June 3, 2025 • 46 mins
Katie's taking a brief break (she'll be back soon!!), so here's a favorite episode!
Don't worry, these critters haven't been mutilated, but rather through evolution, they've ditch certain appendages. Legs? Don't need 'em. Wings? Forget about it. Tails? Lose 'em. Sometimes efficiency requires sacrifice, and body parts have go to go!
Guest: Joelle Monique
Footnotes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v9AWcvOv1K2ailxCWHMD-LMOWn2DtGcAPD5udVNdNiE/edit?usp=sharing
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to Creature feature production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host
of Many Parasites, Katie Golden. I studied psychology and evolutionary biology,
and today on the show we're talking about animals with
missing body parts. Don't worry. These critters haven't been mutilated,
but rather through evolution, they've ditched certain appendages. Legs don't
(00:28):
need them, wings forget about it. Tails lose them. Sometimes
efficiency requires sacrifice and body parts have got to go.
Discover this and more as we answer the age old
question how many eggs? It's too many eggs? Joining me
today's front of the show producer at iHeartRadio, Joe el Monique.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Welcome, Hi Katie, thanks for having me back.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
I am so excited. We are actually in the studio together,
which has not happened in over.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Two years since the beforetime.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Times.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
We're making direct eye contacts.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
It's super weird, really trying to hold it together. Oh
my gosh.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
It's nice though, to be back here with you. You know,
I imagine there will be one there's always one bird.
I think in all of our conversations.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
You're so lucky. This time there's no birds. There's no birds.
I feel very lucky, You're you're super lucky. Today it
was between this and the All Birds All Swarms episode,
and uh, you know this one, this one just by
a very thin margin one out. So yeah, Instead we
were talking about animals who are missing like a key
(01:44):
body part that you think they should probably have.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Okay, that's kind of exciting.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, they got me thinking about what body part humans
would lose first.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, what do we use the least of our major
body parts?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
What's the one organ they don't know?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
What is there for the senex appendix appendix. I'm surprised
if that hasn't started, like just missing.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
It, just falling out.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
I feel like it was not.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Necessary for anything that we can decipher, so, you know,
check it out of their body.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
There might be something too, Like I keep hearing things
about like, well maybe it has some immune function. We're
not sure.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Okay, all right.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I keep hearing our thumbs are going to get longer
because of how we use our phone.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Ah, thumb longer. Yeah, I could use longer thumb.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
The longer thumb would be helpful, It would be really helpful.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, but losing a part seems like I feel like
I need all the things I want both eyes at least,
you know, the ten finger seems essential. I mean, there's
obviously people have been able to adapt and make changes
and adjust two missing body parts. But like, as a species,
if we were like we just don't need that anymore.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
I feel like maybe one toe could.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Go, which I would like on the middle ones, one
of the middle ones, yeah, for balance, right.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Like yeah, but you know, well yeah, no, I can't
think of a body part that I would just want
to part with voluntarily. But yeah, I mean it is
interesting when you look at animals who are missing parts
that you think they should have. I mean a good
(03:19):
example is like a snubnose monkey. That is a primate
who's a relative of ours, and their nose is just gone.
I mean they have their nasal cavities, but the nose
itself is gone because they live in cold, high altitudes
and so the sort of frostbite that they'd get from
the nose is not really worth having the nose, so
(03:40):
instead they just have like a you know, just these
little holes in their face. They're still cute. I like
them still. But our first interesting animal that we are
going to talk about is a moth actually, and what
is like the main defining feature of a butterfly or
a moth. That's right. Yeah, it's the thing that differentiates
(04:02):
them from a caterpillar in sort of a simplistic way.
But yeah, they're wings, but some moths are wingless. Specifically,
the females of a few families of moths have almost
no wings. They they actually technically do have wings, but
they are teeny tiny and they don't work.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Their little baby wings, little baby wings.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
It's sort of like remember a bug story, the classic
pixar ants who have sort of a worker's revolution, and
then there's the caterpillar who metamorphosizes into a beautiful butterfly,
and then it's funny because he's got these tiny wings.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
That chunky caterpillar baby wings.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
It's this, it's the same thing because this moth has
is very chunky and it has tiny wings that they
don't even look like wings. They look like little rabbit ears,
which is cute.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
They do look like little rabbit ears. It sort of
reminded me on Halloween when girls dress up as very
but they have like little baby wings.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, these wings would not propel you up into the air.
Are clearly just ornamental? Are these ornamental? In some are
they designed in the attraction process.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
No, that's what's interesting. Also, when I was a kid
and there was like the little tiny fairy wings, I
would get frustrated because I really wanted to see big wings,
because like that is not going to support a human. No.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
No, And we can see what a proper proportion of
wing to body looks like in nature. It's why dragons
have those big giant wings. Exactly, all of that mass
is gonna need a lot of air support.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Give me some big tarosaur wings, please.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah, they're like the little dt ones that come just
out of your back.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
It's only two and not four, which doesn't make sense Directionally,
you're gonna have a lot more issues with the two
as opposed to if you have that second layer down
low like a butterfly. Uh yeah, wings should be proportionate,
which is making this more confusing.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Why what happened to their wings?
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Well, what's interesting is that the males of this species,
these wingless moths, actually do have wings.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Sexism.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Oh man, patriarchy is everywhere. We need moth feminists. So
they look like typical normal moths. They just you know,
just kind of plain moths. These are winter months and
the ones that are pictured. There are these just kind
of grayish brown moths. They look normal except for the
(06:31):
females that have these adorable little fluffy baby wings and
then a huge, chunky body. So this actually occurs in
a few species in the family geometrod uh And so
there are some species in which the females do have wings,
but a few, which are the ones that we're talking about,
where the females don't have these wings or have these
(06:53):
little stubby wings. One cute fact, this is a little
bit of a tangent, but it's too cute not to
talk about. There's this species of geometric moth where the
females have typical wings, but the caterpillars in this species
will cover themselves in little pieces of plants or flowers,
plant matter to camouflage themselves. So I've sent you a photo.
(07:15):
There's like this thing that looks like kind of a
weird I guess like Ley or Bouquet, whoa withered flower
petals there's a caterpillar under there. What I fashion that was.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Like, what is this flower here? I was trying to
figure out what this flower was doing, and then oh,
my god, that's so weird. I never think there's a
bug in there. It does look like focatory.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
So yeah, I love this one. Anyways, back onto the
topic of the wingless moths. Species of geometric moths who
do have wingless females include the winter moths, bruce spanworm,
and the fall cankerworm moths. So again, the males of
these species look pretty typical, pretty normal, They're pretty small,
(08:05):
they have a wingspan of a couple of centimeters. But yeah,
it is really interesting that this has evolved in these species.
The winter moth is found in Europe and mate in
winter and in cold temperature, and the bruce span worm
and faulknkerworm does the same in North America. So this
is actually a key detail that all these moths prefer
(08:28):
to mate in cold temperatures, and so this is the
first clue into like why these females don't have these wings.
Most insects actually avoid the winter. The male moths of
these species have adapted stronger flight muscles in the males
to be able to flutter around in cold temperatures, and
(08:50):
so by adapting to this difficult time, they avoid some
amount of predation from birds. And you know there are
bird species who are migratory they go in winter in
warmer climates. And so while there may be some winter
birds who remain their avoiding predation from this whole segment
of birds who are like, this is too cold, we're leaving.
