PODCAST

Strange Animals Podcast

Katherine Shaw

A podcast about living, extinct, and imaginary animals!

science natural sciences

All Episodes

21:36

Episode 132: Paleontological Frauds

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/08/12

Ever heard of the Piltdown Man? What about Missourium or Archaeoraptor? They're all frauds! Let's learn about them and more this week. Further reading: The Chimeric Missourium and Hydrarchos Investigation of a claim of a late-surviving pterosaur and exposure of a taxidermic hoax: the case of Cornelius Meyer's dragon Missourium was literally an extra mastodon: Hydrarchos (left) was a lot more, um, exciting than its fossil donors, six Basilosauruses (right): Piltdown man's suspicious

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17:41

Episode 131: Paleontological Mistakes

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/08/05

Part of the scientific method involves making mistakes and correcting them. Here are some interesting and sometimes goofy mistakes made by paleontologists through the years, and how the mistakes were corrected. Iguanodon did not actually look like this (left). It looked like this (right): Pterosaur did not actually look like this (left). It looked like this (right): Elasmosaurus did not actually look like this (left). It looked like this (right): Apatosaurus/brontosaurus did not

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16:54

Episode 130: Strangest Small Fish

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/07/29

This week we're going to revisit a suggestion from Damian and follow up on episode 96, our strangest big fish episode. This time let's find out about some weird small fish! The teeny, newly-discovered American pocket shark: The brownsnout spookfish wears its mirror sunglasses on the INSIDE: The goblinfish with a dangerous head and basically a dangerous everything else too: Two teeny pygmy seahorses. Can you spot them? Hint: they're the ones with eyes. The razorfish. Just another sea

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22:11

Episode 129: The blurry line between animals and plants

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/07/22

This week we're looking at some really strange animals...or are they plants? Or both? We'll start with the sea anemone, then learn about a sea slug that photosynthesizes like a plant (sort of), then learn a little about whether algae is a plant or an animal...and then we're off and running through the wild world of carnivorous plants--including some carnivorous plants of mystery! Thanks to Joshua Hobbs of A Degree in Nonsense for the suggestion, and to Simon for the article link I've already

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13:31

Episode 128: Weird Pigs

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/07/15

If you think pigs are just cute little pink animals that go oink, you definitely need to listen to this week's episode! Further listening (two unlocked Patreon episodes): Weird teeth featuring the babirusa Peccaries Further reading: More about the swamp pig of Hungary An adorable pygmy hog: A Javan warty pig, looking magnificent: An actual warthog, not a cartoon warthog, just sayin: A giant forest hog, looking kind of similar to the warthog but bigger: A wild boar looking

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18:43

Episode 127: New World Vultures

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/07/08

This week we'll learn about some vultures from North and South America--some living, some extinct, and one mystery! Thanks to Maureen and Grady for their suggestions! Thanks also to Kat White for the Turkey Vulture Song that opens the podcast! If you'd like to buy her album "In the Eye of the Owl," visit her website at katwhitemusic.com/ Further listening: CritterCast episode 35 Turkey Vultures How to tell a turkey vulture apart from a black vulture: The king vulture has a very bright

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12:47

Episode 126: The Hedgehog and the Moonrat

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/07/01

This week thanks to Romy, who suggested the topic of hedgehogs! And researching hedgehogs led me to their only close relation, the moonrat. Hedgehogs are adorable: Pictures of listener QuillviaPlath's adorable friend Delilah, an African pygmy hedgehog. Delilah has crossed the Rainbow Bridge since these pictures were taken, but QuillviaPlath has a rescue hedgehog named Lily now and will soon be adopting another rescue named Toodles too! Moonrats are a little less adorable but still

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11:38

Episode 125: Triceratops and other ceratopsids

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/06/24

It’s time to learn about some more dinosaurs, ceratopsids, including the well-known Triceratops! Triceratops: An artist’s frankly awesome rendition of Sinoceratops. I love it: A Kosmoceratops skull: Pachyrhinosaurus had a massive snoot: Protoceratops: Fighting dinos! Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Back in episode 107, about ankylosaurus and stegosaurus, I mentioned that one day I’d do an episode all about triceratops and its

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13:38

Episode 124: Updates 2 and a new human

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/06/17

It’s our second updates and corrections episode! Thanks to everyone who sent in corrections and suggestions for this one! It’s not as comprehensive as I’d have liked, but there’s lots of interesting stuff in here. Stick around to the end to learn about a new species of human recently discovered on the island of Luzon. The triple-hybrid warbler: Further reading: New species of ancient human discovered in the Philippines: Homo luzonensis Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m

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17:04

Episode 123: Linnaeus’s mystery animals

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/06/10

Carolus Linnaeus was a botanist who worked out modern taxonomy and binomial nomenclature, but there are two mystery animals associated with his work. Let’s find out about them! Rembrandt sketched this elephant whose skeleton is now the type specimen of the Asian elephant: Linnaeus’s original entry about Furia infernalis: Further reading: Ewen Callaway, “Linnaeus’s Asian elephant was wrong species” Karl Shuker, “Linnaeus’s Hellish Fury Worm – The History (and Mystery) of a Non-Existent

