This week let's learn about a mystery that was solved by science! Happy birthday to Zoe! Further reading: Let's all do the kunga! The kunga, as depicted in a 4500-year-old mosaic: The Syrian wild ass as depicted in a 1915 photograph (note the size of the animal compared to the man standing behind it): Domestic donkeys: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. As this episode goes live, I should be on my way home from Dragon Con, ready to finish moving into m...
Sep 05, 2022•8 min
This week let's find out what lived before the Cambrian explosion! A very happy birthday to Isaac! Further reading: Some of Earth's first animals--including a mysterious, alien-looking creature--are spilling out of Canadian rocks Say Hello to Dickinsonia, the Animal Kingdom's Newest (and Oldest) Member Charnia looks like a leaf or feather: Kimberella looks like a lost earring: Dickinsonia looks like one of those astronaut footprints on the moon: Spriggina looks like a centipede no a trilobite no...
Aug 29, 2022•16 min
Thanks to Pranav for this week's suggestion, lobsters! Happy birthday to Jake!! Visit Dr. Oné R. Pagán's site for links to his podcast and his free book Arrow: The Lucky Planarian! You can also order his other books from your favorite book store. Here's the direct link to his interview with me! Further reading: Don't Listen to the Buzz: Lobsters Aren't Actually Immortal An ordinary lobster: A blue lobster! The scampi looks more like a prawn/shrimp than a lobster, but it's a lobster: The rosy lob...
Aug 22, 2022•14 min
This week we learn about some weird worms! Further reading: Otherworldly Worms with Three Sexes Discovered in Mono Lake Bizarre sea worm with regenerative butts named after Godzilla's monstrous nemesis Underground giant glows in the dark but is rarely seen Giant Gippsland earthworm (you can listen to one gurgling through its burrow here too) Further watching: A giant Gippsland earthworm Glowing earthworms (photo by Milton Cormier): This sea worm's head is on the left, its many "butts" on the rig...
Aug 15, 2022•14 min
Thanks to Joel for suggesting this week's topic! Happy birthday to Fern this week! Further reading: Small, rare crayfish thought extinct is rediscovered in cave in Huntsville city limits Hundreds of three-eyed 'dinosaur shrimp' emerge after Arizona monsoon An invertebrate mystery track in South Africa The case of the mysterious holes in the sea floor Contemplating the Con Rit The Shelton Cave crayfish, rediscovered: The three-eyed "tadpole shrimp" or "dinosaur shrimp," triops [photo from article...
Aug 08, 2022•20 min
Sign up for our mailing list! Even though I hardly ever send an email to it! It's INVERTEBRATE AUGUST! Thanks to Elizabeth, Richard, and Llewelly for their suggestions this week! Further reading: Meet Phylliroe: the sea slug that looks and swims like a fish Hey, so these sea slugs decapitate themselves and grow new bodies Found, Then Lost, Then Found Again: Scientists Have Rediscovered the Sand Octopus A sand crab in the air: Sand crabs in the water, feeding: Phylliroe is a sea slug that looks l...
Aug 01, 2022•13 min
Thanks to Vaughn for suggesting this week's episode topic about Venus the cat and her unusual coat pattern! Further reading: Mystery Cats of the World Revisited by Dr. Karl P.N. Shuker Further listening: Half-siders and sea monkeys Patreon episode from December 2018 (unlocked episode) Venus the cat: "Half-sider" birds can be spectacular: Half-side chimeras are not just restricted to birds: Ranger the "black lion" (photo by Peter Adamson, from this site which you should also read). Note the black...
Jul 25, 2022•10 min
This week we have a mystery animal from South America, the hueque! Further reading: Llamas are having a moment in the U.S., but they've been icons in South America for millennia Whatever happened to the hueque? Seeking the lost llama of Chile First complete mitochondrial genome data from ancient South American camelids – The mystery of the chilihueques from Isla Mocha (Chile) A dressed up person and her dressed up llama (picture from llama article linked above): The noble guanaco: Cuddly alpacas...
Jul 18, 2022•11 min
Thanks to Pranav and Zachary for their suggestions this week, where we learn the story behind two cuddly toys and the animals that inspired them! The cartoon that inspired the toy: My own teddy bear: An American black bear (not William Taft although yes, there is a resemblance, including a willingness to eat entire possums in one sitting): William Taft: A Virginia opossum: A possum with babies! Stop trying to make Billy Possum a thing: Admittedly it was pretty cute: Show transcript: Welcome to S...
Jul 11, 2022•15 min
Thanks to Max and Pranav for their suggestions this week! We're going to learn about some crocodylomorphs and a few other ancient non-dinosaur reptiles. Further reading: Mammal-like crocodile fossil found in East Africa, scientists report Ancient crocodiles walked on two legs like dinosaurs Fossil Footprints Help Uncover the Mysteries of Bipedal Crocodiles Fossil mystery solved: super-long-necked reptiles lived in the ocean, not on land Kaprosuchus had TEETH: Anatosuchus earned its name "duck cr...