(09:11):
The females, meanwhile, have gone sort of in this opposite
direction of the males in terms of like the males
have these like very strong wings, females ditch the wings.
Females ditch the wings and they will just sit on
trees and excrete male attracting pheromones, basically making the males
come to them. And the females are absolutely crammed with eggs.
(09:36):
They have almost one hundred and fifty eggs in their
tiny little bodies. So she has sacrificed both the size
of her internal organs and her wings and ability to
fly for sheer volume of eggs. So these males will
just flutter around, congregate around, females mate with them, and
(09:58):
it's great. The female doesn't have to do anything thing
other than sit there basically store these eggs, and then
lay the eggs once they're fertilized.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Amazing. Here's why I like her plan. Okay, first, she
was like, men, not only do you have to come
to me, but like, please leave when you're done. This
is my house and it's cool here. It's clearly too.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Cold for you.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
I don't want to inconvenience you, just get on. I
love that she's like, I'm just gonna do this by myself.
One hundred and fifty eggs a lot, like at one time,
seems like a lot. But if you think about it,
does she only have to do this once? Can?
Speaker 3 (10:32):
She is a one and done situation.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Get it done, just get it all done.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Wonderful, an efficient clean We love her.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
I really like how you see this thing where the
females have taken on all the storage costs in mating,
where the males have taken on all the travel costs. Look,
they're working together. I love to find a solution, right, yes, yes,
and apple goals for real right. And probably the system
couldn't work as well if they lived in warmer climates,
(11:02):
because the female is sitting pretty prone on this tree
and she can't fly away, say like a bird or
something is trying to eat her, Whereas in a much
colder climate she is less likely to encounter a predator
like a bird, and so she can really invest totally
in becoming like a storage barge for eggs, whereas these
(11:26):
males can invest in being like, well, we're basically sperm
taxis and going around, and so they have this wonderful system.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Sperm taxis and egg barges. It's a children's book waiting
to happen. I yes, every time we're here, we think
of a new animal.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Children about I you know, I think it is important
for kids to learn about this stuff. And I you know,
I think there's like a recent news story about there
being this controversy because some children and show or some
schools teaching about how certain species of fish change their sex,
(12:06):
like clownfish. There's actually several species of fish that do this.
It's not not that novel, uh, And yet it was
this big controversy like, oh, you can't teach kids. It's like, well,
you know, it's just reality. Sorry the fish don't la
la la.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
We don't want to hear about your trans fishes. Woke mob,
get out of here.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Yeah if so, I guess the transgender agenda is so
powerful it can actually make fish change their sex. That's
the idea.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
The the power they have given to trans books that
they definitely do not have. Yeah, it's it's creepy and weird. Yeah,
leave trans kids alone. Yeah, they're just act You're trying
to live their lives. They did nothing to those fishes.
Leave those fishes alone. They're just doing what they're supposed
to be.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Yeah, survive. This is good for their species. They don't
need us to tell them. They're Yeah, yes, bizarre, bizarre.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Uh, cancel the ocean.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I guess oh god, I mean we're doing a great
job of that.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
We are we are our own. Oh no, So what
is the difference between a snake and a lizard?
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Joel?
Speaker 1 (13:25):
This isn't a setup to a joke. I'm not trying
to trick you. It's the feet, okayo the I mean,
I'm doing it in very simplistic terms, right, Like, again,
this is not like a trick. Yes, So, like, snakes
don't have legs generally, and lizards do have legs. Of course,
there are other differences, sure, you know, anatomical differences, but
(13:47):
this is the main distinguishing difference between snakes and lizards. However,
have you ever heard of a legless lizard?
Speaker 3 (13:57):
No, because that's a snake. We just went over the.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
I know it sounds like a legless lizard would just
be a snake. But surprisingly, no, this is not the case.
So there are lizards who, over many years of evolution,
have lost their legs or they've been greatly reduced to
tiny little nubblets. And this has been done independently of snakes.
(14:23):
So over eight families of lizards containing multiple species have
independently lost their legs. So this is an evolutionary trend
that has happened over and over again independently. It's a
popular thing in the lizard world to just lose your legs.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
It's this appropriation.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Were they looking at the snakes in there like this
life seems better and now I'm going to call myself
a snake. Everyone's like, technically you're a legless lizard. They're like,
bla la lah, I can't hear you.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
I mean, is it okay to do appropriation? Once you've
gone so far so deep in, you're willing to give
up your.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
They become part of the culture.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
They two slither on the ground, okay, they know that
snake white?
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Okay, really blaring some wines here.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
So snakes and lizards evolved from a common ancestor, a
reptile squawmate. So the fossil record of the oldest known
common ancestor to snakes and lizards was found in northern
Italy in the Alps, and it is a species from
around two hundred and forty million years ago called mega
(15:30):
cayrella wac tillari.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Gosh.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
That is so many consonants jammed into one word.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Give it to me again, Katie, How does it go?
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Mega, kyrilla, waktillary.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Wow, okay, big word which means oh, gosh.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Well Mega means big okay and kyrilla that means something
for sure.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
It sounds like it's.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
You have a Latin text right right, there's some consonants vowels,
so probably a word that has a meaning.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yes, I never agreed. I never got to the Latin
what all the Latin words mean in my skewing? But
what makes legless lizards different from snakes? Well, they are
technically examples of how snakes evolved from a lizard like ancestor.
But they are distinct from snakes because legless lizards evolved
(16:25):
from a different lineage and in a different evolutionary path
from snakes, as in, legless lizards and snakes don't share
a recent common ancestor. Oh, and they also have different
anatomical characteristics. So legless lizards have eyelids and ear holes,
which snakes do not have, and legless lizards aren't able
(16:47):
to swallow prey larger than their heads like a snake can.
So basically, in every way, legless lizards are lizards that
don't have legs, whereas snakes are evolutionary and physically distinct
from lizards, not just in the fact that they lack
their legs.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
I gotta tell you, guys, this is so trippy. So
first of all, when you're looking at a legless lizard, uh,
and you're seeing the eyelids, for some reason, it feels
more anthropomorphized. It's more like human. It's like, what do
you call those things?
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Not a transfer? No? No, not a transformer, but uh.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Ah, were they It's like they're transmorphing. Is that the
book cover where they show like, yeah, yeah, turn into
a different animal. Yes, it looks like an anamorph and
it's right in between a lizard may turn into a
snake and or a human.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Boy, it's a very weird but kind of cool looking. Yes.
