that bounce around like tiny kangaroos!
Further reading:
Evolution of Kangaroo-Like Jerboas Sheds Light on Limb Development
Supposedly extinct kangaroo rat resurfaces after 30 years
High-Speed Videos Show Kangaroo Rats Using Ninja-Style Kicks to Escape Snakes
Williams’s jerboa [picture by Mohammad Amin Ghaffari – https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/177950563, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=115769436]:
A drawing of a jerboa skeleton. LEGS FOR DAYS:
The San Qu...
2023-01-2311 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 311: The Mystery Deep-Sea SpiderThanks to Llewelly for this suggestion, and thanks to Dr. Thomas A. Hegna for providing me with the two papers I reference in this episode!
Images are taken from the papers.
The mystery “spider”:
Long-legged isopods:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
My carefully planned out episode schedule has already gotten messed up, but I got excited about this topic and couldn’t wait to share it! It’s a mystery invertebrate from the deep sea that has b...
2023-01-1607 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 310: The Crab-Eating FoxThanks to Dean for this week’s suggestion, the crab-eating fox!
Further reading:
Jaguars could prevent a not-so-great American biotic exchange
The crab-eating fox is not actually a fox:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
I’m happy to report that I’m feeling healthy and testing negative for covid now. Even my lingering cough has pretty much cleared up! I hope you’re healthy too. Anyway, this week let’s learn about an unusual animal suggested by Dean, the cr...
2023-01-0906 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 309: The Red PandaThanks to Zola for suggesting this week’s topic, the red panda!
Further reading:
Study Reveals Key Differences in Skulls of Red and Giant Panda
A red panda:
A red panda asleep in a tree [photo by By Aconcagua – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2169002]:
Not exactly a real red panda but pretty darn cute (from the Disney/Pixar movie Turning Red):
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate S...
2023-01-0209 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 308: Rescuing Stranded WhalesYay, we’re at the end of the year and looking forward to 2023! Boo, I caught covid and I’m still recovering, so here’s a repurposed Patreon episode about whale strandings and how people help the whales!
A minke whale calf being transferred via rescue pontoon to a boat to tow her farther out to sea than the pontoon could manage for such a big whale (photo from this article, which explains that she rejoined her mother and swam away safely):
Pilot whales being rescued after stranding:
Show transc...
2022-12-2610 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 307: Coquí Frogs and Glass FrogsThanks to Miranda and Henry for this week’s frog suggestions!
Further reading:
Shattering the Glass Frog Ceiling
The Puerto Rican wetland frog, AKA coquí llanero:
The golden coquí in happier times:
Glass frog from above and below:
A female granulosa glass frog named Millie (in one of the few successful breeding programs of these frogs), looking demure:
Laura’s glass frog, rediscovered after almost 70 years [photos from this article]:
Show transcript:
Wel...
2022-12-1910 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 306: Two Million Years Ago in GreenlandThis week we’re going to learn about a brand new study in Nature about animals and plants that lived in Greenland about two million years ago.
Happy birthday to Dillon!
Further reading:
A 2-million-year-old ecosystem in Greenland uncovered by environmental DNA
Scientists Reconstruct 2-Million-Year-Old Ecosystem from Environmental DNA
No bones? No problem: DNA left in cave soils can reveal ancient human occupants
Greenland now:
Greenland two million years ago [art by Beth Zaiken, taken from the second article linked above]:
...
2022-12-1212 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 305: The Chamois and the Cave GoatThanks to Isaac for suggesting the chamois, our main topic this week!
Further reading:
The chamois in New Zealand
Extinct goat was cold-blooded
Myotragus balearicus: Extinction of mouse-goats
A chamois in its summer coat:
A chamois in its winter coat:
Myotragus, the “cave goat,” may have looked something like this museum restoration:
Nuralagus’s femur (left) compared to a regular rabbit femur:
Show Transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your hos...
2022-12-0508 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 303: Weird and Mysterious Animal SoundsThanks to Emory for suggesting this week’s topic, mysterious animal sounds!
Further reading/watching:
The Story of Elk in the Great Smoky Mountains
Terrifying Sounds in the Forests of the Great Smoky Mountains
Evidence found of stingrays making noise
This New AI Can Detect the Calls of Animals Swimming in an Ocean of Noise
The wapiti [pic from article linked above]:
The stingray filmed making noise [stills from video linked to above]:
The tawny owl makes some weird so...