Jul 04, 2022•18 min
Sign up for our mailing list! Thanks to Elaine for suggesting one of our long-tailed birds this week! Happy birthday to Jasper!! Have a great birthday! Further reading: Fossil of Ancient Long-Tailed Bird Found in China All adult scissor-tailed flycatchers have long tails: The long-tailed sylph male is the one with the long tail: The long-tailed widowbird male has a long tail: The long-tailed widowbird female has a short tail: The pin-tailed whydah male has a long tail: A pin-tailed whydah baby (...
Jun 27, 2022•12 min
Thanks to Clay for suggesting the topic of this week's episode, the humpback whale! Happy birthday to Emry! Further reading: How humpback whales catch prey with bubble nets Study: Humpback whales aren't learning their songs from one another Stanford researchers observe unexpected flipper flapping in humpback whales Ancient baleen whales had a mouthful The humpback's long, thin flippers help it maneuver: Humpbacks are active, jumpy whales: A humpback whale's big mouth: Show transcript: Welcome to...
Jun 20, 2022•16 min
Thanks to Tobey and Janice this week for their suggestions of lesser-known sharks! Further reading/watching: CREATURE FEATURE: The Spinner Shark [this site has a great video of spinner sharks spinning up out of the water!] Acanthorhachis, a new genus of shark from the Carboniferous (Westfalian) of Yorkshire, England 150 Year Old Fossil Mystery Solved [note: it is not actually solved] The cartoon-eyed spurdog shark: The spinner shark spinning out of the water: The spinner shark not spinning (phot...
Jun 13, 2022•12 min
Thanks to Molly for suggesting andrewsarchus and entelodont, our mean "piggies" we learn about this week! Further reading: Andrewsarchus, "Superb Skull of a Gigantic Beast" Dark Folklore by Mark Norman and Tracey Norman Further listening: The Folklore Podcast Andrewsarchus (taken from article linked above): Andrewsarchus's skull. I'm not sure who the guy holding it is, but I like to think his name is Andrew: Entelodont: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Sha...
Jun 06, 2022•11 min
This week is Connor's episode, and we're going to learn about some animals that don't conform to "typical" gender roles, one way or another. I'll be at ConCarolinas this week, from June 3 through 5, including recording a live crossover episode with Arcane Carolinas! Further reading: Species of algae with three sexes that all mate in pairs identified in Japanese river How a microbe chooses among seven sexes Facultative Parthenogenesis in California Condors The sparrow with four sexes Chinstrap pe...
May 30, 2022•17 min
This week is Caitie Sith and Dave's episode! They want to learn about animals reintroduced to Scotland, especially the Highland wildcat! The Scottish (or Highland) wildcat: The Eurasian lynx: The Eurasian beaver (with babies!): The white-tailed eagle: Reindeer in Scotland: The pine marten: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week is Caitie Sith and Dave’s episode, where we’ll learn about the re-wilding of Scotland! Re-wilding is the process of rest...
May 23, 2022•21 min
It's Nicholas's episode this week, and Nicholas wants to learn more about hominins, the ancestors and cousins of modern humans! Happy birthday to Autumn! I hope you have a great birthday! Further listening: Humans Part One Further reading: Were Neanderthals the Earliest Cave Artists? Neanderthals Built Mysterious Stone Circles DNA reveals first look at enigmatic human relative What does it mean to have Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA? Hand and footprint art dates to mid-Ice Age Risky food-finding s...
May 16, 2022•20 min
This week it's Zoe and Dillon's episode! They wanted to learn about some really interesting salamanders, including the axolotl and the hellbender! A big birthday shout-out to Heather R. too. The very happiest of birthdays to you! Further reading: Mexico City’s endangered axolotl has found fame—is that enough to save it? How Do Salamanders Breathe? Most wild axolotls are brown: Most captive-bred axolotls are leucistic: The hellbender doesn't have external gills as an adult: The red eft, the juven...
May 09, 2022•18 min
Thanks to Kristie and Jason, we're going to learn about some mystery big cats reported in Australia, in particular Victoria. Further reading: Official big cat hunt declared a bust, so why do people keep seeing them? Further watching: Thylacine video from 1933, colorized You'll probably need to enlarge this but it's a still from a 2018 video purportedly showing a mystery big cat, but in this frame you can see the ears are pointy, which is a sure sign of a domestic cat: A melanistic (black) leopar...
May 02, 2022•21 min
Thanks to Isaac, Joel, Ethan, and Richard E. for their suggestions this week! Don't forget to check out our crowdfunding campaign for some cute enamel pins! Further reading: Snapping Shrimp Drown Out Sonar with Bubble-Popping Trick One example of a pistol shrimp--there are many, many species (photo from this site): A walnut sphinx moth sitting on someone's hand (photo by John Lindsey, found on this page): A caterpillar (photo by Ashley Bosarge, found on this page): The Asian longhorned beetle (f...
Apr 25, 2022•12 min
Thanks to Sarah L. for buying the podcast two books off our wishlist! This episode was inspired by an entry in one of those books! A very happy birthday this week to Matthew! Don't forget that you can still contribute to our Indiegogo "Tiny Pin Friends" campaign to get a small hard enamel pin of a narwhal, a capybara with a tangerine on its head, and/or a thylacine! On April 19, 2022, the book Beyond Bigfoot & Nessie: Lesser-Known Mystery Animals from Around the World goes officially on sale...
Apr 18, 2022•18 min
Pre-order your tiny pin friend via our Indiegogo campaign! This week we talk about some springtime animals! Sort of! Thanks to Derek and Nikita for their suggestions! Happy birthday to Lillian, Hannah, and Derek! What a busy birthday week! Everybody gets cake! Further reading: Tales from Tennessee There's more than one way to grow a beak A male river chub. "It's not funny guys, put me down guys" (photo by Bill Hubick): Busy busy busy building a big big nest (photo from site linked to above): Got...
Apr 11, 2022•13 min
New frog just dropped. Happy birthday to Finn and Oran this week! Have a great birthday, both of you! Further reading: Frog with tapir-like nose found in Amazon rainforest, thanks to its "beeping" call Meet the tapir frog: Looks kind of like the South American tapir, but frog: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we have a short episode about the recent discovery of a mystery frog in Peru--but first, we have TWO birthday shout-outs! That’s twic...
Apr 04, 2022•7 min
Thanks to Zachary, Enzo, and Oran for their suggestions this week! Let's learn about some interesting reptiles! Happy birthday to Vale! Have a fantastic birthday!! The magnificent Gila monster: The Gila monster's tongue is forked, but not like a snake's: The remarkable green basilisk (photo by Ryan Chermel, found at this site): A striped basilisk has a racing stripe: I took this photo of a basilisk myself! That's why it's a terrible photo! The basilisk is sitting on a branch just above the water...
Mar 28, 2022•15 min
My little cat Gracie got lost but she's home! Let's learn about some other rediscovered animals this week! A very happy birthday to Seamus! I hope you have the best birthday ever! Further listening: The Casual Birder Podcast (where you can hear me talk about birding in Belize!) Further reading: Bornean Rajah Scops Owl Rediscovered After 125 Years Shock find brings extinct mouse back from the dead Rediscovery of the 'extinct' Pinatubo volcano mouse Gracie, home at last! She's so SKINNY after a wh...
Mar 21, 2022•12 min
Show transcript: Hi. If you’re hearing this, it means I’m sick or something else has happened that has kept me from making a new episode this week. This was a Patreon bonus episode from mid-August 2019. I think it’s a good one. If you’re a Patreon subscriber, I’m sorry you don’t have a new episode to listen to this time. Hopefully I’ll be feeling better soon and we can get back to learning about lots of strange animals. Welcome to the Patreon bonus episode of Strange Animals Podcast for mid-Augu...
Mar 14, 2022•12 min
Thanks to Pranav for this week's suggestion! Happy birthday to MaxOrangutan! Have a great birthday! Further reading: Scarlet macaw DNA points to ancient breeding operation in Southwest The glorious hyacinth macaw: Roelant Savery's dodo painting with not one but TWO separate mystery macaws featured: The blue-and-gold macaw: Eleazar Albin's mystery macaw: Detail from Jan Steen's painting of a mystery macaw: The scarlet macaw: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate...
Mar 07, 2022•12 min
Thanks to Page for suggesting we talk about penguins this week! A big birthday shout-out to EllieHorseLover this week too! Further reading: March of the penguins (in Norway) Rare Yellow Penguin Bewilders Scientists Giant Waikato penguin: school kids discover new species An ordinary king penguin with the rare "yellow" king penguin spotted in early 2021 (photo by Yves Adams, taken from article linked above): Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. I was looki...
Feb 28, 2022•14 min
This week we answer a question you probably didn't ask, did dinosaurs ever get sick? The answer is yes (or else it would be a super short episode). (Thanks to Llewelly for some corrections!) A big birthday shout-out to Gwendolyn! Have a great birthday! The unlocked Patreon episode about green puppies Further reading: Researchers discover first evidence indicating dinosaur respiratory infection Sauro-throat, Part 3: what does Dolly's disease tell us about sauropods? Dinosaurs got cancer Giant Din...
Feb 21, 2022•11 min
Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo! Thanks to Ella and Jack for this week's topic suggestion, animals that mate for life or develop pair bonds! Happy Valentine's Day! Further reading: Wisdom the albatross, now 70, hatches yet another chick The prairie vole mates for life: Swans mate for life: The black vulture also mates for life: The Laysan albatross: Wisdom the Laysan albatross with her 2021 chick (pic from the link listed above). I hope I look that good...
Feb 14, 2022•13 min