Their bodies also seem like.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Thicker as compared to their heads, Like I feel like
a snake's head is typically like a little more tapered
than than this is it is it is it like
bonier than a snake.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
It looks I mean, if you count the like la like,
there's probably more sort of vestigial leg architecture going on,
so like a pelvic girdle they will probably have, whereas
a snake doesn't necessarily have the pelvic girdle. But in
terms of like snakes do actually have a rib cage
(18:26):
all the way down. Yeah, but it's much I feel
like they're much more expandable than the lakeless lizards. So
legless lizard is a little more structured, whereas a snake
is a little more like the its skeleton really allows
for a lot of expansion because of the whole like
eating food larger than its head and can really widen
(18:48):
its jaws. It's a it's kind of a misnomer to
say they dislocate their jaws because their jaws are just
naturally not a Yeah, they're not not a fused like
our jaws are, and so they can open their mouths
really really wide, and also their rib cages can are
more flexible. They can expand to a lot of these
big big meals, So that's why they can eat stuff
(19:09):
that's like way bigger than their bodies.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Yeah, like looking at it, because I would see like
a snake. Sometimes some synaks have more of like an
s curve when they slither, whereas this feels like it
would be much more like wavy and less of a
defined curve like it wouldn't maybe I guess more like
this is like kind of turn reading ass Is that what.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I'm looking for?
Speaker 1 (19:29):
I mean, it's they probably do move a little differently,
although they do. They do slither essentially like a snake does.
And you know they are they come in all sorts
of different sizes. So this first photo that I've shared
with you, All of these pictures will be in the
show notes. This is a glass lizard and it is
one of the bigger species of legless lizards. It's this
(19:53):
it's I think it's quite beautiful. It's sort of this
pale tan color. It's got these like weird it's not injured.
I know, it kind of looks like someone slashed It's
that's a natural part of this species. It's just sort
of a skin fold. So yeah, it's called the shell
top who sick. It is one of the largest species
(20:15):
of legless lizards in the world, found in southern Europe
and Central Asia. It is it grows to be a
little under four and a half feet or one hundred
and thirty five centimeters. And yeah, that that groove is
sort of folded skin, so it's it's normal.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
It looks badass.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Looks wise. It looks like a white like, you know,
sort of the There are various dragons. I think some
of them are called like worms or something like, aren't
there dragons where it's they don't have wings and they
just kind of like slither through the air.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they fly, but there's
definitely they sort of resemble like a komodo dragon, but
like in fantasy terms, so they're yeah large, and they're
like clod you know, and typically instead of the almost
dinosaur like head, it's more lizard like.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Typically, Yeah, you definitely have those types of dragons which
are cool, Like kmodo dragons are cool.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
They are very cool.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
These lizards are cool.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I think what makes so like, what's terrifying about a
snake and cute about these legless lizards is a snake
can like prop itself up, you know, what I mean,
and like really confront you. You're like, you're should not
be facing me like this. Okay, you could just go
on the ground and then up in the air and
look me in my eye while you kill me.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Horrifying. This little guy's.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Killing he is not going to get it. Doesn't look
like he can prop himself up.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
I don't think, yeah, I don't think. They coil in
this defensive manner that snakes.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, okay, that's much cuter. That plus eyelids equals to snake.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
I could rock.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Can't blink at you?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Yeah, yeah, it could wink at you could flirt. It's cute.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
It could flirt. What you need for flirting is eyelids,
and if you don't got them, you can't.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
The ability is gone.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
These little guys are also kind of like the one
with the tiny fettle legs.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
They are so cute. Yes, so there's the small one
of the smaller species of legless lizards, or the southern
California legless lizards who are small enough to be mistaken
for earthworms. They are just little, tiny guys. Uh so cute.
And then some species of lizards have not fully lost
their legs. These are actually my favorites. But they are
(22:27):
going in that direction though, so like they have legs
with their teeny teeny teeny teeny days.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
If you saw Deadpool and these little tiny baby feet,
it's exactly what you're thinking of.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
They're so little.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Do these like help them propel or is this just
a slow form of evolution, like we're getting rid of them?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
It just takes time.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
It's they probably have some positive use. Otherwise it's I mean,
they could be vestigial, but I believe for these like
it helps them a little bit. The rear legs probably
helps with mating. The four legs probably helps a little
bit in terms of burrowing or something. But I don't
think that they're super super functional or helpful. But yeah,
(23:09):
I mean, I mean they might. They just have a
sort of different evolutionary path. They may never like if
you gave them another you know, million years, they may
never lose their legs, or they may lose them. But yeah,
this is called the Italian skink, which sounds like an
anti Italian slur, but it's not. Apparently that's a great name.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
What a bad but I love it, oh man, the
Italian skink wonderful.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
So I think one of The most interesting things about
this is like the way in which these legs have
been lost in lizards and snakes over and over again.
So why do both snakes in some species of lizards
lose their legs because legs seem pretty useful. The most
likely reason is that burrowing or hunting in burrows made
(24:01):
legs less efficient, So sliding into burrows is easy when
you don't have any legs in that way, so they
can just slide in, grab a baby, go for eat it,
and slide out. Early snakes slowly lost their legs, they
still had hind legs in some species for a while,
and in modern BoA's they still actually have little tiny
(24:23):
you can't even barely see them. What, Yeah, you really
can't see them very well. It's just like they almost
look like little tiny like clothing and that is it's
like called a clasper and they can clasp in during
mating and it helps them kind of like attach on
to the female.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Bowls just got two more terrifying.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
I didn't know they I really didn't know they were
using hooks for sex.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
They very advanced creature fish.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Like don't kink shame the bowl community.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
So Joel, I can I make the assumption that you
might be, you know, a little bit wary of scorpions.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Definitely wary of scorpions. Definitely if I saw one, I
would move in the other direction. I don't want to
harm them, but you know, if we never cross back.
It's how I feel about birds, people all over there.
And it's really good that you have that space, and
I don't want to take any from you. In fact,
I think we should preserve your space. But I would
not like to be in that space with you. What
I wouldn't want you in my space.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Scorpions are the birds of the ground, according to Joel,
because yes, you're afraid of birds as well. Yes, for
I mean, you've been on the show multiple times, so
I help people would know that about you by now.
But yes, afraid of birds, afraid of scorpions makes sense.
You know, the scorpion is quite scary. What is the
(25:56):
scariest part of the scorpions?
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Thinky part? Yes, y'a overted at you.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
It's got like a big needle at the bottom that
can stab you.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
And then it's poisonous snow. Yes, yes, yeah that seems bad.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Yeah, No, I I like scorpions, but I so I
grew up sort of next to a canyon, and for
whatever reason, my room would get infiltrated by critters all
the time, which was fun. It felt like it happened
to my room the most. Maybe they they sensed my
creature feature vibes. And yet I accepted some of them.
(26:32):
But the scorpions, no, I couldn't. I could not accept
living in my midst It was. It was very It
was they were tiny. They were like these little, tiny
tan scorpions. But like, even if it was scorpions small,
that doesn't necessarily mean it's harmless because it could have venom.
But yeah, it was. I I was quite afraid of them.
And yeah, it's all because of that fierce, sort of
(26:54):
syringe like tail that they would chode you. As you
point out, Uh so it is kind of funny to
me that there is an animal called the tailless whip scorpion,
which minute yes, which looks like a kind of horrifying
crab scorpion, but it's got no tail.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Okay here already, I'm so confused because if I think
of a scorpion and anything whippy, it's that tail. Yeah,
this one is whippy without the tail. Yeah, Diva is this.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
So the whip part of it I think comes from
the fact that it has these like really long antenna
like structures that good large. Then yeah, it is a
horrifying looking Arthur pod. It does not have that tail
though that scorpions often have.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Scorpions can be terrifying in an entirely different way. People.