2022-11-2107 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 302: The Coatimundi and a Mysterious FriendThanks to Oceana, Leo, and Alexandra for suggesting the coatimundi this week!
Further reading:
Caught red handed: The mystery of an unusual Panamanian plant’s dispersal
The coatimundi has a long tail and a long nose:
The olingo sitting on a cloud cycad seed pod. Mystery solved!
The olingo in daylight:
My new podcasting studio!
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re goi...
2022-11-1411 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 301: Hairless MammalsThanks to Liesbet for this week’s suggestion, about two mammals that have evolved to be hairless!
Happy birthday this week to Declan and Shannon!
The hairless bat has a doglike face and a doglike tail but (and this is important) it is not a dog [photos from this site]:
The naked mole-rat’s mouth is behind its teeth instead of the usual “my teeth are in my mouth” kind of thing:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
Thi...
2022-11-0708 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 299: Entombed in Stone!This week’s episode rates one out of five ghosts on the spookiness scale. It’s not too spooky unless the thought of being ENTOMBED IN STONE creeps you out! Which it might, if you are a frog.
Further reading:
A Tenacious Pterodactyl
Further watching:
“One Froggy Evening”
A frog supposedly found mummified in a stone:
The Texas horned lizard kind of looks like a pointy toad with a tail:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host...
2022-10-2411 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 298: The Tantanoola TigerThis week we’re examining the Tantanoola Tiger, a mystery animal that probably wasn’t a tiger…but what was it? This episode is rated two ghosts out of five for monster month spookiness! Thanks to Kristie for sharing her photos of the Tantanoola tiger!
Happy birthday to ME this week! I’ve decided to turn 25 again. That was a good year.
Further reading:
The Tasmanian tiger was hunted to extinction as a ‘large predator’–but it was only half as heavy as we thought
The grisly mystery of the murderous Tantanoola Tig...
2022-10-1713 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 297: Dinosaur MummiesThis week we have a two-ghost rating for our episode about dinosaur mummies! It’s a little spooky because we talk about mummies, but it’s mostly an episode about dinosaurs, which are not spooky.
Further reading:
The lost Tarbosaurus mummy
Dinosaur Mummy Found with Fossilized Skin and Soft Tissues
Dakota the Dinomummy: Millenniums in the Making
Spectacularly Detailed Armored Dinosaur “Mummy” Makes Its Debut
Was a Dinosaur Mummy Dubbed ‘Appalachiosaurus’ Found in Tennessee?
An Edmontosaurus mummy found in 1908:
A 3D model of Dak...
2022-10-1015 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 296: The Hide and the Blood-Sucking BlanketMonster month is upon us, October, where all our episodes are about spooky things! This episode is only a little bit spooky, though. I give it one ghost out of a possible five ghosts on the spooky scale.
Happy birthday to Casey R.!
Further reading:
All you ever wanted to know about the “Cuero”
Mystery Creatures of China by David C. Xu
Freshwater stingrays chew their food just like a goat
A 1908 drawing of the hide (in the red box) [picture taken from first link above]:
2022-10-0315 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 295: The Peregrine FalconThanks to Nikita for this week’s suggestion that we learn all about the peregrine falcon!
I’ll be at the Next Chapter Book Fair in Dalton, Georgia on October 1, 2022! Come say hi!
Further listening:
Crossover episode with Arcane Carolinas from ConCarolinas 2022!
Further reading:
Falcons see prey at speed of Formula 1 car
A peregrine falcon in flight:
Baby peregrine falcons. Look at those giant peets! [photos by Robin Duska, taken from this site]
Show transcript:
Welcome to Stra...
2022-09-2610 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 294: Updates 5 and a New Zealand Parrot!It’s our fifth updates and corrections episode, with some fun information about a New Zealand parrot, suggested by Pranav! Thanks also to Llewelly, Zachary, Nicholas, and Simon who sent in corrections.
Further reading:
Vitiligo
Tyrannosaurus remains hint at three possible distinct species
Study refutes claim that T. rex was three separate species
The reign of the dinosaurs ended in spring
Impact crater may be dinosaur killer’s baby cousin
California mice eat monarch butterflies
‘Hobbit’ human story gets a twist, thanks to thousand...
2022-09-1917 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 293: Bat-Winged Dinosaurs and an Actual BatWe’ll have a real episode next week but for now, here are two Patreon episodes smashed together into one!
Happy birthday to Speed!
