It's the second annual discoveries episode! Lots of animals new to science were described in 2021 so let's find out about some of them. Further reading: First description of a new octopus species without using a scalpel Marine Biologists Discover New Species of Octopus Bleating or screaming? Two new, very loud, frog species described in eastern Australia Meet the freaky fanged frog from the Philippines New alpine moth solves a 180-year-old mystery Meet the latest member of Hokie Nation, a newly ...
Feb 07, 2022•15 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Thanks to my brother Richard for suggesting one of the fish we talk about this week--fish that can walk! (Sort of.) Further watching: Video of a gurnard walking Further reading: Walking shark moves with ping-pong paddle fins Walking sharks discovered in the tropics The Hawaiian seamoth (the yellowy one is a larval seamoth, the brighter one with the snoot the same fish as a juvenile, both pictures by Frank Baensch from th...
Jan 31, 2022•12 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Thanks to Enzo for suggesting this week's topic, newts from least dangerous to most dangerous! Further reading: One snake's prey is another's poison The Corsican brook salamander is not toxic (photo by Paola Mazzei, from iNaturalist): The smooth newt is a little bit toxic (photo by Fred Holmes and taken from this site) - this is a male during breeding season: The Hong Kong warty newt has an orange-spotted belly and is to...
Jan 24, 2022•11 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Thanks to Nicholas and Emma for their suggestions this week as we learn about some (nearly) indestructible animals! Further listening: Patreon episode about Metal Animals (unlocked, no login required) Further reading: Even a car can't kill this beetle. Here's why The scaly-foot snail's shell is made of actual iron - and it's magnetic The scaly-foot gastropod (pictures from article linked above): The diabolical ironclad b...
Jan 17, 2022•12 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! A big birthday shout-out to Penelope this week! Thanks to Isaac for this week's topic suggestion. We're learning all about the sable and sable antelope! Further reading (mostly for the pictures since there's not much content otherwise): Woman Rescues This Sable from Becoming Someone's Coat Further watching: Kruger Park, Season 15 - this one is about some sable antelope bulls fighting Fuzzy sable face: Sable: Sable antelo...
Jan 10, 2022•12 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! A big birthday shout-out this week to Yori!!! I was fortunate enough to visit the country of Belize in December and saw lots of amazing animals! I've chosen four to highlight in this week's episode. Further reading: There may be more bird species in the tropics than we know The adorable proboscis bat, my favorite: Proboscis bats all in a row (photograph by me!): The black howler monkey has a massive hyoid bone that allow...
Jan 03, 2022•16 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Further reading: Million-year-old mammoth genomes shatter record for oldest ancient DNA Mammoth Genome Project (with pictures of cave art and ancient carvings of mammoths) The most famous cave painting of a mammoth, from a cave in France: Sivatherium: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. It’s the last Monday of 2021, which means the very last extinction event episode. There’ve be...
Dec 27, 2021•19 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Thanks to Ethan and Simon this week for their suggestions! This week we're looking at some extinct reptiles that each have a little something extra (and unexpected). Further reading: Two Extinct Flying Reptiles Compared Cretaceous 'Four-Limbed Snake' Turns Out To Be Long-Bodied Lizard Kuehneosaurids may have resembled big Draco lizards although they weren't related: Big turtle: Purussaurus was big enough to eat even real...
Dec 20, 2021•12 min
Thanks to Elaine for suggesting the saola this week! Further reading: The saola: rushing to save the most 'spectacular zoological discovery' of the 20th century Striped rabbit revealed in Laos forest Saola horns: A saola from a 1999 camera trap (photo taken from link above): A female saola (named Martha) who unfortunately only survived in captivity a few weeks (photo taken from link above): A striped bunny!! The Annamite striped rabbit: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m yo...
Dec 13, 2021•8 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! This week let's learn about a weird marine worm and its extinct ancestor! Further reading: Eunice aphroditois is a rainbow, terrifying The 20-million-year-old lair of an ambush-predatory worm preserved in northeast Taiwan Here's the money shot of the sand striker with its jaws open, waiting for an animal to get too close. The stripy things are antennae: The fossilized burrow with notes: Show transcript: Welcome to Strang...