I just want to let you know if.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
You were scared at the tail, you didn't know, Uh,
it could have crab like claws. Oh my god, I
just know some like alien creature designer has been looking
at these like my time is coming, Like I'm going
to implement this into a horror film.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Yes, and terrified.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
P This is so weird and scary and big. I
would scream so loud if I saw this in nature.
Oh my god, Katie, where are they? So I never
go near that.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Well, they are found kind of throughout the world because
they are actually multiple species with an order called ambly page. Uh.
And it is actually not a true scorpion, so it's
in the eracted class, which includes scorpions and spiders.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
I can see that.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
But the tail is whip scorpion, while being a relative
of both scorpions and spiders, is neither a scorpion nor
a spider.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Now, animals, I really need you to get into. How
are you both related to both of these but also
classified as neither.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
That's interesting.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
I mean, it's just its distinct order. So scorpions have
its order of species, spiders have its own order, and
so this one has its distinct order. They're just all
kind of cousins, you know.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Wow, Okay, those guys in class of his own, and
to be fair looking at it deserves to be, has
earned its own space title and recognition.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
So what Joel is reacting to is that this thing
looks like you crossed a crab, a spider, and a
scorpion and it created kind of a horrible alien. So
the this has these long legs, very long and skinny,
kind of like a spider. It has an antenna very
(29:34):
long and sort of skinny like I don't know, just
really long antenna, kind of like a lobster. And then
it has these two long, skinny legs that end in
these little pincer claws.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
And it is yeah, it's it's I think it's cool,
but I acknowledge that it's unpleasant looking. And they also
scuttle kind of like a crab. Oh, scuttling is something
that turn some people off, and so yeah it is.
They are basically a spooky, slender version of a crab,
(30:08):
spider or spider crab or whatever. They can get to
be quite big, usually spanning larger than an adult's palm. So,
for instance, the damon.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
I think, not Katie what.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
So for instance, the daemon Diadema tailus whip scorpion of
Central Africa has a body that's only a little over
an inch long or twenty eight millimeters, but its leg
span gets to be up around eight inches or twenty centimeters.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
I don't I don't want to be near his body
is so creepy. It's really like the legs are so
spread out, and I feel like, as a human, my
eyes are like which one do I need to focus on?
Speaker 1 (30:53):
You know?
Speaker 2 (30:53):
With a scorpion, they have the courtesy of being like,
here's one tail, don't lose sight of it. Okay, these guys,
they're like danger could come from anywhere at any time.
And also I scuttle, I can move in any direction
at any time.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
It's three hundred and sixty degrees of no. So they
may look horrifying, and yes they do, but they actually
have no venom. They're very shy, and they generally don't bite.
The most you have to fear from them is getting
pinched by their pair of long, pinchy pincers if you
(31:32):
scare them or antagonize them.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Por Phone crawls over you while you're sleeping, and you
just scream yourself.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
But you know, it's like a crab where it can pinch,
you can kind of hurt. These can, you know, make
little tiny puncture wounds, sort of like if you get
pricked by a thorn or something. But there's no venom,
so it's not dangerous. It's not dangerous at all. They
just look like they could kill you and latch onto
your face, rip your eyeballs out, but they can't.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Millions of years of human evolution has told you you
should not touch or be near this thing. Okay, your
body knows even though even though your brain may know better.
Be like, listen, you could survive a pinch and be fine.
Your body said, we will not be putting in this way.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
So it's interesting because these legs are very They are
arachnids and they have eight legs, but it looks like
they only have six, but that is because one pair
of their legs have been modified into the antenna, so
those really long antenna that get them. The name of
(32:39):
whip scorpion is the modified front legs that have grown
extra sensory neurons and actually is now used as antenna.
The pincers, the little what looks like little legs with pincers,
are actually modified petipalps. Pelps are when you look at
(33:01):
a spider. Sometimes they have what look like tiny little
arms near their mouth that kind of go like yeah,
which I think are cute, but yeah, those have become
really elongated and have the cool addition of pincers, and
they use those like a crab wood where they grab food,
grab prey. Sometimes they even stab the prey with them
(33:23):
and then bring it up to their mouth and then
they eat it with their chillicera.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
May I ask what their diet consists.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Of small invertebrates. Usually they will occasionally eat a small
vertebrate if the opportunity arises, but generally they only mess
around with other arthropods.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
I don't like when they start eating the vertebrates. It's
really terrifying to me. I will say, this is my
love hate relationship with the whole spider and spider esque community.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
Okay, y'all eat the little bugs.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
That bite me that I hate, and you keep my
house clear of them, and that's good, that's good for
all of us.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
But then you are also terrifying. I have to deal
with that.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
I've been getting pretty good about not killing the spiders
in my house for those of you who are really
about like you.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Just said it free.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
I can't touch them because it weirds me out, but
I will go get someone else in my household, Like,
will you just gently transfer this thing far outside of
our door so it can come back in, but also
it can just continue to do what it needs to do.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
This one.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
I'm sorry, buddy, if you come in my house, you
have to die. It's not I can't cohabitate even for
a second.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
It's so creepy.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Yeah, I mean some people keep them as pets in.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
Yeah, this thing can't show you affection. That's not a pet.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Pinch your cheek with it's a little cloth.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
No no, no, no.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
So they actually, despite I guess being nightmare fuel, they
are very much introverts. Mating consists of the male depositing
his sperm packets on the grid and gently guiding the
female over with the hopes that she'll pick up the
sperm packets, in seminate herself and bear offspring.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
So yeah, Wins could learn a lesson, is all I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Sorry, Katie said, please explain. I'm just saying I think
this is a much clearer way of doing things, just
to be like, if.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
You want to, it's here, but don't eat, no stress.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
I disagree, and the lady's like you, I think I
will pick it up and then just like he.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Leaves his sperm on the ground in like little packets,
like here you.
Speaker 3 (35:37):
Go, guide you back to you can.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
Take a sperm, leave a sperm.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
In that lock.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
You'll learn about whether this is the kind of person
whose children you want to carry or not.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
You know, Yeah, I strong disagree. I don't want to
trip over random sperm packets.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Are you saying? Dating and La has warped me? This
is the earlier problem.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
It's one of those little robots that delivers food now,
but for sperm packets. Yeah sounds great.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
After the eggs hatch, the tiny baby tailless whip scorpions
will actually climb onto their mother's back until they are
old enough to be on their own and their mother
and the babies communicate using their weird antenna legs, which
is a rare social behavior from arachnids.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
That is kind of huge. Yeah, communicate through touch me
to you guys.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
Behaviorally, they're actually really sweet. They're just very kind of shy.
They are not aggressive at all because they don't really
have that much to defend themselves with. Like, yeah, they
can pinch you, and they will if they feel threatened,
but you know, it's not much. So they generally are
very very shy, very reserved. They're clearly very shy in
(36:53):
the dating pool. They just they want to hold hands,
like basically take a walk and hold hands is like
the equivalent of sex for them, and then they like
are communicate with their babies. It's very cute.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
Okay, So as long as one of these doesn't sneak
up on me in my own house, maybe I can
get somebody else to come take care of them and
escort them outside.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Yeah, because I can't. You're like, pinch me. I must
be having a nightmare. It's like, okay, we'll do.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Well.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Before we go, we've got to play a little game,
and that game is called.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Guess Who's squawking?