Further reading:
Yi qi Is Neat But Might Not Have Been the Black Screaming Dino-Dragon of Death
Yi qi could probably glide instead of actually flying:
The Dayak fruit bat [photo by Chien C. Lee]:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
I’ve finally finished moving, although I’m still...
2022-09-1216 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 292: The KungaThis week let’s learn about a mystery that was solved by science!
Happy birthday to Zoe!
Further reading:
Let’s all do the kunga!
The kunga, as depicted in a 4500-year-old mosaic:
The Syrian wild ass as depicted in a 1915 photograph (note the size of the animal compared to the man standing behind it):
Domestic donkeys:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
As this episode goes live, I shou...
2022-09-0507 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 289: Weird WormsThis week we learn about some weird worms!
Further reading:
Otherworldly Worms with Three Sexes Discovered in Mono Lake
Bizarre sea worm with regenerative butts named after Godzilla’s monstrous nemesis
Underground giant glows in the dark but is rarely seen
Giant Gippsland earthworm (you can listen to one gurgling through its burrow here too)
Further watching:
A giant Gippsland earthworm
Glowing earthworms (photo by Milton Cormier):
This sea worm’s head is on the left, its many “butts” on the r...
2022-08-1514 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 281: The Humpback WhaleThanks to Clay for suggesting the topic of this week’s episode, the humpback whale!
Happy birthday to Emry!
Further reading:
How humpback whales catch prey with bubble nets
Study: Humpback whales aren’t learning their songs from one another
Stanford researchers observe unexpected flipper flapping in humpback whales
Ancient baleen whales had a mouthful
The humpback’s long, thin flippers help it maneuver:
Humpbacks are active, jumpy whales:
A humpback whale’s big mouth:
Sh...
2022-06-2016 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 280: Lesser-Known SharksThanks to Tobey and Janice this week for their suggestions of lesser-known sharks!
Further reading/watching:
CREATURE FEATURE: The Spinner Shark [this site has a great video of spinner sharks spinning up out of the water!]
Acanthorhachis, a new genus of shark from the Carboniferous (Westfalian) of Yorkshire, England
150 Year Old Fossil Mystery Solved [note: it is not actually solved]
The cartoon-eyed spurdog shark:
The spinner shark spinning out of the water:
The spinner shark not spinning (photo by Andy Murch):
2022-06-1312 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 279: Mean PiggiesThanks to Molly for suggesting andrewsarchus and entelodont, our mean “piggies” we learn about this week!
Further reading:
Andrewsarchus, “Superb Skull of a Gigantic Beast”
Dark Folklore by Mark Norman and Tracey Norman
Further listening:
The Folklore Podcast
Andrewsarchus (taken from article linked above):
Andrewsarchus’s skull. I’m not sure who the guy holding it is, but I like to think his name is Andrew:
Entelodont:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m...
2022-06-0611 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 277: Rewilding ScotlandThis week is Caitie Sith and Dave’s episode! They want to learn about animals reintroduced to Scotland, especially the Highland wildcat!
The Scottish (or Highland) wildcat:
The Eurasian lynx:
The Eurasian beaver (with babies!):
The white-tailed eagle:
Reindeer in Scotland:
The pine marten:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week is Caitie Sith and Dave’s episode, where we’ll learn abou...
2022-05-2320 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 276: Hominins and ArtIt’s Nicholas’s episode this week, and Nicholas wants to learn more about hominins, the ancestors and cousins of modern humans!
Happy birthday to Autumn! I hope you have a great birthday!
Further listening:
Humans Part One
Further reading:
Were Neanderthals the Earliest Cave Artists?
Neanderthals Built Mysterious Stone Circles
DNA reveals first look at enigmatic human relative
What does it mean to have Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA?
Hand and footprint art dates to mid-Ice Age
Risky food-finding stra...
2022-05-1620 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 274: Mystery Big Cats in AustraliaThanks to Kristie and Jason, we’re going to learn about some mystery big cats reported in Australia, in particular Victoria.
Further reading:
Official big cat hunt declared a bust, so why do people keep seeing them?
Further watching:
Thylacine video from 1933, colorized
You’ll probably need to enlarge this but it’s a still from a 2018 video purportedly showing a mystery big cat, but in this frame you can see the ears are pointy, which is a sure sign of a domestic cat:
A melani...
2022-05-0220 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 272: The WaitorekeThanks to Sarah L. for buying the podcast two books off our wishlist! This episode was inspired by an entry in one of those books!
A very happy birthday this week to Matthew!
