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PODCAST

Paleo Bites

Welcome to Paleo Bites, the weekly podcast hosted by Matthew Donald where we make dumb jokes, reference pop culture, derail like crazy, and oh yeah, discuss and rate dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. Each episode Matthew and a rotating set of guest co-hosts talk about a different genus of primeval critter, explain basic stats, exchange plenty of banter, barely fact-check, and at the end, rate the creature one out of 65 million for any reason, including but not limited to sexiness, mana, and

comedy natural sciences

All Episodes

26:06

Anurognathus, the Frog Jaw

Paleo Bites ·

2025/09/23

(image source: https://jurassic-world-san-diego.fandom.com/wiki/Anurognathus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Anurognathus, a freaky looking bat-frog thing that’s actually a pterosaur and thus closely related to birds and crocodiles. Nature’s weird, I gotta say. From the Late Jurassic, this 12-inch anurognathid pterosaur ate bugs and flapped its little wings and probably got terrified of moths. That’s just speculation, but it makes sense, right? I’m terrified of moths. I’m

en

25:09

Corythosaurus, the Helmeted Lizard

Paleo Bites ·

2025/09/16

(image source: https://jurassicpark.fandom.com/wiki/Corythosaurus/JW:_E) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Corythosaurus, a duckbilled dinosaur with a helmet on its head… except not so much a helmet, as I doubt it would help much against collisions with street pavement or Ankylosaurus clubs. But hey, maybe it would. I’d welcome being surprised. From the Late Cretaceous, this 30-foot lambeosaurine hadrosaurid is one of the few animals we know how it sounded, as we’ve

en

22:09

Argentinosaurus, the Argentine Lizard

Paleo Bites ·

2025/09/09

(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Argentinosaurus-pictures) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Argentinosaurus, a really, really, REALLY big longneck. Like, REALLY big. Oh, and it’s also from Argentina. From the Late Cretaceous, this 100-foot titanosaurid was… goddang, it was SO big! Like seriously, look at it! LOOK AT IT! I am bereft of joke-making capability seeing this thing! At least, even more bereft than I normally am. Want to further support the show

en

17:19

Rhamphorhynchus, the Beak Snout

Paleo Bites ·

2025/09/02

(image source: https://fossil.fandom.com/wiki/Rhamphorhynchus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Rhamphorhynchus, a sea pterosaur with a lot of pointy teeth and even more unnecessary H’s in its name. No word should have that many ‘H’ letters in it, and if you disagree, shhhh! From the Late Jurassic, this six-foot wingspan pterosaur had a big pointy fin at the end of its tail that inspired a lot of dragon art, which is pretty cool. Not as cool as if this thing somehow actually

en

14:44

Vaderlimulus, the Horseshoe Crab of Darth Vader

Paleo Bites ·

2025/08/26

(image source: https://www.deviantart.com/ntvtiko/art/Vaderlimulus-tricki-754817629) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Allen Brooks discuss Vaderlimulus, a horseshoe crab that looked like Darth Vader, or at least like the top of Darth Vader’s helmet. The hat part of the helmet, you know? I bet this gives great helmet. From the Early Triassic, this 4-inch xiphosuran arthropod was your father… at least if you were the little spawn of one of these things. If not, and you’re just a lousy human, this

en

20:08

Kosmoceratops, the Ornate Horned Face

Paleo Bites ·

2025/08/19

(image source: https://eartharchives.org/articles/kosmoceratops-was-the-frilliest-of-all-the-ceratopsians/) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Kosmoceratops, a very horny dinosaur in that it had the most horns of any horned dinosaurs. Although maybe it was also horny in the other sense. What it did in its time is none of my business. From the Late Cretaceous, this 16-foot centrosaurine ceratopsian wasn’t space-themed like its name suggested, which is a shame, as I love the

en

21:56

Shunosaurus, the Lizard of the Sichuan Province

Paleo Bites ·

2025/08/12

(image source: https://jurassicpark.fandom.com/wiki/Shunosaurus/JW:_TG?file=Shunosaurus.png) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Shunosaurus, a small longneck dinosaur that’s not very notable except it has a club at the end of its tail. That’s not that notable either, Shunny-boy. I have a club too! A “Cool Dino Fan” club, currently the only members being me and my mom. From the Mid to Late Jurassic, this 35-foot eusauropod sauntered around its marshy Jurassic scrubland while

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25:58

Hatzegopteryx, the Wing of Hateg Basin

Paleo Bites ·

2025/08/05

(image source: https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/5kg0O0I-asset-mezzanine-16x9-RIS0K1C.png) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Hatzegopteryx, the last shadow the poor dwarf dino islanders of the Hateg basin ever saw. Oh, watch out, Zalmoxes! You’re gonna get et by a jet. From the Late Cretaceous, this 36-foot wingspan azhdarchid pterosaur was basically a giraffe with wings. And a big beak poke of death. And was carnivorous. And could fly. So not really a giraffe. But it looked

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17:56

"Suciasaurus rex," the State Dinosaur of Washington

Paleo Bites ·

2025/07/29

(image source: https://www.heraldnet.com/northwest/suciasaurus-rex-named-washington-states-official-dinosaur/) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Jason Zolle discuss “Suciasaurus rex,” an informally named fossil that’s probably Daspletosaurus or something but that’s not the state dinosaur of Washington, is it? Listen to our episode on that particular genus. Oh wait, we haven’t actually done an episode on Daspletosaurus yet. Someday, though. From the Late Cretaceous, this possible 30-foot