Speaker 1 (37:30):
The Mystery animal sound game.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
I love this game.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Every week I play a mystery animal sound and you,
the listener, and you the guest, try to guess who
is squawking. So first, last week's mystery animal sound, the
hint was this, this patriotic bird often doesn't get credit
for its work. Oh yeah, that came through.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
I almost pit water all over this sec. I didn't engineer.
I was so good. I did not, but I was
very close. Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Uh because patriot, he said, as patriotic, Uh eagle, and
he said.
Speaker 3 (38:16):
It was hard.
Speaker 1 (38:17):
It often doesn't get credit for its work. Is it.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
A it's a government government eagle?
Speaker 1 (38:32):
I love that. I really wish there was a species
of rapper called the government eagle. So this is it's
not a government eagle. You're doing in the right zone. Now,
this is actually the red tailed hawk. So congratulations to
the three fastest guessers Auntie Bee, Joey P, and Emily
(38:55):
M who all wrote in and guessed correctly.
Speaker 3 (38:58):
Smart folks.
Speaker 1 (38:59):
Yes, so, red tailed hawks are raptors found throughout North America.
They're a medium sized brown hawk with a white underbelly
and rusty red tail. Their majestic call is often stolen
and used as the call for bald eagles in movies
or TV show, which is their larger, more famous raptor.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Yes, okay, because when I heard it, I was like,
this definitely sounds like an eagle. Yeah, and what I
know of eagles it the call is very uh, unique
and specific.
Speaker 3 (39:34):
When you hear it, you're like, okay, attention. So I
can see.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
Why they were like, I don't know what sounds the
bald eagle is making, but it's not this.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
It's not this. You want to hear what sounds the.
Speaker 3 (39:45):
Bald Yeah, well that is adorable. Yes, that is listen
here in America.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
If you're not from here and have not seen the
way we use a bald evil, they're majestic sharpshooters, yeah,
in the sky who cut the sky with their wings
and then dive on their prey.
Speaker 3 (40:11):
They're very manly.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
We put them on a lot of our war vehicles.
That adorable chirping does not match the mental image we
have as Americans of our country's bird, the bald eagle.
So we did we as we typically do. We had
to steal it from something much cooler. And not acknowledge
that species.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
I know, but the red tailed hawk is also found
in North America. It's an American species. We're just like,
you're not big enough. We really need an It's like
this manufactured symbol, right, like they eat an eagle that
looks big and fierce, and the bald eagle is pretty big,
sharp eyes, just got those sharp byes, got those big claws.
(40:50):
And the red tailed hawk is not nothing. It's a
you know, fierce predator, but it's smaller. It's you know,
not as striking looking, I guess, but it's called it's
much more majestic then the bald eagles are. Link it's cute, though.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
I love the eagles sounding. I'm not gonna.
Speaker 1 (41:07):
It's just like they makes them sound like a little
like you know, it's like little kitty laugh or.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
You want to get out a tea set and not
go to war though, so uh.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
You know how Americans feel about tea.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Yeah, yeah, we put that in the bay.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
Okay, So now what does the he says, the red
tailed hawk? Yeah, what do these things look like?
Speaker 1 (41:33):
They look like a typical hawk. They just kind of
they're not you know, you know what a hawk looks like.
I do. It's it's they're kind of brown. They they're
sometimes called chicken hawks. They don't actually prey on chickens,
so that's not that's a misnomer. But yeah, they they're
just very hawk looking hawk.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Okay, here's why I'm upset for the red tailed hawk
right now. They've got the same eyes as the eagles,
which we've just described as one of the key elements
of what makes the eagle look badass. We gonna put
this on war vehicles, you know. I'm just saying, like,
it's got all of the same energy. It's a little smaller,
you know. Yeah, but it's got that burly chick. You
(42:12):
can pay metals to this bird. Check it's so early.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
I have mixed feelings because I do want the red
tailed hawk to be more recognized, but also I'm a pacifist,
so using it like, Look, the problem is we have
the wrong symbol on our on our drones.
Speaker 3 (42:28):
Right exactly. Yeah, put the red tail hawk on here.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
It's the wrong species of birds America.
Speaker 3 (42:34):
Listen, I vibe with it.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
This bird is actually kind of cute, and you guys
aren't know how I feel about birds. With this one.
It looks together with it. Oh, not like the craziness
of a turkey.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
Yeah, or.
Speaker 2 (42:48):
The absolute chaotic nature of an owl. Why are you
turning your head around to look at me? So you
turn your whole body with some respect. Okay, No, that's right.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
I lied to you. I said there would be no
birds in this here.
Speaker 3 (43:00):
We are right in the end. She's snuck it in
right in there.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
Wow, I learned something today.
Speaker 1 (43:08):
Well onto this week's mystery animal. Sound the hint. This
hairy animal doesn't want his picnic on a rainy day.
Speaker 3 (43:20):
That is a big baby. Whoa.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
It sounds like me that I get woken up from
a nap. I'm very upset. Why is it raining here? Okay,
it's some kind of bear. I feel confident in that lane.
It's harry and it doesn't want to get what Afro
bear hit it.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
I did.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
Friends with Government eagle their best.
Speaker 3 (43:50):
Because they own all the war vehicles.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Add that one to the list of animals I wish existed.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
Afro bear meats.
Speaker 1 (44:00):
Can you imagine?
Speaker 3 (44:01):
I can't?
Speaker 1 (44:02):
And he is fabulous, wonderful, wonderful. Well, that is an
incredible guess and we will find out next time on
Creature feature. Who is making that sound. If you out
there think you know who the mystery animal is this week,
write me an email at Creature Featurepod at gmail dot com.
(44:22):
You can also write questions to me and sometimes I
have listener questions episodes, or respond to your emails or
you know, send me pictures of your pets.
Speaker 3 (44:32):
Always love those.
Speaker 1 (44:34):
Yep. I get a lot of cute animals in my
inbox and I love it, so Thank you guys so
much for listening. Joe Well, thank you so much for
coming on the show. It's so lovely to see you
in person in three D.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Thank you so much for having me. It's good to
see you too.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
And now I know when you see a crab like spider,
it's probably just an introvert and it doesn't want to
be near you as much as you don't want to
be near it. So I've really I guts to take
that inform home and protect additional spiders, which is an
insane thing I never thought I would do.
Speaker 1 (45:06):
Well. Where can people find you?
Speaker 3 (45:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (45:09):
Will you guys tell me you can find me all
over the internet at Due Monique It's Joelle em O and.
Speaker 3 (45:14):
iQue you.
Speaker 1 (45:17):
Well. Thank you so much, and thanks to Graham for
doing the audio on this episode. I'm usually flying solo abroad,
but I am so happy to pop into the studio
and thank you guys so much for listening. If you
are enjoying the show, you can leave a rating or
review and I read every single review and all the
(45:40):
ratings really do help the show. Or tell a friend
you know, just like say like, hey, you want to
learn about weird crab spiders that can pinch you like,
tell them, let them know, spread the word, and thanks
to the Space Classics for their super awesome song XO
loom Enough Creature features a production of iHeartRadio. For more
podcasts like the one you just heard, visit the iHeartRadio
(46:02):
app Apple Podcasts, or hey, guess.