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12:11

Episode 122: Strange Shark Ancestors

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/06/03

This week let’s learn about some ancestors of sharks and shark relatives that looked very strange compared to most sharks today! Stethacanthus fossil and what the living fish might have looked like: Two Falcatus fossils, female above, male below with his dorsal spine visible: Xenacanthus looked more like an eel than a shark: Ptychodus was really big, but not as big as the things that ate it: A Helicoprion tooth whorl and what a living Helicoprion might have looked like: Show

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18:16

Episode 121: Cave Dwelling Animals

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/05/27

This week let’s learn about some animals that live in caves! The dipluran Haplocampa: Oilbirds and their big black eyes: A swiftlet: The angel cave fish that can walk on its fins like a salamander walks on its feet: Leptodirus, carrying around some air in its abdomen in case it needs some air: The cave robber spider and its teeny hooked feet: The devils hole pupfish: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Way back in episode 27 we

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14:54

Episode 120: Hybrid Animals

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/05/20

If you’re a subscriber on Patreon, you may recognize some of the information in this episode, but I’ve updated it and added a whole bunch. Thanks to Pranav for the topic suggestion! A cama, llama/camel hybrid: A swoose, swan/goose hybrid: Motty the Asian/African elephant hybrid and his mother: A zorse, zebra/horse hybrid: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’ve got another listener suggestion. Pranav really really wants me to do

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13:44

Episode 119: Before the Dinosaurs

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/05/13

What kinds of animals lived before dinosaurs evolved? What did they evolve into? Let’s find out! Dimetrodon! Not a dinosaur! Not even actually a reptile: Cotylorhynchus had a teeny head. I am not even exaggerating: Moschops had a big thick skull: Lisowicia was the size of an elephant but looked like…well, not like an elephant: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Lots of people know about dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are really interesting. But do you

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14:46

Episode 118: The Hummingbird

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/05/06

This week’s episode is about the world’s tiniest birds, the hummingbird! Thanks to Tara for the suggestion! The bee hummingbird: The giant hummingbird: The giant giant hummingbird: If you’re interested in my little side project, Real Life Cooking Podcast, here’s the URL (or you can just search for it in your regular podcast app): https://reallifecooking.blubrry.net/ Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week is another listener suggestion,

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10:59

Episode 117: The Linsang and the Walrus

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/04/29

Thanks to Sam and Damian this week for their great suggestions! This week we’re going to learn about the Asiatic linsang (both banded and spotted linsangs) and the walrus! The banded linsang looks like a realllly stretched-out cat: The walrus is not so stretched out: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to learn about two mammals that are not related and have nothing to do with each other, but they’re both really interesting

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18:48

Episode 116: Amazing Hoofed Animals

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/04/22

This week we’re taking a bunch of listener suggestions and learning about a bunch of amazing hoofed animals! Thanks to Richard E., Pranav, Grady, and Simon for all their suggestions! A pronghorn antelope, which is NEITHER AN ANTELOPE NOR A DEER: A musk deer, which is NOT ACTUALLY A DEER AND ACTUALLY LOOKS A LOT LIKE A KANGAROO OR RABBIT WITH FANGS: A chevrotain, or mouse deer, which is ALSO NOT A DEER AND LOOKS LIKE A RODENT FRANKLY (lesser mouse deer on left, water chevrotain on right)

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22:57

Episode 115: Giant Rabbits and King Hares

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/04/15

This week let’s learn about some giant-sized rabbits and hares! Also some regular-sized ones. Further listening: Life, Death & Taxonomy podcast episode about the Collared Pika Further reading: Dr Karl Shuker's post about giant rabbits and hares The National Cryptid Society's post about giant rabbits and hares An eastern cottontail rabbit: The Flemish giant looks Photoshopped. It's a big bunny: A European hare (also called the brown hare): The Belgian hare is a domestic rabbit bred to

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12:47

Episode 114: The Depths of the Sea of Cortez

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/04/08

The Gulf of California, AKA the Sea of Cortez, is home to thousands upon thousands of animals, many of them not found anywhere else in the world. New research expeditions in its deep-sea fissures and trenches have turned up some amazing new animals too. Let's take a look at a few of them! Thanks to Hally for this week's topic suggestion! The lollipop catshark sounds cuter than it is: The black brotula: A super creepy grenadier fish. Look at those EYES: A type of batfish. It uses its stiff

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11:29

Episode 113: Horned Hares and Winged Cats

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/04/01

It's April Fool's Day, but while these two mystery animals may mostly be associated with hoaxes and tall tales, there's a really interesting nugget of truth in both. Unlocked Patreon episode about mammals with nose horns Further reading: Dr Karl P N Shuker's blog post about winged cats and his blog post about horned hares Traditional drawings of horned hares: You can take classes in taxidermy that specialize in making jackalopes! A genuine horned hare (with an extreme case of SPV): A

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