PODCAST

Strange Animals Podcast

Katherine Shaw

A podcast about living, extinct, and imaginary animals!

science natural sciences

All Episodes

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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10:44

Episode 112: The Bullfrog and the Raven

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/03/25

I am sick and sound like a frog, or possibly a raven, so here's a croaky episode about both! Thanks to Corbin Maxey of Animals to the Max and Simon for their suggestions! A bullfrog: A common raven: A baby raven: NOT a baby raven (it's probably a corncrake): Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Guess who has a cold! That’s right, I do! If this is the first episode you’ve ever listened to, I promise I don’t ordinarily sound like this. Because

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18:32

Episode 111: Poisonous moths, venomous bugs

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/03/18

Let’s get gross and horrible this week! Are there any bugs with so much venom they could kill you? What would happen if you ate 5,000 moth digestive tracts? Why am I even talking about this stuff? Listen and find out! Thanks to Grady and Tania for today’s topic suggestions! The giant silkworm moth caterpillar. Do not touch. No seriously, don't! You might d i e The southern flannel moth and its larva, a puss caterpillar. Fuzzy, yes, but don't pet the caterpillar: A luna moth and its

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13:21

Episode 110: Three mystery animals from India

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/03/11

Thanks to Pranav for this week’s suggestion! We’re going to look at three mystery animals from India, ones you may not have heard of. A photograph reportedly of a kallana pygmy elephant, although scale is hard to tell: A pink-headed duck, deceased: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. It’s time for a mystery animals episode, and this one was a suggestion from Pranav, who suggested mystery animals from India. Pranav also gave me lots of other

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13:11

Episode 109: Convergent Evolution

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/03/04

I mention convergent evolution occasionally, but what is it really? This week we learn about what it is and some animals that demonstrate it. Thanks to Richard E. and Llewelly for their suggestions this week! Jaguars and leopards look so similar I’m not 100% sure this picture actually shows one of each: The adorable sucker-footed bat from Madagascar: The equally adorable TOTALLY UNRELATED disk-winged bat from South America: Metriorhynchus looked a lot like a whale even though it was a

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22:33

Episode 108: Strange Things Found in Amber

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/02/25

Thanks to Nicholas for suggesting this week’s episode topic! Lots of strange and fascinating insects and other animals are found trapped in amber. So what is amber, how does it preserve animal parts, and most importantly, what have scientists found in amber? A millipede preserved in amber, one of 450 millipedes discovered in Myanmar amber. Somebody had to count them: A newly described insect that got its own order because it's so weird. Look at that triangular head with giant eyeballs! A

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12:34

Episode 107: Ankylosaurus and Stegosaurus

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/02/18

This week we’re going to learn about some armored dinosaurs, a suggestion by Damian! I love that there’s a stock picture of an ankylosaurus: Stegosaurus displaying its thagomizer: Thagomizer explained: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week’s episode is another suggestion, this one from Damian, who wants to learn about armored dinosaurs like stegosaurus. It turns out that stegosaurus and its relatives are really interesting, so thanks to

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18:39

Episode 106: Domestication with and without foxes

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/02/11

Thanks to M Is for Awesome, who suggested the topic of domestication! This week we look mainly at foxes and how they relate to the domestication of dogs. Also, chickens. Unlocked Patreon episode about chicken development and domestication: https://www.patreon.com/posts/21433845 A red fox: Domestic foxes want pets and cuddles also coffee: The fennec fox with toy I JUST DIED: The raccoon dog is actually a species of fox: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your

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14:24

Episode 105: The Hagfish and the Sea Spider

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2019/02/04

This week's episode is about two strange animals of the sea: the hagfish, which isn't a fish, and the sea spider, which isn't a spider. A curled-up hagfish: The sea spider is actually quite pretty as long as I don't have to touch it: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. A long long long time ago, and I can’t even remember which episode it was, I mentioned that one day I would do an episode about the hagfish because it’s such a weird animal. Well,

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