Speaker 4 (46:03):
What for me?
Speaker 1 (46:04):
Listen to your favorite shows. I don't care. See you
next Wednesday.
Welcome to Creature feature production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host
of Many Parasites, Katie Golden. I studied psychology and evolutionary biology,
and today on the show we're talking about animals with
missing body parts. Don't worry. These critters haven't been mutilated,
but rather through evolution, they've ditched certain appendages. Legs don't
(00:28):
need them, wings forget about it. Tails lose them. Sometimes
efficiency requires sacrifice and body parts have got to go.
Discover this and more as we answer the age old
question how many eggs? It's too many eggs? Joining me
today's front of the show producer at iHeartRadio, Joe el Monique.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Welcome, Hi Katie, thanks for having me back.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
I am so excited. We are actually in the studio together,
which has not happened in over.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Two years since the beforetime.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Times.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
We're making direct eye contacts.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
It's super weird, really trying to hold it together. Oh
my gosh.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
It's nice though, to be back here with you. You know,
I imagine there will be one there's always one bird.
I think in all of our conversations.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
You're so lucky. This time there's no birds. There's no birds.
I feel very lucky, You're you're super lucky. Today it
was between this and the All Birds All Swarms episode,
and uh, you know this one, this one just by
a very thin margin one out. So yeah, Instead we
were talking about animals who are missing like a key
(01:44):
body part that you think they should probably have.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Okay, that's kind of exciting.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, they got me thinking about what body part humans
would lose first.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, what do we use the least of our major
body parts?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
What's the one organ they don't know?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
What is there for the senex appendix appendix. I'm surprised
if that hasn't started, like just missing.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
It, just falling out.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
I feel like it was not.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Necessary for anything that we can decipher, so, you know,
check it out of their body.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
There might be something too, Like I keep hearing things
about like, well maybe it has some immune function. We're
not sure.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Okay, all right.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I keep hearing our thumbs are going to get longer
because of how we use our phone.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Ah, thumb longer. Yeah, I could use longer thumb.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
The longer thumb would be helpful, It would be really helpful.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, but losing a part seems like I feel like
I need all the things I want both eyes at least,
you know, the ten finger seems essential. I mean, there's
obviously people have been able to adapt and make changes
and adjust two missing body parts. But like, as a species,
if we were like we just don't need that anymore.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
I feel like maybe one toe could.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Go, which I would like on the middle ones, one
of the middle ones, yeah, for balance, right.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Like yeah, but you know, well yeah, no, I can't
think of a body part that I would just want
to part with voluntarily. But yeah, I mean it is
interesting when you look at animals who are missing parts
that you think they should have. I mean a good
(03:19):
example is like a snubnose monkey. That is a primate
who's a relative of ours, and their nose is just gone.
I mean they have their nasal cavities, but the nose
itself is gone because they live in cold, high altitudes
and so the sort of frostbite that they'd get from
the nose is not really worth having the nose, so
(03:40):
instead they just have like a you know, just these
little holes in their face. They're still cute. I like
them still. But our first interesting animal that we are
going to talk about is a moth actually, and what
is like the main defining feature of a butterfly or
a moth. That's right. Yeah, it's the thing that differentiates
(04:02):
them from a caterpillar in sort of a simplistic way.
But yeah, they're wings, but some moths are wingless. Specifically,
the females of a few families of moths have almost
no wings. They they actually technically do have wings, but
they are teeny tiny and they don't work.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Their little baby wings, little baby wings.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
It's sort of like remember a bug story, the classic
pixar ants who have sort of a worker's revolution, and
then there's the caterpillar who metamorphosizes into a beautiful butterfly,
and then it's funny because he's got these tiny wings.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
That chunky caterpillar baby wings.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
It's this, it's the same thing because this moth has
is very chunky and it has tiny wings that they
don't even look like wings. They look like little rabbit ears,
which is cute.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
They do look like little rabbit ears. It sort of
reminded me on Halloween when girls dress up as very
but they have like little baby wings.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, these wings would not propel you up into the air.
Are clearly just ornamental? Are these ornamental? In some are
they designed in the attraction process.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
No, that's what's interesting. Also, when I was a kid
and there was like the little tiny fairy wings, I
would get frustrated because I really wanted to see big wings,
because like that is not going to support a human. No.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
No, And we can see what a proper proportion of
wing to body looks like in nature. It's why dragons
have those big giant wings. Exactly, all of that mass
is gonna need a lot of air support.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Give me some big tarosaur wings, please.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah, they're like the little dt ones that come just
out of your back.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
It's only two and not four, which doesn't make sense Directionally,
you're gonna have a lot more issues with the two
as opposed to if you have that second layer down
low like a butterfly. Uh yeah, wings should be proportionate,
which is making this more confusing.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Why what happened to their wings?
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Well, what's interesting is that the males of this species,
these wingless moths, actually do have wings.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Sexism.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Oh man, patriarchy is everywhere. We need moth feminists. So
they look like typical normal moths. They just you know,
just kind of plain moths. These are winter months and
the ones that are pictured. There are these just kind
of grayish brown moths. They look normal except for the
(06:31):
females that have these adorable little fluffy baby wings and
then a huge, chunky body. So this actually occurs in
a few species in the family geometrod uh And so
there are some species in which the females do have wings,
but a few, which are the ones that we're talking about,
where the females don't have these wings or have these
(06:53):
little stubby wings. One cute fact, this is a little
bit of a tangent, but it's too cute not to
talk about. There's this species of geometric moth where the
females have typical wings, but the caterpillars in this species
will cover themselves in little pieces of plants or flowers,
plant matter to camouflage themselves. So I've sent you a photo.
(07:15):
There's like this thing that looks like kind of a
weird I guess like Ley or Bouquet, whoa withered flower
petals there's a caterpillar under there. What I fashion that was.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Like, what is this flower here? I was trying to
figure out what this flower was doing, and then oh,
my god, that's so weird. I never think there's a
bug in there. It does look like focatory.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
So yeah, I love this one. Anyways, back onto the
topic of the wingless moths. Species of geometric moths who
do have wingless females include the winter moths, bruce spanworm,
and the fall cankerworm moths. So again, the males of
these species look pretty typical, pretty normal, They're pretty small,
(08:05):
they have a wingspan of a couple of centimeters. But yeah,
it is really interesting that this has evolved in these species.
The winter moth is found in Europe and mate in
winter and in cold temperature, and the bruce span worm
and faulknkerworm does the same in North America. So this
is actually a key detail that all these moths prefer
(08:28):
to mate in cold temperatures, and so this is the
first clue into like why these females don't have these wings.
Most insects actually avoid the winter. The male moths of
these species have adapted stronger flight muscles in the males
to be able to flutter around in cold temperatures, and
(08:50):
so by adapting to this difficult time, they avoid some
amount of predation from birds. And you know there are
bird species who are migratory they go in winter in
warmer climates. And so while there may be some winter
birds who remain their avoiding predation from this whole segment
of birds who are like, this is too cold, we're leaving.
(09:11):
The females, meanwhile, have gone sort of in this opposite
direction of the males in terms of like the males
have these like very strong wings, females ditch the wings.