Don’t forget that you can still contribute to our Indiegogo “Tiny Pin Friends” campaign to get a small hard enamel pin of a narwhal, a capybara with a tangerine on its head, and/or a thylacine!
On April 19, 2022, the book Beyond Bigfoot & Nessie: Lesser-Known Mystery Animals from Around the World goes officially on sale in paperback everywhere! (The ebook is alre...
2022-04-1818 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 270: The Tapir FrogNew frog just dropped.
Happy birthday to Finn and Oran this week! Have a great birthday, both of you!
Further reading:
Frog with tapir-like nose found in Amazon rainforest, thanks to its “beeping” call
Meet the tapir frog:
Looks kind of like the South American tapir, but frog:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we have a short episode about the recent discovery of a mystery frog in Peru–but first, w...
2022-04-0406 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 268: Rediscovered Animals!My little cat Gracie got lost but she’s home! Let’s learn about some other rediscovered animals this week!
A very happy birthday to Seamus! I hope you have the best birthday ever!
Further listening:
The Casual Birder Podcast (where you can hear me talk about birding in Belize!)
Further reading:
Bornean Rajah Scops Owl Rediscovered After 125 Years
Shock find brings extinct mouse back from the dead
Rediscovery of the ‘extinct’ Pinatubo volcano mouse
Gracie, home at last! She’s so SKINNY after a who...
2022-03-2112 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 265: Penguins!Thanks to Page for suggesting we talk about penguins this week!
A big birthday shout-out to EllieHorseLover this week too!
Further reading:
March of the penguins (in Norway)
Rare Yellow Penguin Bewilders Scientists
Giant Waikato penguin: school kids discover new species
An ordinary king penguin with the rare “yellow” king penguin spotted in early 2021 (photo by Yves Adams, taken from article linked above):
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
I was looking over t...
2022-02-2813 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 264: Sick, Sad DinosaursThis week we answer a question you probably didn’t ask, did dinosaurs ever get sick? The answer is yes (or else it would be a super short episode). (Thanks to Llewelly for some corrections!)
A big birthday shout-out to Gwendolyn! Have a great birthday!
The unlocked Patreon episode about green puppies
Further reading:
Researchers discover first evidence indicating dinosaur respiratory infection
Sauro-throat, Part 3: what does Dolly’s disease tell us about sauropods?
Dinosaurs got cancer
Giant Dinosaur Had 2 Tumors on Its Tailbone
Dino...
2022-02-2111 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 258: Sable and Sable AntelopeSign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
A big birthday shout-out to Penelope this week! Thanks to Isaac for this week’s topic suggestion. We’re learning all about the sable and sable antelope!
Further reading (mostly for the pictures since there’s not much content otherwise):
Woman Rescues This Sable from Becoming Someone’s Coat
Further watching:
Kruger Park, Season 15 – this one is about some sable antelope bulls fighting
Fuzzy sable face:
Sable:
...
2022-01-1011 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 256: Mammoths and the End of the Ice AgesSign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
Further reading:
Million-year-old mammoth genomes shatter record for oldest ancient DNA
Mammoth Genome Project (with pictures of cave art and ancient carvings of mammoths)
The most famous cave painting of a mammoth, from a cave in France:
Sivatherium:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
It’s the last Monday of 2021, which means the very last extinction event epis...
2021-12-2718 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 254: The Saola and the Striped BunnyThanks to Elaine for suggesting the saola this week!
Further reading:
The saola: rushing to save the most ‘spectacular zoological discovery’ of the 20th century
Striped rabbit revealed in Laos forest
Saola horns:
A saola from a 1999 camera trap (photo taken from link above):
A female saola (named Martha) who unfortunately only survived in captivity a few weeks (photo taken from link above):
A striped bunny!! The Annamite striped rabbit:
Show transcript:
Welcome to S...
2021-12-1308 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 253: The Sand StrikerSign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
This week let’s learn about a weird marine worm and its extinct ancestor!
Further reading:
Eunice aphroditois is a rainbow, terrifying
The 20-million-year-old lair of an ambush-predatory worm preserved in northeast Taiwan
Here’s the money shot of the sand striker with its jaws open, waiting for an animal to get too close. The stripy things are antennae:
The fossilized burrow with notes:
Show transcript:
2021-12-0609 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 250: Mystery of the Golden ToadSign up for our mailing list!
This week let’s look at a scientific mystery: what caused the golden toad to go extinct, and is it still alive after all?