Dec 06, 2021•10 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Thanks to Zachary for suggesting this topic! Let's learn about some sightings of what look like miniature theropod dinosaurs running around in the American Southwest! Further reading: All About Birds: Wild Turkey A collared lizard running (photo by Joe McDonald from this page): Basilisks running: A female wild turkey: A male wild turkey (note the tuft of hair-like feathers sticking forward, called a beard) (picture from ...
Nov 29, 2021•12 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! This week let's look at some animals that have evolved rapidly to adapt to human-caused environmental pressures. Thanks to Otto and Pranav for their suggestions! Further reading: Long-term changes of plumage between urban and rural populations of white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) A light-colored peppered moth (left) and darker-colored peppered moths (right): Soot is hard to clean off buildings and other ite...
Nov 22, 2021•15 min
Sign up for our mailing list! This week let's look at a scientific mystery: what caused the golden toad to go extinct, and is it still alive after all? Further reading: A deadly fungus is killing frogs, but the bacteria on their skin could protect them The male golden toad: The female golden toad (photo by Mary Crump): Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is gorgeous and hopefully still hides some golden toads: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This is our...
Nov 15, 2021•11 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Thanks to Richard from NC for his suggestion that leads us to learn about some interesting seals! Further reading: Mystery of Siberian freshwater seal food choice solved Under Antarctica's ice, Weddell seals produce ultrasonic vocalizations Further listening/watching: Rarely-heard Weddell Seal Sounds in Antarctica The bearded seal Wikipedia page with audio so you can listen over and over and over The Baikal seal, the wor...
Nov 08, 2021•14 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! We're down to the last few days to back our Kickstarter! We've got a slightly different type of episode this week. Follow along as I try to find out more about the giant jellyfish that nearly sank a ship! Further reading: Kraken: Monster of the Deep A lion's mane jellyfish: A giant squid: The first photo ever taken of a giant squid: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Halloween ...
Nov 01, 2021•18 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Happy Halloween! Let's learn about some shapeshifters of folklore, including the werewolf and kitsune (thanks to Joel, Pranav, and Emma!), and a real-life shapeshifter. Don't forget the Kickstarter, as if I'd let you forget it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kateshaw/beyond-bigfoot-and-nessie Further reading: Folklore and Mythology Breeding Butterflies Further listening: MonsterTalk (note: sometimes there's adult l...
Oct 25, 2021•17 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Don't forget our Kickstarter! I can't believe it reached its funding goal THE FIRST DAY! We're getting so close to Halloween! This week we'll learn about Mothman! Is it a moth? Is it a ghostly entity from another world? Is it a bird? (hint: it's probably a bird) Sandhill cranes (not mothmen): A Canada goose (not mothman): A great bustard (not mothman): A green heron (definitely not mothman but look at those big cute feet...
Oct 18, 2021•25 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Don't forget the Kickstarter, as if I'd let you forget it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kateshaw/beyond-bigfoot-and-nessie Our next monster for monster month is the devil-pig! It's probably not a devil although it might be a pig. The Asian tapir and its remarkable snoot: The New Guinea carving: The "gazeka" as imagined in the early 20th century: Domestic and feral hogs are common in New Guinea: Show transcript: W...
Oct 11, 2021•12 min
THE KICKSTARTER IS LIVE AND I'M SO EXCITED! The Kickstarter campaign is HERE! If you're not sure how Kickstarter works, that's what we talk about at the beginning of this episode. I then go over the different rewards available and finally we have a very short chapter from the audiobook. Kickstarter FAQ I talk about the Kickstarter for way too long, so if you don't care you can jump ahead to 9:56 to listen to the actual chapter. Also, I am definitely going to re-record that chapter for the actual...
Oct 06, 2021•6 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! It's the beginning of MONSTER MONTH! This episode's not very spooky unless you're outside at night and hear a terrifying scream! To be fair, that would be spooky even if you don't know anything about the wampus cat. THE KICKSTARTER GOES LIVE IN JUST TWO DAYS!! Further watching: The Growling, Ferocious, Diurnal Kitty Cat: The Jaguarundi Further reading: My original article about the wampus cat will appear in Flying Snake ...
