PODCAST

Strange Animals Podcast

Katherine Shaw

A podcast about living, extinct, and imaginary animals!

science natural sciences

All Episodes

12:33

Episode 190: The Northern Gannet and Plotopterids

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/09/21

Thanks 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

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10:32

Episode 189: The Handfish and the Lumpsucker

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/09/14

This week we have two more listener suggestions, so thanks to Rosy and Simon! They both suggested small but intensely interesting fish! Further reading: The Handfish Conservation Project - Name a Fish! Further watching: Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker making adorable faces The only smooth handfish specimen in the whole world: In case you were wondering why it's called a handfish (this one is a spotted handfish): A red handfish. You'd be angry too if there were fewer than 100 individuals left in

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10:54

BONUS! All about animal poop

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/09/07

BONUS TIME! A dung beetle rolling some poop: Butterflies on poop: Wombat poop is cubes! Show transcript: Welcome to a bonus episode made out of a bonus episode. Since this week’s topic is one that some adults may decide they don’t want their young kids listening to, because it goes into detail about hyena reproduction, I decided to unlock a Patreon bonus episode for everyone to listen to. But then I decided to actually release that episode so that listeners can download it normally in the

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13:24

Episode 188: The Hyena and Hyaenodon

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/09/07

This 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

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14:58

Episode 187: The Praying Mantis and the Cockroach

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/08/31

We finish off Invertebrate August in style, with great suggestions from Rosy and Kim! Also, I was a guest on The Flopcast last week if you want to hear me talking about DragonCon and birding with my friend Kevin! Also, he actually has a few pictures of me if you want to know what I look like (I hate having my picture taken). Further Reading: Why Do Mantids Only Have One Ear? Secrets of the orchid mantis revealed In this new praying mantis group, gender dictates disguise Male (left) and female

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21:21

Episode 186: Velvet Animals

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/08/24

This week's episode is about some invertebrates who look like they're made of velvet! Thanks to Rosy and Simon for their suggestions! Further reading: Red Velvet Mite Chigger Bites Structure and pigment make the eyed elater's eyespots black The red velvet mite looks like a tiny red velvet cake but is NOT CAKE, NOT A SPIDER, NOT A SPIDER CAKE: GIANT RED VELVET MITE: Regular sized red velvet mites on a fingertip and one parasitizing a daddy long legs spider: An eastern velvet ant

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24:42

Episode 185: Ice Worms, Army Ants, and Other Strange...

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/08/17

Let's learn about some weird insects this week! Thanks to Llewelly for suggesting army ants! Further reading: If you're interested in the magazine Flying Snake, I recommend it! You can order online or print issues by emailing the editor, Richard Muirhead, at the address on the website, and there's a collection of the first five issues on Amazon here (in the U.S.) or here (UK)! The magnificent, tiny ice worm! The dark speckles in the snow (left) are dozens of ice worms, and the ones on the right

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14:12

Episode 184: The Mosquito!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/08/10

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

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17:40

Episode 183: BEES! AKA honey and “honey”

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/08/03

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 off a full

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15:55

Episode 182: The Coconut Crab and Friends

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/07/27

Join us this week for some interesting crabs! Thanks to Charles for suggesting the aethra crab! Aethra crabs look like little rocks, although some people (who must be REALLY hungry) think they look like potato chips: A hermit crab using a light bulb bottom as an inadequate shell: The tiniest hermit crab: Gimme shell pls: THE BIGGEST HERMIT CRAB, the coconut crab. It really is this big: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. We have a bunch

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22:40

Episode 181: Updates 3 and a lake monster!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/07/20

It's our annual updates and corrections episode, with a fun mystery animal at the end! Thanks to everyone who contributed, including Bob, Richard J. who is my brother, Richard J. who isn't my brother, Connor, Simon, Sam, Llewelly, Andrew Gable of the excellent Forgotten Darkness Podcast, and probably many others whose names I didn't write down! Further reading: Northern bald ibis (Akh-bird) Researchers learn more about teen-age T. rex A squid fossil offers a rare record of pterosaur feeding

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15:38

Episode 180: Synchronous Fireflies

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/07/13

Thanks 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

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13:25

Episode 179: Lost and Found Animals

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/07/06

This week let's learn about some animals that were discovered by science, then not seen again and presumed extinct...until they turned up again, safe and sound! Further reading: A nose-horned dragon lizard lost to science for over 100 years has been found Modigliani's nose-horned lizard has a nose horn, that's for sure: Before the little guy above was rediscovered, we basically just had this painting and an old museum specimen: The deepwater trout: The dinosaur ant: The dinosaur ant

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13:46

Episode 178: The Koolakamba

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/06/29

Let'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 and baby: Show

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14:39

Episode 177: The Mush-khush-shu, AKA the Sirrush

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/06/22

This week we'll look at an ancient mystery from the Middle East, a mythological dragon-like animal called the Mush-khush-shu, popularly known as the sirrush. Thanks to Richard J. for the suggestion! The Ishtar Gate (left, a partial reconstruction of the gate in a Berlin museum; right, a painting of the gate as it would have looked): The sirrush of the Ishtar Gate: Two depictions of Silesaurus: The desert monitor, best lizard: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast

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13:01

Episode 176: More Globsters and Horrible Carcasses

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/06/15

We have more mystery animals this week, horrible carcasses that have washed ashore and are hard to identify! It's a sequel to our popular Globsters episode, episode 87. None of these are actual mysteries but they're all pretty gross and awesome. (I don't know what I did wrong with the audio but it sounds bad, sorry. I just got a new laptop and have been experimenting with improving audio, and this was obviously a failed experiment.) Further reading: The Conakry monster:

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12:02

Episode 175: Three Small Mystery Animals

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/06/08

This week we've got three more mystery animals, but they're small instead of gigantic! Also, I didn't say anything about it in the episode, but Black lives matter. Stay safe and fight for justice, everyone. The water chevrotain: The real-life face-scratcher monster, Schizodactylus monstrosus, more properly known as a dune cricket: Flying ants: It's flying ants, that's what it is: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to

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14:40

Episode 174: MONSTER CEPHALOPODS!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/06/01

It's a bonus monster month in June, because everything is awful and learning about monsters will take our minds off the awfulness. This week let's learn about some mysterious stories from around the world that feature huge octopus or squid! Further watching: River Monsters episode about the Lusca A colossal squid, up close to that gigantic eyeball: Blue holes in the ocean and on land: A giant Pacific octopus swimming: The popular image of the kraken since the 1750s: Show

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11:03

Episode 173: The Mystery of the Forest Raven

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/05/25

We have a fun mystery bird this week, the forest raven! Was it a real bird??? (hint: yes, but not a raven) The "forest raven" illustration from Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner's Historiae Animalium, published in 1555: Scans of the original pages about the forest raven. It's written in Latin: The Northern bald ibis. Wacky hair! Flying bald ibises: Further viewing: This Weird Bird May Have Been the First Protected Species Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your

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13:43

Episode 172: Temnospondyls

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2020/05/18

This week let's go back back back in time to more than 300 million years ago, when amphibian-like animals lived in enormous swamps. Don't be fooled by the word amphibian: many Temnospondyls were really big! Further reading: Palaeos Temnospondyli Dvinosaurus, three feet long and full of teeth: And Sclerocephalus, five feet long and full of teeth. This one has a couple of larvae nearby: Fayella (art by Nix) Nigerpeton's astonishing NOSE TEETH: Mastodonsaurus had nose teeth too and it

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