Further reading:
A deadly fungus is killing frogs, but the bacteria on their skin could protect them
The male golden toad:
The female golden toad (photo by Mary Crump):
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is gorgeous and hopefully still hides some golden toads:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange An...
2021-11-1510 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 248: The Giant Jellyfish RevisitedSign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
We’re down to the last few days to back our Kickstarter!
We’ve got a slightly different type of episode this week. Follow along as I try to find out more about the giant jellyfish that nearly sank a ship!
Further reading:
Kraken: Monster of the Deep
A lion’s mane jellyfish:
A giant squid:
The first photo ever taken of a giant squid:
...
2021-11-0118 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 247: ShapeshiftersSign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
Happy Halloween! Let’s learn about some shapeshifters of folklore, including the werewolf and kitsune (thanks to Joel, Pranav, and Emma!), and a real-life shapeshifter.
Don’t forget the Kickstarter, as if I’d let you forget it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kateshaw/beyond-bigfoot-and-nessie
Further reading:
Folklore and Mythology
Breeding Butterflies
Further listening:
MonsterTalk (note: sometimes there’s adult language or really scary themes)
Sandman Stories...
2021-10-2517 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 245: The Devil-PigSign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
Don’t forget the Kickstarter, as if I’d let you forget it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kateshaw/beyond-bigfoot-and-nessie
Our next monster for monster month is the devil-pig! It’s probably not a devil although it might be a pig.
The Asian tapir and its remarkable snoot:
The New Guinea carving:
The “gazeka” as imagined in the early 20th century:
Domestic and feral hogs are common in...
2021-10-1112 minStrange Animals PodcastKickstarter bonus! The NingenTHE KICKSTARTER IS LIVE AND I’M SO EXCITED!
The Kickstarter campaign is HERE! If you’re not sure how Kickstarter works, that’s what we talk about at the beginning of this episode. I then go over the different rewards available and finally we have a very short chapter from the audiobook.
Kickstarter FAQ
I talk about the Kickstarter for way too long, so if you don’t care you can jump ahead to 9:56 to listen to the actual chapter. Also, I am definitely going to re-record that chapter for the actual audioboo...
2021-10-0605 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 244: The Wampus CatSign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
It’s the beginning of MONSTER MONTH! This episode’s not very spooky unless you’re outside at night and hear a terrifying scream! To be fair, that would be spooky even if you don’t know anything about the wampus cat.
THE KICKSTARTER GOES LIVE IN JUST TWO DAYS!!
Further watching:
The Growling, Ferocious, Diurnal Kitty Cat: The Jaguarundi
Further reading:
My original article about the wampus cat will appear in Flying S...
2021-10-0421 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 240: The End of the DinosaursSign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
Here we go. It’s the big one, the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event!
Further reading:
How Birds Survived the Asteroid Impact That Wiped Out the Dinosaurs
How an asteroid ended the age of dinosaurs
Extinction event that wiped out dinosaurs cleared way for frogs
How life blossomed after the dinosaurs died
66-million-year-old deathbed linked to dinosaur-killing meteor
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m yo...
2021-09-0624 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 239: Mystery CrocodilesSign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
Thanks to Pranav and Max for their suggestions. Let’s learn about some mystery crocodiles (and crocodile mysteries) this week!
Further reading:
Huge prehistoric croc ‘river boss’ prowled waterways
Extinct “horned” crocodile’s ancestry revealed
New species of crocodile discovered in museum collections
Rediscovery of “Lost” Caiman Leads to New Crocodilian Mystery
The Orange Cave-Dwelling Crocodiles
The horned crocodile’s fossil skull:
A baby Apaporis River cai...
2021-08-3014 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 238: The Pink Fairy Armadillo and Two Adorable FriendsSign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
This week we’ve got three adorable little animals to learn about! Thanks to Simon and Thia, Elaine, and Henry for their suggestions!
Further reading:
Turning the spotlight on the rusty-spotted cat (Wildlife SOS)
The cute and fuzzy pink fairy armadillo:
The cute and fuzzy rusty spotted cat:
The cute and fuzzy baby Arctic tern:
Adult Arctic terns:
Show transcript:...
2021-08-2312 minStrange Animals PodcastBONUS Q&A Episode!It’s our bonus question and answer episode, which turned out to be ridiculously long but hopefully interesting!
Further listening/watching:
The Axolotl Song
~~~Buy my books!~~~
Whiskers used to have two eyes and a nose. In the background, Dracula (left) and Poe (right):
Black squirrel!