Females ditch the wings and they will just sit on
trees and excrete male attracting pheromones, basically making the males
come to them. And the females are absolutely crammed with eggs.
(09:36):
They have almost one hundred and fifty eggs in their
tiny little bodies. So she has sacrificed both the size
of her internal organs and her wings and ability to
fly for sheer volume of eggs. So these males will
just flutter around, congregate around, females mate with them, and
(09:58):
it's great. The female doesn't have to do anything thing
other than sit there basically store these eggs, and then
lay the eggs once they're fertilized.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Amazing. Here's why I like her plan. Okay, first, she
was like, men, not only do you have to come
to me, but like, please leave when you're done. This
is my house and it's cool here. It's clearly too.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Cold for you.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
I don't want to inconvenience you, just get on. I
love that she's like, I'm just gonna do this by myself.
One hundred and fifty eggs a lot, like at one time,
seems like a lot. But if you think about it,
does she only have to do this once? Can?
Speaker 3 (10:32):
She is a one and done situation.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Get it done, just get it all done.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Wonderful, an efficient clean We love her.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
I really like how you see this thing where the
females have taken on all the storage costs in mating,
where the males have taken on all the travel costs. Look,
they're working together. I love to find a solution, right, yes, yes,
and apple goals for real right. And probably the system
couldn't work as well if they lived in warmer climates,
(11:02):
because the female is sitting pretty prone on this tree
and she can't fly away, say like a bird or
something is trying to eat her, Whereas in a much
colder climate she is less likely to encounter a predator
like a bird, and so she can really invest totally
in becoming like a storage barge for eggs, whereas these
(11:26):
males can invest in being like, well, we're basically sperm
taxis and going around, and so they have this wonderful system.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Sperm taxis and egg barges. It's a children's book waiting
to happen. I yes, every time we're here, we think
of a new animal.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Children about I you know, I think it is important
for kids to learn about this stuff. And I you know,
I think there's like a recent news story about there
being this controversy because some children and show or some
schools teaching about how certain species of fish change their sex,
(12:06):
like clownfish. There's actually several species of fish that do this.
It's not not that novel, uh, And yet it was
this big controversy like, oh, you can't teach kids. It's like, well,
you know, it's just reality. Sorry the fish don't la
la la.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
We don't want to hear about your trans fishes. Woke mob,
get out of here.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Yeah if so, I guess the transgender agenda is so
powerful it can actually make fish change their sex. That's
the idea.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
The the power they have given to trans books that
they definitely do not have. Yeah, it's it's creepy and weird. Yeah,
leave trans kids alone. Yeah, they're just act You're trying
to live their lives. They did nothing to those fishes.
Leave those fishes alone. They're just doing what they're supposed
to be.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Yeah, survive. This is good for their species. They don't
need us to tell them. They're Yeah, yes, bizarre, bizarre.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Uh, cancel the ocean.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I guess oh god, I mean we're doing a great
job of that.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
We are we are our own. Oh no, So what
is the difference between a snake and a lizard?
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Joel?
Speaker 1 (13:25):
This isn't a setup to a joke. I'm not trying
to trick you. It's the feet, okayo the I mean,
I'm doing it in very simplistic terms, right, Like, again,
this is not like a trick. Yes, So, like, snakes
don't have legs generally, and lizards do have legs. Of course,
there are other differences, sure, you know, anatomical differences, but
(13:47):
this is the main distinguishing difference between snakes and lizards. However,
have you ever heard of a legless lizard?
Speaker 3 (13:57):
No, because that's a snake. We just went over the.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
I know it sounds like a legless lizard would just
be a snake. But surprisingly, no, this is not the case.
So there are lizards who, over many years of evolution,
have lost their legs or they've been greatly reduced to
tiny little nubblets. And this has been done independently of snakes.
(14:23):
So over eight families of lizards containing multiple species have
independently lost their legs. So this is an evolutionary trend
that has happened over and over again independently. It's a
popular thing in the lizard world to just lose your legs.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
It's this appropriation.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Were they looking at the snakes in there like this
life seems better and now I'm going to call myself
a snake. Everyone's like, technically you're a legless lizard. They're like,
bla la lah, I can't hear you.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
I mean, is it okay to do appropriation? Once you've
gone so far so deep in, you're willing to give
up your.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
They become part of the culture.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
They two slither on the ground, okay, they know that
snake white?
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Okay, really blaring some wines here.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
So snakes and lizards evolved from a common ancestor, a
reptile squawmate. So the fossil record of the oldest known
common ancestor to snakes and lizards was found in northern
Italy in the Alps, and it is a species from
around two hundred and forty million years ago called mega
(15:30):
cayrella wac tillari.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Gosh.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
That is so many consonants jammed into one word.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Give it to me again, Katie, How does it go?
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Mega, kyrilla, waktillary.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Wow, okay, big word which means oh, gosh.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Well Mega means big okay and kyrilla that means something
for sure.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
It sounds like it's.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
You have a Latin text right right, there's some consonants vowels,
so probably a word that has a meaning.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yes, I never agreed. I never got to the Latin
what all the Latin words mean in my skewing? But
what makes legless lizards different from snakes? Well, they are
technically examples of how snakes evolved from a lizard like ancestor.
But they are distinct from snakes because legless lizards evolved
(16:25):
from a different lineage and in a different evolutionary path
from snakes, as in, legless lizards and snakes don't share
a recent common ancestor. Oh, and they also have different
anatomical characteristics. So legless lizards have eyelids and ear holes,
which snakes do not have, and legless lizards aren't able
(16:47):
to swallow prey larger than their heads like a snake can.
So basically, in every way, legless lizards are lizards that
don't have legs, whereas snakes are evolutionary and physically distinct
from lizards, not just in the fact that they lack
their legs.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
I gotta tell you, guys, this is so trippy. So
first of all, when you're looking at a legless lizard, uh,
and you're seeing the eyelids, for some reason, it feels
more anthropomorphized. It's more like human. It's like, what do
you call those things?
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Not a transfer? No? No, not a transformer, but uh.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Ah, were they It's like they're transmorphing. Is that the
book cover where they show like, yeah, yeah, turn into
a different animal. Yes, it looks like an anamorph and
it's right in between a lizard may turn into a
snake and or a human.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Boy, it's a very weird but kind of cool looking. Yes.
Their bodies also seem like.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Thicker as compared to their heads, Like I feel like
a snake's head is typically like a little more tapered
than than this is it is it is it like
bonier than a snake.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
It looks I mean, if you count the like la like,
there's probably more sort of vestigial leg architecture going on,
so like a pelvic girdle they will probably have, whereas
a snake doesn't necessarily have the pelvic girdle. But in
terms of like snakes do actually have a rib cage
(18:26):
all the way down. Yeah, but it's much I feel
like they're much more expandable than the lakeless lizards. So
legless lizard is a little more structured, whereas a snake
is a little more like the its skeleton really allows
for a lot of expansion because of the whole like
eating food larger than its head and can really widen
(18:48):
its jaws. It's a it's kind of a misnomer to
say they dislocate their jaws because their jaws are just
naturally not a Yeah, they're not not a fused like
our jaws are, and so they can open their mouths
really really wide, and also their rib cages can are
more flexible. They can expand to a lot of these
big big meals, So that's why they can eat stuff
(19:09):
that's like way bigger than their bodies.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Yeah, like looking at it, because I would see like
a snake. Sometimes some synaks have more of like an
s curve when they slither, whereas this feels like it
would be much more like wavy and less of a
defined curve like it wouldn't maybe I guess more like
this is like kind of turn reading ass Is that what.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I'm looking for?
