PODCAST

Strange Animals Podcast

Katherine Shaw

A podcast about living, extinct, and imaginary animals!

science natural sciences

All Episodes

10:26

Episode 447: So Many Legs!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/08/25

Thanks to Mila for suggesting one of our topics today!Further reading: The mystery of the ‘missing’ giant millipede Never-before-seen head of prehistoric, car-size 'millipede' solves evolutionary mystery A centipede compared to a millipede: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Let’s finish invertebrate August this year with two arthropods. One is a suggestion from Mila and the other is a scientific mystery that was solved by a recent discovery, at least

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9:13

Episode 446: Termites

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/08/18

Thanks to Yonatan and Eilee for this week's suggestion!Further reading: Replanted rainforests may benefit from termite transplants A vast 4,000-year-old spatial pattern of termite mounds A family of termites has been traversing the world's oceans for millions of years Worker termites [photo from this site]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we have a topic I’ve been wanting to cover for a while, suggested by both Yonatan and Eilee. It’s

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7:01

Episode 445: Salinella

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/08/11

It's a tiny mystery animal! Further reading: Salinella – what the crap was it? Some of Frenzel's drawings of Salinella: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Johannes Frenzel was a German zoologist in the 19th century. He worked in Argentina for several years, studying microscopic and near-microscopic animals, and seemed to be a perfectly good scientist who did good work but didn’t make a real splash. But these days he’s remembered for a mystery

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10:00

Episode 444: Diskagma and Horodyskia

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/08/04

It's Invertebrate August! These creatures are the most invertebrate-y of all! Further reading: Dubious Diskagma Horodyskia is among the oldest multicellular macroorganisms, finds study A painting of diskagma, taken from the top link above: Little brown jug flowers (not related to diskagma in any way!): Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This episode started out as the March 2025 Patreon episode, but there was more I wanted to add to it that I didn’t

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1:07

The Books Have Been Claimed! and a bonus mouse

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/07/28

I just wanted everyone to know that a listener has claimed the books and magazines I offered for giveaway in episode 443. You can also learn about 60 seconds' worth of information about the African pygmy mouse. The tiniest mouse [photo by Alouise Lynch - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59068329]:

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8:21

Episode 443: Ant Lions and the Horrible Seal Problem

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/07/28

Thanks to Jayson and warblrwatchr for suggesting this week's invertebrates!Further reading: Parasite of the Day: Orthohalarachne attenuata Trap-jaw ants jump with their jaws to escape the antlion’s den Get out of my noooooose: An ant lion pit: An ant lion larva: A lovely adult antlion, Nannoleon, which lives in parts of Africa [photo by Alandmanson - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58068259]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast

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9:19

Episode 442: Trees and Megafauna

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/07/21

Further reading: The Trees That Miss the Mammoths The disappearance of mastodons still threatens the native forests of South America Study reveals ancient link between mammoth dung and pumpkin pie A mammoth, probably about to eat something: The Osage orange fruit looks like a little green brain: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Way back at the end of 2017, I found an article called “The Trees That Miss the Mammoths,” and made a Patreon episode

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11:25

Episode 441: Mean Birds

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/07/14

Thanks to Maryjane and Siya for their suggestions this week!Further reading: Look, don’t touch: birds with dart frog poison in their feathers found in New Guinea The hooded pitohui: The rufous-naped bellbird: The regent whistler: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to learn about some birds that by human standards seem pretty mean, although of course the birds are just being birds. Thanks to Maryjane and Siya for their

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10:27

Episode 440: Trilobites!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/07/07

Thanks to Micah for suggesting this week's topic, the trilobite!Further reading: The Largest Trilobites Stunning 3D images show anatomy of 500 million-year-old Cambrian trilobites entombed in volcanic ash Strange Symmetries #06: Trilobite Tridents Trilobite Ventral Structures A typical trilobite: Isotelus rex, the largest trilobite ever found [photo from the first link above]: Walliserops showing off its trident [picture by TheFossilTrade - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

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9:43

Episode 439: The Missing Echidna

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/06/30

Thanks to Cara for suggesting we talk about the long-beaked echidna this week!Further reading: Found at last: bizarre, egg-laying mammal finally rediscovered after 60 years A short-beaked echidna: The rediscovered Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna: 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 Cara, the echidna, also called the spiny anteater. It’s a type of mammal, but it’s very different from