King cobra!
Pufferfish, puffed:
Dog nose:
Show transcript:
Welcome to the bonus Q&A episode of Strange Animals Podcast! I’m your host, Kate...
2021-08-1327 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 236: Updates 4 and a Mystery Snake!Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
It’s our fourth annual updates and corrections episode! I’ve already had to make a correction to this episode!
Further reading:
Cassowary, a rare emu-like bird, attacks and kills Florida man, officials say
The dog Bunny’s Facebook page
3D printed replicas reveal swimming capabilities of ancient cephalopods
Enormous ancient fish discovered by accident
A rare observation of a vampire bat adopting an unrelated pup
Pandemic paleo: A wayw...
2021-08-0917 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 234: Sun Bears, Water BearsSign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!
Thanks to Enzo and Lux for their suggestions! Let’s learn about the sun bear and the water bear this week!
Sun bear just chillin:
Sun bears got long tongues:
The water bear, AKA tardigrade, is not actually a bear. For one thing, it has twice the number of legs as bears have:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
2021-07-2612 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 233: The Astonishing Aye-AyeSign up for our mailing list! We also have merchandise!
Thanks to Elaine, Molly, and Oliver for suggesting the aye-aye! I guess it’s an idea whose time has finally come.
Further reading:
Gimme six! Researchers discover aye-aye’s extra finger
Ah yes, I have many many many fingers:
S p i d e r h a n d s:
A baby aye-aye (blep):
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
I...
2021-07-1914 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 229: Blue Ghosts and Vanishing SharksSign up for our mailing list!
I got to meet some listeners this week to see the synchronous fireflies, so thanks to Shannon, Diana, Derek, and Autumn for hanging out with me! This week we’ll learn about a different kind of lightning bug as well as a shark mystery!
Derek’s photography, Enchanting Ectotherms
Further reading:
A shark mystery millions of years in the making
I suspect this is a doctored image but it’s gorgeous so here it is anyway, supposedly some blue ghost fireflies:
...
2021-06-2110 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 227: The Great DyingSign up for our mailing list!
It’s another extinction event episode! This one’s about the end-Permian AKA the Permian-Triassic AKA the GREAT DYING.
Further Reading:
Ancient mini-sharks lived longer than thought
Lystrosaurus’s fossilized skeleton:
Lystrosaurus may have looked something like this but I hope not:
This artist’s rendition of lystrosaurus looks a little less horrific but it might not be any more accurate:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate...
2021-06-0716 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 226: Brood X CicadasSign up for our mailing list!
It’s the 2021 brood of 17-year cicadas! Thanks to Enzo (and several others) who suggested it!
Further listening:
Varmints! Podcast – “Cicadas”
Our local Brood X cicada (photo by me!):
The holes that cicadas emerged from (photo also by me):
Discarded cicada shells. My work keys and Homestar Runner keychain for scale:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re going to talk abou...
2021-05-3110 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 224: Diprotodon and FriendsThanks to Ruby and Tex for their suggestions this week!
Diprotodon was big and had a big nose:
Koala!
The bush thick-knee looks like it has regular knees, actually:
Show Transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week let’s head to Australia for a short episode about three interesting animals. Thanks to Ruby and Tex for their suggestions!
Recently, we had an episode about the wombat—episode 208, to be exact. Ruby suggested we tal...
2021-05-1707 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 223: The Elephantnose Fish and the Burmese Star TortoiseSign up for our mailing list!
This week let’s learn about an amazing little fish and an awesome tortoise! All the pictures here were taken by ME at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga!
Further Reading:
Star tortoise makes meteoric comeback
The astonishing elephantnose fish:
Burmese star tortoises:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. I’m fully vaccinated now so I’m able to go out and about cautiously, still wearing a mask of course...
2021-05-1012 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 222: Two Dangerous Birds of New GuineaThis week let’s learn about a couple of dangerous birds of New Guinea! They’re not what you might think.
Join our mailing list!
Further Reading/Watching:
How Dangerous Are Cassowaries, Really?
Inside the Cassowary’s Casque
Breakfast Club Ep. 34: Jack Dumbacher on Poisonous Birds (a long video but a really great deep dive into the pitohui)
The mighty cassowary with a mighty casque on its head, looking like a modern dinosaur, which it is:
A cassowary and babies:
A ho...
2021-05-0315 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 221: Arachnids in the Antarctic!Thanks to Ella for this week’s suggestion. There may not technically be spiders in the Antarctic, but there are mites.
