PODCAST

Strange Animals Podcast

Katherine Shaw

A podcast about living, extinct, and imaginary animals!

science natural sciences

All Episodes

10:33

Episode 380: Woodpeckers

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/05/13

Thanks to Joel and Mary for suggesting some really interesting woodpeckers this week! Further watching: Rare woodpecker thought extinct spotted in Ohio The green woodpecker really likes to eat ants [picture by Remyymer - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65008314]: The white-headed woodpecker looks like its face got splashed with paint: The red-headed woodpecker has the prettiest shade of red [picture by colleen - originally posted to Flickr as Red

en-US

9:11

Episode 379: Animals That Inspired Pokemon

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/05/06

Thanks to Pranav, Isaac, and an anonymous listener for their suggestions this week! Let's learn about some animals that inspired three Pokemon. Sandshrew: Possible Sandshrew inspirations: Drowzee: Possible Drowzee inspiration: Fennekin: Undoubted Fennekin inspiration: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to do something slightly different. At least two people and probably a lot more have suggested that we talk about

en-US

7:52

Episode 378: Ichthyotitan

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/04/29

Thanks to Nathan-Andrew for suggesting giant ichthyosaurs!Further reading: Paleontologists unearth what may be the largest known marine reptile Ruby and some other scientists with the ichthyotitan fossils [photos taken from this page]: How the pieces fit together: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to learn about some of the biggest animals that have ever swum through the oceans of this planet we call Earth, a suggestion

en-US

7:42

Episode 377: The Giant-est Snake Ever

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/04/22

Thanks to Max for suggesting Titanoboa! Further reading: Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene period of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersal This Nearly 50-Foot Snake Was One of the Largest to Slither on Earth Meet Vasuki indicus, the 'crocodile' that was a 50ft snake Titanoboa had really big bones compared to its modern relatives: Vasuki had big bones too: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Almost exactly two years ago

en-US

9:51

Episode 376: The Horned Lizard AKA Horny Toad

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/04/15

Thanks to Khalil for suggesting the horny toad, also called the horned lizard or horned toad!Further reading: The Case of the Lost Lizard The Texas horned lizard: Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) The rock horned lizard [photo taken from article linked above]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to learn about a reptile suggested by Khalil, who is Leo’s friend, so a big shout-out to both. Khalil wants to learn about

en-US

8:33

Episode 375: The Praying Mantis Re-Revisited

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/04/08

Thanks to Elijah and an anonymous listener for suggesting that we talk about some more species of praying mantis!Further reading: The luring mantid: Protrusible pheromone glands in Stenophylla lobivertex (Mantodea: Acanthopidae) Dragons and unicorns (mantises) spotted in Atlantic forest Citizen scientists help discover new mantis species The dragon mantis [photo from first article linked above]: The possibly new species of unicorn mantis [picture from second article linked above]: Inimia

en-US

8:03

Episode 374: PUFFERFISH!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/04/01

Thanks to River for suggesting this week's topic, the pufferfish!Further reading: Grass puffer fish communicate with each other using a non-toxic version of their deadly toxin Mystery pufferfish create elaborate circular nests at mesophotic depths in Australia Pufferfish, puffed: A starry puffer, un-puffed [picture by Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116912671]: A grass puffer, un-puffed: The mystery structure that turns out to be made by

en-US

9:48

Episode 373: The Tasmanian Devil and the Thylacine

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/03/25

Thanks to Carson, Mia, Eli, and Pranav for their suggestions this week! Further reading: RNA for the first time recovered from an extinct species Study finds ongoing evolution in Tasmanian Devils' response to transmissible cancer Tasmanian devil research offers new insights for tackling cancer in humans The Tasmanian devil looks really cute but fights all the time [picture by JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0]: The Thylacine could opens its jaws verrrrrrry

en-US

14:07

Episode 372: Mystery Bovids

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/03/18

Thanks to Will and Måns for their suggestions this week! Let's learn about some mystery bovids, or cows and cow relations!Further reading: A Book of Creatures: Songòmby Kouprey: The Ultimate Mystery Mammal A musk ox (top) and a wild yak (bottom): A young kouprey bull from the 1930s: Sculpture of two grown kouprey bulls [photo by Christian Pirkl - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73848355]: A banteng bull (with a cow behind him) [photo taken from

en-US

14:10

Episode 371: The Peacock

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/03/11

Thanks to Ari for suggesting this week's episode, about the peacock!Further reading: Peacock tail feathers shake at resonance and hold eye-spots still during courtship displays Indian peafowls' crests are tuned to frequencies also used in social displays An ocellated turkey (not a peacock but related): An Indian peacock male: An Indian peahen with chicks [photo from this site]: Close-up of a male Indian peacock's crest [photo by Jatin Sindhu - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

en-US

16:03

Episode 370: Animals Discovered in 2023

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/03/04

Let's look at some of the most interesting animals discovered last year!Further reading: Newly-discovered ‘margarita snails’ from the Florida Keys are bright lemon-yellow Tiny spirits roam the corals of Japan—two new pygmy squids discovered Strange New Species of Aquifer-Dwelling Catfish Discovered in India Bizarre New Species of Catfish Discovered in South America Unicorn-like blind fish discovered in dark waters deep in Chinese cave New Species of Hornshark Discovered off