Speaker 1 (19:29):
I mean, it's they probably do move a little differently,
although they do. They do slither essentially like a snake does.
And you know they are they come in all sorts
of different sizes. So this first photo that I've shared
with you, All of these pictures will be in the
show notes. This is a glass lizard and it is
one of the bigger species of legless lizards. It's this
(19:53):
it's I think it's quite beautiful. It's sort of this
pale tan color. It's got these like weird it's not injured.
I know, it kind of looks like someone slashed It's
that's a natural part of this species. It's just sort
of a skin fold. So yeah, it's called the shell
top who sick. It is one of the largest species
(20:15):
of legless lizards in the world, found in southern Europe
and Central Asia. It is it grows to be a
little under four and a half feet or one hundred
and thirty five centimeters. And yeah, that that groove is
sort of folded skin, so it's it's normal.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
It looks badass.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Looks wise. It looks like a white like, you know,
sort of the There are various dragons. I think some
of them are called like worms or something like, aren't
there dragons where it's they don't have wings and they
just kind of like slither through the air.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they fly, but there's
definitely they sort of resemble like a komodo dragon, but
like in fantasy terms, so they're yeah large, and they're
like clod you know, and typically instead of the almost
dinosaur like head, it's more lizard like.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Typically, Yeah, you definitely have those types of dragons which
are cool, Like kmodo dragons are cool.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
They are very cool.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
These lizards are cool.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I think what makes so like, what's terrifying about a
snake and cute about these legless lizards is a snake
can like prop itself up, you know, what I mean,
and like really confront you. You're like, you're should not
be facing me like this. Okay, you could just go
on the ground and then up in the air and
look me in my eye while you kill me.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Horrifying. This little guy's.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Killing he is not going to get it. Doesn't look
like he can prop himself up.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
I don't think, yeah, I don't think. They coil in
this defensive manner that snakes.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, okay, that's much cuter. That plus eyelids equals to snake.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
I could rock.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Can't blink at you?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Yeah, yeah, it could wink at you could flirt. It's cute.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
It could flirt. What you need for flirting is eyelids,
and if you don't got them, you can't.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
The ability is gone.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
These little guys are also kind of like the one
with the tiny fettle legs.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
They are so cute. Yes, so there's the small one
of the smaller species of legless lizards, or the southern
California legless lizards who are small enough to be mistaken
for earthworms. They are just little, tiny guys. Uh so cute.
And then some species of lizards have not fully lost
their legs. These are actually my favorites. But they are
(22:27):
going in that direction though, so like they have legs
with their teeny teeny teeny teeny days.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
If you saw Deadpool and these little tiny baby feet,
it's exactly what you're thinking of.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
They're so little.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Do these like help them propel or is this just
a slow form of evolution, like we're getting rid of them?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
It just takes time.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
It's they probably have some positive use. Otherwise it's I mean,
they could be vestigial, but I believe for these like
it helps them a little bit. The rear legs probably
helps with mating. The four legs probably helps a little
bit in terms of burrowing or something. But I don't
think that they're super super functional or helpful. But yeah,
(23:09):
I mean, I mean they might. They just have a
sort of different evolutionary path. They may never like if
you gave them another you know, million years, they may
never lose their legs, or they may lose them. But yeah,
this is called the Italian skink, which sounds like an
anti Italian slur, but it's not. Apparently that's a great name.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
What a bad but I love it, oh man, the
Italian skink wonderful.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
So I think one of The most interesting things about
this is like the way in which these legs have
been lost in lizards and snakes over and over again.
So why do both snakes in some species of lizards
lose their legs because legs seem pretty useful. The most
likely reason is that burrowing or hunting in burrows made
(24:01):
legs less efficient, So sliding into burrows is easy when
you don't have any legs in that way, so they
can just slide in, grab a baby, go for eat it,
and slide out. Early snakes slowly lost their legs, they
still had hind legs in some species for a while,
and in modern BoA's they still actually have little tiny
(24:23):
you can't even barely see them. What, Yeah, you really
can't see them very well. It's just like they almost
look like little tiny like clothing and that is it's
like called a clasper and they can clasp in during
mating and it helps them kind of like attach on
to the female.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Bowls just got two more terrifying.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
I didn't know they I really didn't know they were
using hooks for sex.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
They very advanced creature fish.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Like don't kink shame the bowl community.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
So Joel, I can I make the assumption that you
might be, you know, a little bit wary of scorpions.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Definitely wary of scorpions. Definitely if I saw one, I
would move in the other direction. I don't want to
harm them, but you know, if we never cross back.
It's how I feel about birds, people all over there.
And it's really good that you have that space, and
I don't want to take any from you. In fact,
I think we should preserve your space. But I would
not like to be in that space with you. What
I wouldn't want you in my space.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Scorpions are the birds of the ground, according to Joel,
because yes, you're afraid of birds as well. Yes, for
I mean, you've been on the show multiple times, so
I help people would know that about you by now.
But yes, afraid of birds, afraid of scorpions makes sense.
You know, the scorpion is quite scary. What is the
(25:56):
scariest part of the scorpions?
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Thinky part? Yes, y'a overted at you.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
It's got like a big needle at the bottom that
can stab you.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
And then it's poisonous snow. Yes, yes, yeah that seems bad.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Yeah, No, I I like scorpions, but I so I
grew up sort of next to a canyon, and for
whatever reason, my room would get infiltrated by critters all
the time, which was fun. It felt like it happened
to my room the most. Maybe they they sensed my
creature feature vibes. And yet I accepted some of them.
(26:32):
But the scorpions, no, I couldn't. I could not accept
living in my midst It was. It was very It
was they were tiny. They were like these little, tiny
tan scorpions. But like, even if it was scorpions small,
that doesn't necessarily mean it's harmless because it could have venom.
But yeah, it was. I I was quite afraid of them.
And yeah, it's all because of that fierce, sort of
(26:54):
syringe like tail that they would chode you. As you
point out, Uh so it is kind of funny to
me that there is an animal called the tailless whip scorpion,
which minute yes, which looks like a kind of horrifying
crab scorpion, but it's got no tail.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Okay here already, I'm so confused because if I think
of a scorpion and anything whippy, it's that tail. Yeah,
this one is whippy without the tail. Yeah, Diva is this.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
So the whip part of it I think comes from
the fact that it has these like really long antenna
like structures that good large. Then yeah, it is a
horrifying looking Arthur pod. It does not have that tail
though that scorpions often have.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Scorpions can be terrifying in an entirely different way. People.
I just want to let you know if.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
You were scared at the tail, you didn't know, Uh,
it could have crab like claws. Oh my god, I
just know some like alien creature designer has been looking
at these like my time is coming, Like I'm going
to implement this into a horror film.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Yes, and terrified.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
P This is so weird and scary and big. I
would scream so loud if I saw this in nature.
Oh my god, