Strange Animals Podcast
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A podcast about living, extinct, and imaginary animals.
Strange Animals Podcast
2d ago
Thanks to Carson, Mia, Eli, and Pranav for their suggestions this week!
Further reading:
RNA for the first time recovered from an extinct species
Study finds ongoing evolution in Tasmanian Devils’ response to transmissible cancer
Tasmanian devil research offers new insights for tackling cancer in humans
The Tasmanian devil looks really cute but fights all the time [picture by JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0]:
The Thylacine could opens its jaws verrrrrrry wide:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re ..read more
Strange Animals Podcast
1w ago
Thanks to Will and Måns for their suggestions this week! Let’s learn about some mystery bovids, or cows and cow relations!
Further reading:
A Book of Creatures: Songòmby
Kouprey: The Ultimate Mystery Mammal
A musk ox (top) and a wild yak (bottom):
A young kouprey bull from the 1930s:
Sculpture of two grown kouprey bulls [photo by Christian Pirkl – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73848355]:
A banteng bull (with a cow behind him) [photo taken from this site]:
A qilin/kilin/kirin looking backwards:
The “purple” calf:
The Milka purple cow:
Show transc ..read more
Strange Animals Podcast
2w ago
Thanks to Ari for suggesting this week’s episode, about the peacock!
Further reading:
Peacock tail feathers shake at resonance and hold eye-spots still during courtship displays
Indian peafowls’ crests are tuned to frequencies also used in social displays
An ocellated turkey (not a peacock but related):
An Indian peacock male:
An Indian peahen with chicks [photo from this site]:
Close-up of a male Indian peacock’s crest [photo by Jatin Sindhu – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49736186]:
A male Indian peacock with train on display [photo by Thimindu G ..read more
Strange Animals Podcast
3w ago
Let’s look at some of the most interesting animals discovered last year!
Further reading:
Newly-discovered ‘margarita snails’ from the Florida Keys are bright lemon-yellow
Tiny spirits roam the corals of Japan—two new pygmy squids discovered
Strange New Species of Aquifer-Dwelling Catfish Discovered in India
Bizarre New Species of Catfish Discovered in South America
Unicorn-like blind fish discovered in dark waters deep in Chinese cave
New Species of Hornshark Discovered off Australia
Cryptic New Bird Species Identified in Panama
New Species of Forest Hedgehog Discovered in China
New sp ..read more
Strange Animals Podcast
1M ago
Sorry to my Patreon subscribers, since this is mostly a rerun episode from April 2019. It’s a fun one, though!
The teensy pumpkin toadlet [photo by Diogo B. Provete – http://calphotos.berkeley.edu, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6271494]:
The electromagnetic spectrum. Look how tiny the visible light spectrum is on this scale! [By NASA – https://science.nasa.gov/ems/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97302056]:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This was supposed to be the 2023 discoveries ..read more
Strange Animals Podcast
1M ago
Thanks to Jason for suggesting this week’s topic, the bison!
Further reading:
New research documents domestic cattle genetics in modern bison herds
Higgs Bison: Mysterious Hybrid of Bison and Cattle Hidden in Ice Age Cave Art
A cave painting of steppe bison and other animals:
An American bison [photo by Kim Acker, taken from this site]:
Some European bison [photo by Pryndak Vasyl, taken from this site]:
The bison sound in this episode came from this site.
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re going to learn about the bison, a suggesti ..read more
Strange Animals Podcast
1M ago
Thanks to Pranav for suggesting this mystery big cat this week, the marozi!
Further reading:
From Black Lions to Living Sabre-Tooths: My Top Ten Mystery Cats
Spotted Lions
A young lioness who still has some of her cub spots:
Subadult lions who still have a lot of cub spots:
The skin of an animal supposedly killed in 1931 and said to be a marozi:
Two photos of a “leopon,” a lion-leopard hybrid bred in captivity in a Japanese zoo:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re going to learn about a mystery animal suggested by Pranav. It’s the ..read more
Strange Animals Podcast
1M ago
Thanks to Chuck for suggesting this week’s topic, a weird little deer called the muntjac!
Further reading:
Dam Project Reveals Secret Sanctuary of Vanishing Deer
Wildlife camera trap surveys provide new insights into the occurrence of two threatened Annamite endemics in Viet Nam and Laos
Getting ahead (or two?) with Vietnam’s Viking Deer – the Long-Running Saga of a Slow-Running Mystery Beast
A giant muntjac [photo by Mark Kostich, taken from article linked above]:
A Reeve’s muntjac [photo by Don Southerland, taken from this site]:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m you ..read more
Strange Animals Podcast
2M ago
Let’s take a look at some new findings about the temnospondyls this week!
Further reading:
Ancient giant amphibians swam like crocodiles 250 million years ago
Fossil of Giant Triassic Amphibian Unearthed in Brazil
Kwatisuchus rosai was an early amphibian [picture taken from article linked above]:
Koolasuchus was a weird big-headed boi:
Show transcript:
Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.
This week we’re going to revisit an animal we talked about way back in episode 172, the temnospondyl. That’s because a new species of temnospondyl has been named that lived about 25 ..read more
Strange Animals Podcast
2M ago
Thanks to Oz from Las Vegas for suggesting this week’s topic!
Further reading:
Bobi, the supposed ‘world’s oldest dog’ at 31, is little more than a shaggy dog story
Greenland sharks live for hundreds of years
Scientists Identify Genetic Drivers of Extreme Longevity in Pacific Ocean Rockfishes
Scientists Sequence Chromosome-Level Genome of Aldabra Giant Tortoise
Giant deep-sea worms may live to be 1,000 years old or more
A Greenland shark [photo by Eric Couture, found at this site]:
The rougheye rockfish is cheerfully colored and also will outlive us all:
An Aldabra tortoise all dressed up fo ..read more