A nunatak (note the size of the research vehicles at the bottom left):
I don’t have any pictures of the Antarctic mites, so here are some red velvet mites, although they’re giants compared to their Antarctic cousins:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re going to have a short episode, because I get my seco...
2021-04-2609 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 220: Panda Mysteries, Solved!This week let’s learn about a mystery panda and a few small panda mysteries!
Join our mailing list!
Further Reading:
Mystery of the brown giant panda deepens
The Qinling panda is not like other pandas:
The giant panda is subtly different from the Qinling panda. Can you spot the difference?
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
I usually like to shake things up from week to week, but April has turned into...
2021-04-1909 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 219: The Strange and Mysterious TarsierThanks to Phoebe for suggesting the tarsier, this week’s strange and interesting primate!
Further Reading:
Decoding of tarsier genome reveals ties to humans
Long-lost ‘Furby-like’ Primate Discovered in Indonesia
Tarsiers look like weird alien babies:
A tarsier nomming on a lizard:
A tarsier nomming on an insect:
The pygmy tarsier and someone’s thumb:
There’s probably not much going on in that little brain:
Show Transcript:
Welcome to Strange...
2021-04-1214 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 213: More Honeybees, But StinglessThanks to Nicholas for this week’s suggestion! Let’s learn about the Australian stingless bee and its relatives!
Listen to BewilderBeasts if you want more fun, family-friendly animal facts!
Further reading/watching:
Australian Stingless Bees
Women Work to Save Native Bees of Mexico (I really recommend the short video embedded on this page! It’s utterly charming!)
House of the Royal Lady Bee: Maya revive native bees and ancient beekeeping
A Maya beekeeper’s hut and some Central/South American stingless bees (pictures from the last link, abo...
2021-03-0112 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 212: The River of GiantsThanks to Pranav for his suggestion! Let’s find out what the river of giants was and what lived there!
Further reading:
King of the River of Giants
Spinosaurus was a swimming dinosaur and it swam in the River of Giants:
A modern bichir, distant relation to the extinct giants that lived in the River of Giants:
Not actually a pancake crocodile:
A model of Aegisuchus and some modern humans:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange An...
2021-02-2215 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 211: The Magnificent Fin WhaleThis week let’s venture into the ocean and learn about the fin whale!
Further reading:
The songs of fin whales offer new avenue for seismic studies of the oceanic crust
Fin whales’ big gulp
The fin whale can hold a whole lot of water in its mouth (illustration from the second article linked above):
A fin whale underwater. Look at that massive tail. That’s pure muscle:
A fin whale above water. It’s like a torpedo:
Show transcri...
2021-02-1512 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 210: The Mysterious Lightbulb LizardDoes the Shreve’s lightbulb lizard really emit light? (Hint: sort of.) Let’s find out!
Further reading:
The Lightbulb Lizard of Benjamin Shreve
Shreve’s lightbulb lizard, looking pretty ordinary really:
A web-footed gecko in moonlight:
A Jamaican gray anole showing off his dewlap:
Show Transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week let’s learn about an interesting reptile with a mystery that’s mostly solved, but still really weird. It’s...
2021-02-0810 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 207: The Dire Wolf!This week we’re on the cutting edge of science, learning about the brand new genetic study of dire wolves that rearranges everything we know about the dire wolf and other canids! Also, a bonus turtle update.
Further reading:
Dire Wolves Were Not Really Wolves, Genetic Clues Reveal
An artist’s rendition of dire wolves and grey wolves fighting over a bison carcass (art by Mauricio Anton):
The pig-nosed face of the Hoan Kiem turtle, AKA Yangtze giant softshell turtle, AKA Swinhoe’s softshell turtle:
Show tr...
2021-01-1809 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 205: Sea Scorpions and the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction EventHappy new year! This week we’ll learn about the oldest mass extinction event, some 450 million years ago, and also sea scorpions.
Further reading:
Coming up for air: Extinct sea scorpions could breathe out of water, fossil detective unveils
Sea scorpions could get really, really big:
A fossil Eurypterus:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
Hello, 2021, please be better than 2020 was. I’ve got lots of fun, interesting episodes planned for this year, but let’s...
2021-01-0416 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 202: Terror Birds and Pseudotooth BirdsLet’s find out about some gigantic birds this week! Thanks to Pranav and Richard for the suggestions!
Further reading:
Exceptionally preserved fossil gives voice to ancient terror bird
Antarctica yields oldest fossils of giant birds with 21-foot wingspans
Look at that beak! Llallawavis scagliai:
Big birdie!
A red-legged seriema and an unfortunate snake:
Another big birdie!
Toothy birdie!
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host...
2020-12-1417 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 197: Titanoboa!Thanks to Pranav for this week’s suggestion, Titanoboa, the biggest snake that ever lived!
Parts of this episode come from an old Patreon episode about super-gigantic snakes, which is unlocked and you can listen to it here.
A modern anaconda vertebra next to a Titanoboa vertebra. Guess which one is which:
Carlos Jaramillo, one of the scientists who found Titanoboa and Acherontisuchus (taken from a Smithsonian Channel video):
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This has...
2020-11-0909 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 192: Ghostly AnimalsLet’s start off October with a spooky episode about some ghost animals–real ones, and some ghost stories featuring animals!
Don’t forget to enter our book giveaway! Details here.
Further reading:
Lolo the Ghost Snake
Barn Related Ghost Stories
What big teef you have, ghost bat:
Nom nom little ghost bat got some mealworms (also, clearly this rehabilitation worker has THE BEST JOB EVER):
Ghost snake!
This is where the ghost snake lives. This photo and th...
2020-10-0518 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 190: The Northern Gannet and PlotopteridsThanks to Lorenzo for suggesting the northern gannet this week! We’ll also learn about an extinct ancestor of the gannet, called plotopterids!
Don’t forget to enter our book giveaway! Details here.
The northern gannet is the assassin of the bird world, probably:
DIVING! It’s what they do:
Northern gannets hanging out on their nesting grounds:
An artist’s rendition of a plotopterid, with the silhouette of a modern emperor penguin for comparison. Picture from March of the Fossil Penguins.
2020-09-2112 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 188: The Hyena and HyaenodonThis week we’re going to learn about hyenas and the not-related-but-similarly-named hyaenodon! BUT we’ve got a PARENT WARNING WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP *klaxon sounds, red lights flash*
Parents and others who listen with small kiddos, you may want to pre-screen this episode since we go into some details of hyena anatomy that may not be appropriate for younger listeners.
CORRECTION! Thanks to Bal who pointed out that despite what I say on the episode, the hyena is not a canid! Oops, that was a really basic mistake.
Further watching:
Two hyen...
2020-09-0713 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 184: The Mosquito!Thanks to Kaiden who suggested we learn about mosquitoes this week! You know what eats a lot of mosquitoes? Bats! If you don’t already listen to the excellent podcast Varmints!, jump on over to it to listen to last week’s episode about bats! I cohosted with Paul and had a great time, and I know you’ll like the episode and the podcast in general. It’s family friendly and lots of fun!
Further reading:
The Paleobiologist Who Inspired the Science in ‘Jurassic Park’
SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK:
Mosquito la...
2020-08-1014 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 183: BEES! AKA honey and “honey”Thanks to Linnea for suggesting bees! Obviously we can’t learn about ALL 20,000 bee species in this episode, but we’ll learn about the honeybee and some other interesting bees!
Further reading:
Bee friendly? Pollinating California’s almond crop
The vulture bee
Western honeybees on a honeycomb:
A vulture bee thinking about “honey”:
The wholesome, solitary ivy bee:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
It’s August and we’re kicking...
2020-08-0317 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 180: Synchronous FirefliesThanks to Adam for the great suggestion of synchronous fireflies! Let’s learn about lightning bugs (or fireflies) in general, and in particular the famous synchronous fireflies!
Further reading:
How Fireflies Glow and What Signals They’re Sending
Further watching:
Tennessee Fireflies
Synchronizing Fireflies in Thailand (it shows an experiment to encourage the fireflies to start blinking by the use of LEDs)
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re going to learn ab...
2020-07-1315 minStrange Animals PodcastEpisode 178: The KoolakambaLet’s learn about another mystery ape, the koolakamba (also spelled kooloo-kamba or other variations)!
Further reading:
Between the Gorilla and the Chimpanzee
The Yaounde Zoo mystery ape and the status of the kooloo-kamba
Mystery of the Koolakamba
Antoine the Yaounde Zoo ape, supposedly a koolakamba:
Mafuka (sometimes spelled Mafuca):
A rare photo of the Bili ape:
A handsome western gorilla:
A handsome western chimpanzee:
A western chimpanzee mother an...
2020-06-2913 min