PODCAST

Strange Animals Podcast

Katherine Shaw

A podcast about living, extinct, and imaginary animals!

science natural sciences

All Episodes

13:25

Episode 340: Whale Lice and Sea Lice

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/08/07

Thanks 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

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13:00

Episode 339: The Tully Monster!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/07/31

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

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19:50

Episode 338: Updates 6 and an Arboreal Clam!?!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/07/24

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

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9:49

Episode 337: Ghost Shrimp and Snapping Shrimp

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/07/17

Thanks 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 episode about a few different types of shrimp,

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9:43

Episode 336: The Turtle Ant and the Alien Butt Spider

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/07/10

Thanks 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 butt spider hides during the

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7:10

Episode 335: Large Blue Butterfly vs Ants

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/07/03

We'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

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9:15

Episode 334: Piranha!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/06/26

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

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13:36

Episode 333: Robins and Ravens

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/06/19

Thanks to Liesbet, Simon, and Thea for their suggestions this week! Let's learn about some birds! Further reading: Blue Tits and Milk Bottle Tops Ravens parallel great apes in flexible planning for tool-use and bartering Further watching: A Raven Calling [this is a great video of a raven making all sorts of interesting sounds--I only used a tiny clip of it in the episode but it's worth watching the whole thing] The European robin: The American robin and a worm that is having a very bad

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10:37

Episode 332: Hunting Partners and Mutualism

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/06/12

Thanks 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

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10:43

Episode 331: Ompax, the Mystery Fish

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/06/05

This 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

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8:35

Episode 330: Vintana and Tiarajudens

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/05/29

Thanks 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

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13:19

Episode 329: Manatees and a Surprise Sloth

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/05/22

Thanks 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. The

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6:48

Episode 328: Giant Ants

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/05/15

Thanks 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

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8:56

Episode 327: The Humble Marmot

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/05/08

Thanks 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

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12:55

Episode 326: The Harpy Eagle and Friends

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/05/01

Thanks 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

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7:59

Episode 325: The Burrunjor

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/04/24

We 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

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14:20

Episode 324: The Tenrec and Adalatherium

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/04/17

We 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

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7:14

Episode 323: The Kinkajou

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/04/10

Thanks 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 olingo, and

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8:55

Episode 322: The Javelina and Other Peccaries

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/04/03

Thanks 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

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9:09

Episode 321: Archaeopteryx

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2023/03/27

We 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

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