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7:15

Episode 438: The Dragon Man Skull

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/06/23

This week we're going to learn about a new finding about the skull referred to as the Dragon Man!Further reading: We’ve had a Denisovan skull since the 1930s—only nobody knew The proteome of the late Middle Pleistocene Harbin individual Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. It never fails that only a few days after our annual updates episode, a study is published that’s an important update to an older episode. This time it’s an update so important that

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15:49

Episode 437: Updates 8 and the Nutria

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/06/16

Thanks to Nicholas, Måns, Warblrwatchr, Llewelly, and Emerson this week, in our yearly updates episode!Further reading: An Early Cretaceous Tribosphenic Mammal and Metatherian Evolution Guam's invasive tree snakes loop themselves into lassos to reach their feathered prey Rhythmically trained sea lion returns for an encore -- and performs as well as humans Scientists Solve Mystery of Brown Giant Pandas Elephant turns a hose into a sophisticated showering tool New name for one of the world’s

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5:40

Episode 436: Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/06/09

Thanks to Trech for suggesting this week's topic, the red-eyed tree frog!Further reading: Tadpoles hatch in seconds to escape predator The colorful red-eyed tree frog [photo by Geoff Gallice]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to have a short little episode about a little frog, suggested by Trech. The frog in question is the red-eyed tree frog, which is native to Central America, including parts of Mexico, and northwestern

en-US

9:03

Episode 435: The Narwhal and the Unicorn

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/06/02

Thanks to Owen and Aksel, and Dylan and Emily for their suggestions this week!Further reading: Where did the unicorn myth come from? The narwhal is my favorite whale: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to look at an animal suggested by Owen and Aksel, and a related suggestion by Dylan and Emily. Owen and Aksel suggested we talk about the narwhal, which we haven’t really discussed since episode 5 even though it’s one of my

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6:08

Episode 434: The Real Life Dragon

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/05/26

Thanks to Jaxon for suggesting this week's topic, Coelurosauravus!Further reading: Coelurosauravus New Research Reveals Secrets of First-Ever Gliding Reptile The modern Draco lizard glides on "wings" made from extended rib bones: Coelurosauravus glided on wings that were completely different from any other wings known [art from the first link above]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to learn about an extinct animal

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10:08

Episode 433: Flamingos and Two Weird Friends

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/05/19

Thanks to Ryder, Alexandria, and Simon for their suggestions this week! Let's learn about three remarkable wading birds. Two of them are pink!Bird sounds taken from the excellent website xeno-canto. The goliath heron is as tall as people [picture by Steve Garvie from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland - Goliath Heron (Ardea goliath), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12223810]: The roseate spoonbill has a bill shaped like a spoon, you may notice [picture by Photo Dante -

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10:37

Episode 432: The Fossa and Other Animals of Madagascar

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/05/12

This week we learn about the fossa and a few other animals of Madagascar, a suggestion by Pranav!Further reading: The stories people tell, and how they can contribute to our understanding of megafaunal decline and extinction in Madagascar The fossa! The votsotsa is a rodent, not a rabbit! [photo by Andrey Giljov - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113271739]: The golden mantella frog is sometimes golden, but sometimes red: The nano-chameleon may be

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10:25

Episode 431: The New Dire Wolf

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/05/05

Thanks to Jayson for suggesting this week's topic, the new "dire wolf"! Also, possibly the same but maybe a different Jayson is the youngest member of the Cedar Springs Homeschool Science Olympiad Team, who are on their way to the Science Olympiad Nationals! They're almost to their funding goal if you can help out.Further reading: Dire wolves and woolly mammoths: Why scientists are worried about de-extinction The story of dire wolves goes beyond de-extinction These fluffy white wolves explain

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11:02

Episode 430: The Fake and the Real Coelacanth

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/04/28

This week we examine two recent articles about coelacanth discoveries. Which one is real and which one is fake?!Further reading: Fake California Coelacanth First record of a living coelacanth from North Maluku, Indonesia A real coelacanth photo: A fake coelacanth photo (or at least the article is a fake) [photo taken from the first article linked above]: A real coelacanth photo [photo from the second article linked above]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your

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7:15

Episode 429: Foxes!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/04/21

Thanks to Katie, Torin, and Eilee for suggesting this week's topic, foxes! Further reading: Meet the Endangered Sierra Nevada Red Fox Long snouts protect foxes when diving headfirst in snow Black bears may play important role in protecting gray fox The red fox: A black and gold Sierra Nevada red fox [photo taken from the first link above]: The extremely fluffy Arctic fox: The gray fox [photo by VJAnderson - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

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