en-US

13:45

Episode 369: Animals and Ultraviolet Light

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/02/26

Sorry to my Patreon subscribers, since this is mostly a rerun episode from April 2019. It's a fun one, though!The teensy pumpkin toadlet [photo by Diogo B. Provete - http://calphotos.berkeley.edu, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6271494]: The electromagnetic spectrum. Look how tiny the visible light spectrum is on this scale! [By NASA - https://science.nasa.gov/ems/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97302056]: Show

en-US

11:29

Episode 368: The Bison

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/02/19

Thanks to Jason for suggesting this week's topic, the bison! Further reading: New research documents domestic cattle genetics in modern bison herds Higgs Bison: Mysterious Hybrid of Bison and Cattle Hidden in Ice Age Cave Art A cave painting of steppe bison and other animals: An American bison [photo by Kim Acker, taken from this site]: Some European bison [photo by Pryndak Vasyl, taken from this site]: The bison sound in this episode came from this site. Show transcript: Welcome to

en-US

9:56

Episode 367: The Marozi

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/02/12

Thanks to Pranav for suggesting this mystery big cat this week, the marozi! Further reading: From Black Lions to Living Sabre-Tooths: My Top Ten Mystery Cats Spotted Lions A young lioness who still has some of her cub spots: Subadult lions who still have a lot of cub spots: The skin of an animal supposedly killed in 1931 and said to be a marozi: Two photos of a "leopon," a lion-leopard hybrid bred in captivity in a Japanese zoo: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast

en-US

10:58

Episode 366: The Muntjac AKA Deer with Fangs

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/02/05

Thanks to Chuck for suggesting this week's topic, a weird little deer called the muntjac! Further reading: Dam Project Reveals Secret Sanctuary of Vanishing Deer Wildlife camera trap surveys provide new insights into the occurrence of two threatened Annamite endemics in Viet Nam and Laos Getting ahead (or two?) with Vietnam's Viking Deer - the Long-Running Saga of a Slow-Running Mystery Beast A giant muntjac [photo by Mark Kostich, taken from article linked above]: A Reeve's muntjac [photo

en-US

10:22

Episode 365: A New Temnospondyl

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/01/29

Let's take a look at some new findings about the temnospondyls this week! Further reading: Ancient giant amphibians swam like crocodiles 250 million years ago Fossil of Giant Triassic Amphibian Unearthed in Brazil Kwatisuchus rosai was an early amphibian [picture taken from article linked above]: Koolasuchus was a weird big-headed boi: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to revisit an animal we talked about way back in

en-US

15:52

Episode 364: Animals Who Will Outlive Us All

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/01/22

Thanks to Oz from Las Vegas for suggesting this week's topic! Further reading: Bobi, the supposed 'world's oldest dog' at 31, is little more than a shaggy dog story Greenland sharks live for hundreds of years Scientists Identify Genetic Drivers of Extreme Longevity in Pacific Ocean Rockfishes Scientists Sequence Chromosome-Level Genome of Aldabra Giant Tortoise Giant deep-sea worms may live to be 1,000 years old or more A Greenland shark [photo by Eric Couture, found at this site]: The

en-US

9:52

Episode 363: The Dodo and Friends

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/01/15

Thanks to Wilmer and Carson for suggesting we revisit the dodo! Further reading: Dodos and spotted green pigeons are descendants of an island-hopping bird On the possible vernacular name and origin of the extinct Spotted Green Pigeon Caloenus maculata Giant, fruit-gulping pigeon eaten into extinction on Pacific islands A taxidermied dodo: The Nicobar pigeon, happily still alive [photo by Devin Morris - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110541928]: The

en-US

12:23

Episode 362: The Sawfish and the Sawshark

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/01/08

Thanks to Murilo for suggesting this week's episode about the sawfish and the sawshark! Further Reading: Sawfish or sawshark? Two New Species of Sixgill Sawsharks Discovered Do not step: The underside of a largetooth sawfish [photo by J. Patrick Fischer - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17421638]: The sawshark has big eyes [photo by OpenCago.info - Wikimedia Commons [1], CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25240095]: A

en-US

9:26

Episode 361: The New Hominin

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2024/01/01

Welcome to 2024! Let's learn about some exciting new discoveries in our own family tree! Further reading: 476,000-Year-Old Wooden Structure Unearthed in Zambia Mysterious 300,000-year-old skull could be new species of human, researchers say Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. It’s time to start the new year off with an episode that has me really excited. I was initially going to include this in the updates episode that usually comes out around

en-US

431 results

Strange Animals Podcast

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Sean Carroll"s Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

Sean Carroll

Natural Resources University

Collaboration of land-grant universities

BrainStuff

iHeartPodcasts

Science Fiction Radio

solgoodmedia.com

Autobiography of an Electron

Charles R. Gibson