Thanks to Pranav, Isaac, and an anonymous listener for their suggestions this week! Let's learn about some animals that inspired three Pokemon.Sandshrew:Possible Sandshrew inspirations:Drowzee:Possible Drowzee inspiration:Fen

Episode 378: Ichthyotitan

12 days ago 7m 52s

Thanks to Nathan-Andrew for suggesting giant ichthyosaurs!Further reading:Paleontologists unearth what may be the largest known marine reptileRuby and some other scientists with the ichthyotitan fossils [photos taken from this page]:H

Episode 377: The Giant-est Snake Ever

19 days ago 7m 42s

Thanks to Max for suggesting Titanoboa!Further reading:Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene period of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersalThis Nearly 50-Foot Snake Was One of the Largest to Slither on EarthMeet V

Episode 376: The Horned Lizard AKA Horny Toad

26 days ago 9m 51s

Thanks to Khalil for suggesting the horny toad, also called the horned lizard or horned toad!Further reading:The Case of the Lost LizardThe Texas horned lizard:Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum)The rock horned lizard [photo tak

Episode 375: The Praying Mantis Re-Revisited

Apr 8th, 2024 8m 33s

Thanks to Elijah and an anonymous listener for suggesting that we talk about some more species of praying mantis!Further reading:The luring mantid: Protrusible pheromone glands in Stenophylla lobivertex (Mantodea: Acanthopidae)Dragons and u

Episode 374: PUFFERFISH!

Apr 1st, 2024 8m 3s

Thanks to River for suggesting this week's topic, the pufferfish!Further reading:Grass puffer fish communicate with each other using a non-toxic version of their deadly toxinMystery pufferfish create elaborate circular nests at mesophotic

Episode 373: The Tasmanian Devil and the Thylacine

Mar 25th, 2024 9m 48s

Thanks to Carson, Mia, Eli, and Pranav for their suggestions this week!Further reading:RNA for the first time recovered from an extinct speciesStudy finds ongoing evolution in Tasmanian Devils' response to transmissible cancerTasmanian

Episode 372: Mystery Bovids

Mar 18th, 2024 14m 7s

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: SongòmbyKouprey: The Ultimate Mystery MammalA musk ox (top) and a wild yak (b

Episode 371: The Peacock

Mar 11th, 2024 14m 10s

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 displaysIndian peafowls' crests are tuned to frequencies also used in s

Episode 370: Animals Discovered in 2023

Mar 4th, 2024 16m 3s

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-yellowTiny spirits roam the corals of Japan—two new pygmy squids discovered

Episode 369: Animals and Ultraviolet Light

Feb 26th, 2024 13m 45s

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

Episode 368: The Bison

Feb 19th, 2024 11m 29s

Thanks to Jason for suggesting this week's topic, the bison!Further reading:New research documents domestic cattle genetics in modern bison herdsHiggs Bison: Mysterious Hybrid of Bison and Cattle Hidden in Ice Age Cave ArtA cave painting

Episode 367: The Marozi

Feb 12th, 2024 9m 56s

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 CatsSpotted LionsA young lioness who still has some of her cub spots:Subadult lio

Episode 366: The Muntjac AKA Deer with Fangs

Feb 5th, 2024 10m 58s

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 DeerWildlife camera trap surveys provide new insights into the occurrence of two th

Episode 365: A New Temnospondyl

Jan 29th, 2024 10m 22s

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 agoFossil of Giant Triassic Amphibian Unearthed in BrazilKwatisuchus rosai was an e

Episode 364: Animals Who Will Outlive Us All

Jan 22nd, 2024 15m 52s

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 storyGreenland sharks live for hundreds of yearsScientists Identify Genetic Dri

Episode 363: The Dodo and Friends

Jan 15th, 2024 9m 52s

Thanks to Wilmer and Carson for suggesting we revisit the dodo!Further reading:Dodos and spotted green pigeons are descendants of an island-hopping birdOn the possible vernacular name and origin of the extinct Spotted Green Pigeon Caloenu

Episode 362: The Sawfish and the Sawshark

Jan 8th, 2024 12m 22s

Thanks to Murilo for suggesting this week's episode about the sawfish and the sawshark!Further Reading:Sawfish or sawshark?Two New Species of Sixgill Sawsharks DiscoveredDo not step:The underside of a largetooth sawfish [photo by J.

Episode 361: The New Hominin

Jan 1st, 2024 9m 26s

Welcome to 2024! Let's learn about some exciting new discoveries in our own family tree!Further reading:476,000-Year-Old Wooden Structure Unearthed in ZambiaMysterious 300,000-year-old skull could be new species of human, researchers say

Episode 360: The Emu War

Dec 25th, 2023 8m 25s

Apologies to patrons for redoing an old Patreon episode, but I have a cold and it's the holidays.The noble emu:A baby emu (picture from this site, which has lots of good info about emus and lots more great pictures):Show transcript:W

Episode 359: The Antarctic Death Star(fish)!

Dec 18th, 2023 7m 49s

Thanks to Morgan for suggesting this week's topic, the Antarctic Death Star!Further reading:Giant Monster Starfish ALERTEchinoderm Tube Feet Don't Suck! They Stick!Bodies of Starfish and Other Echinoderms Are Really Just Heads, New Rese

Episode 358: The Bush Dog and the Maned Wolf

Dec 11th, 2023 8m 53s

Thanks to Dean, Mia, and Lydia for their suggestions this week!The tayra looks kind of like a canid but is a mustelid [photo by Bob Johnson - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85291909]:The bush dog l

Episode 357: When Scientists Ate Mammoth Meat

Dec 4th, 2023 10m 15s

This week we're going to talk about stories of scientists, explorers, and other modern people eating meat from long-dead extinct animals. Did it ever really happen?Check out the great new podcast Herbarium of the Bizarre! I highly recommend i

Episode 356: The Volcano Rabbit

Nov 27th, 2023 6m 41s

Thanks to Eva for suggesting the adorable volcano rabbit this week!Further watching:American Pikas Calling OutThe volcano rabbit is not a volcano but it is a very small rabbit:The volcano rabbit is SO CUTE:The American pika looks

Episode 355: Tiny Owls

Nov 20th, 2023 9m 6s

This week we learn about two tiny owls! Thanks to Elizabeth and Alexandra for their suggestions!Further reading:Burrowing OwlElf OwlThe burrowing owl is tiny but fierce [photo by Christopher Lindsey, taken from page linked above]:Th