Oct 04, 2021•21 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Don't forget the Kickstarter, as if I'd let you forget it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kateshaw/beyond-bigfoot-and-nessie Let's pre-game Halloween and monster month with an episode about some Halloween-y bats and rats! Thanks to Connor for the suggestion! Further reading: Meet Myotis nimaensis Hyorhinomys stuempkei: New Genus, Species of Shrew Rat Discovered in Indonesia Fish-eating Myotis The orange-furred bat ...
Sep 27, 2021•11 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Check out our Kickstarter pre-launch page!! Thanks to Max for suggesting the rhinoceros viper! We'll learn about that one and several other snakes with nose horns this week. The rhino viper, AKA the butterfly viper because of its beautiful colors and pattern: The rhino viper has nose horns (photo by Balázs Buzás): The West African Gaboon viper (Bitis rhinoceros), AKA the other rhino viper: The rhinoceros snake, AKA the V...
Sep 20, 2021•10 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Our pre-launch Kickstarter page! You can see what the book cover will look like! Thanks to Liesbet and Enzo for their suggestions this week! Let's learn about squirrels! Further reading: Project Squirrel Interspecies Breeding Is Responsible for Some Squirrels' Black Coloring The Indian giant squirrel, without filter (left) and with filter (right): Some variable squirrels (see lots more at iNaturalist): The Eastern gray s...
Sep 13, 2021•19 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Here we go. It's the big one, the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event! Further reading: How Birds Survived the Asteroid Impact That Wiped Out the Dinosaurs How an asteroid ended the age of dinosaurs Extinction event that wiped out dinosaurs cleared way for frogs How life blossomed after the dinosaurs died 66-million-year-old deathbed linked to dinosaur-killing meteor Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast....
Sep 06, 2021•25 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Thanks to Pranav and Max for their suggestions. Let's learn about some mystery crocodiles (and crocodile mysteries) this week! Further reading: Huge prehistoric croc 'river boss' prowled waterways Extinct "horned" crocodile's ancestry revealed New species of crocodile discovered in museum collections Rediscovery of "Lost" Caiman Leads to New Crocodilian Mystery The Orange Cave-Dwelling Crocodiles The horned crocodile's f...
Aug 30, 2021•14 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! This week we've got three adorable little animals to learn about! Thanks to Simon and Thia, Elaine, and Henry for their suggestions! Further reading: Turning the spotlight on the rusty-spotted cat (Wildlife SOS) The cute and fuzzy pink fairy armadillo: The cute and fuzzy rusty spotted cat: The cute and fuzzy baby Arctic tern: Adult Arctic terns: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Sha...
Aug 23, 2021•12 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Thanks to Riley, Richard, and Aiden and Aiden's unnamed friend for suggestions this week! We're going to learn about some geckos and other reptiles that live in trees. Thanks also to Llewelly for a small correction about lions. Also, I mispronounced Strophurus--it should be more like Stroff-YOUR-us but I'm too lazy to fix it. Further reading: Cancer Clues Found in Gene behind 'Lemon Frost' Gecko Color A chameleon's feets...
Aug 16, 2021•18 min
It's our bonus question and answer episode, which turned out to be ridiculously long but hopefully interesting! Further listening/watching: The Axolotl Song ~~~Buy my books!~~~ Whiskers used to have two eyes and a nose. In the background, Dracula (left) and Poe (right): Black squirrel! King cobra! Pufferfish, puffed: Dog nose: Show transcript: Welcome to the bonus Q&A episode of Strange Animals Podcast! I’m your host, Kate Shaw, and this is a little extra episode where I answer listener ques...
Aug 13, 2021•28 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! It's our fourth annual updates and corrections episode! I've already had to make a correction to this episode! Further reading: Cassowary, a rare emu-like bird, attacks and kills Florida man, officials say The dog Bunny's Facebook page 3D printed replicas reveal swimming capabilities of ancient cephalopods Enormous ancient fish discovered by accident A rare observation of a vampire bat adopting an unrelated pup Pandemic ...
Aug 09, 2021•18 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! This week we visit the weirdest squid in the deep sea! I was a guest on Tim Mendees's After Hours that's now up on YouTube! It's mostly about my writing but we talk about all kinds of stuff, including cephalopods! There is some bad language but it's not all that bad and it's mostly toward the end. Further reading/watching: Elusive Long-Tailed Squid Captured on Film for First time See Strange Squid Filmed in the Wild for ...
Aug 02, 2021•20 min