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15:16

Hoplitosaurus, the Hoplite Lizard

Paleo Bites ·

2025/07/22

(original image source: https://images.dinosaurpictures.org/sauropelta_5c34.jpg)Happy 300 episodes! Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Leonychus the Hoplitosaurus, King of the Lakota Formation, discuss (by performing an overly dramatic farcical audiodrama) Hoplitosaurus, a heavily defended creature that fought the encroaching Acrocanthosaurus armies... except that dinosaur was from a different formation and there's no evidence these two species met. But that's why they're encroaching in this

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20:10

Rhizodus, the Rooted Tooth

Paleo Bites ·

2025/07/15

(image source: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Rhizodus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Rhizodus, the largest ever freshwater fish that had so much rizz it lived for 30 million whole years. Rhizodus-dizz, thanks for all the rizz! From the Early Carboniferous, this 20-foot sarcopterygian was actually more closely related to us humans than other fish, although it wasn’t necessarily a direct ancestor, just related. I will personally leave no descendants, so the birthing

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20:20

Shantungosaurus, the Lizard of the Shandong Province

Paleo Bites ·

2025/07/08

(image source: https://makerworld.com/en/models/767570-shantungosaurus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Shantungosaurus, a big big BIG duckbilled dinosaur, and in fact the biggest non-sauropod dinosaur ever! Then again, I’m the biggest guy named Matthew who’s written a book called Megazoic. Probably, anyways. From the Late Cretaceous, this 56-foot saurolophine hadrosaurid dealt with its own Chinese version of T. rex called Zhuchengtyrannus, making it a prequel of sorts to

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20:50

Catactegenys, the Crushing Jaw

Paleo Bites ·

2025/07/01

(image source: http://bit.ly/4kjy8Dk)Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Allen Brooks discuss Catactegenys, a type of night lizard, which is a group still alive today BUUUUT there’s a really big and exciting study about them involving the big meteor that killed the dinosaurs so it counts. I make the rules! From the Late Cretaceous to the Late Holocene (i.e., right now), this family of squamate reptiles might have been the only terrestrial vertebrates to survive in the vicinity of the Chicxulub

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29:56

Shuvuuia, the Mongolian Bird

Paleo Bites ·

2025/06/24

(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Shuvuuia-pictures) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-hosts Jaymes Buckman and their boyfriend Toby discuss Shuvuuia, the tiny, quirky desert-dwelling dino-bird-thing that proves you don’t need claws, wings, or teeth to be iconic, just a good sense of direction and a thirst for termites. Yum. From the Late Cretaceous, this 3-foot alvarezsaurid scurried through the Mongolian night with killer hearing and night vision like the prehistoric version of a goth

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19:39

Gallimimus, the Chicken Mimic

Paleo Bites ·

2025/06/17

(image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/gallimimus-paleoart-by-me--236087205460103553/) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Gallimimus, a classic dinosaur and pioneer of the visual effects industry… at least for us humans. I doubt it dabbled in any visual effects work itself. From the Late Cretaceous, this 20-foot ornithomimosaur had its big scene in Jurassic Park where it ran in glorious early 90s CGI and revolutionized filmmaking to the woes of anti-CGI film bros

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21:47

Enhydriodon, the Otter Tooth

Paleo Bites ·

2025/06/10

(image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/676736281530757612/)Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Enhydriodon, a giant species of otter that you really otter avoid. That’s the kind of humor you should expect on this show. I truly can’t believe we’re nearing 300 episodes. From the Early Pliocene, this 7-foot mustelid was believed to be mostly terrestrial but very comfortable in the water, akin to the tigers of today. So it’s an otter not in the water? What’s the otter with

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21:48

Megantereon, the Giant Beast

Paleo Bites ·

2025/06/03

(image source: https://newdinosaurs.com/megantereon/) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Megantereon, a fairly typical saber-toothed cat with one major claim to fame in that we have direct evidence of it hunting early humans, so any time you think there’s danger in the darkness, you can thank this guy for instilling that instinct into you. Thanks, Megantereon! I really appreciate running upstairs after turning off the basement lights so the Shadow Figure doesn’t get me;

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22:35

Scleromochlus, the Hard Limb

Paleo Bites ·

2025/05/27

(image source: https://prehistoria.fandom.com/es/wiki/Scleromochlus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Scleromochlus, a cute little dude with absolutely nothing remarkable about it on its own and is more interesting in what it evolved into; this guy was in fact an early ancestor of the pterosaurs! Celebrate, all ye boring people, in that eventually you might have more interesting descendents. From the Early Triassic, this 8-inch pterosauromorph archosaur had freakishly long

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21:05

FUCA, the First Universal Common Ancestor

Paleo Bites ·

2025/05/20

(image source: https://medium.com/@smartap3s/luca-and-fuca-our-great-great-great-grandmas-7880b0950e53) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-hosts Jennifer Grossman and Matt’s niece Logan (against his will) discuss FUCA, the original, original life before even LUCA was a thing, which I also covered with Jennifer about two hundred episodes earlier. From the Early Precambrian, this non-cellular entity was actually quite different from LUCA, in that while the latter had cells and enzymes and other biology

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19:52

Dromaeosaurus, the Running Lizard

Paleo Bites ·

2025/05/13

(image source: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Dromaeosaurus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Dromaeosaurus, the namesake of the dromaeosaur family that are more commonly known as “raptors.” Which means Velociraptor is more the namesake of the family, but I’m talking scientifically! “Uh, actually, they’re not raptors, they’re dromaeosaurs.” Gee, thanks, Kyle. From the Late Cretaceous, this 7-foot coelurosaurian theropod had a much stronger bite than Velociraptor by a

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309 results

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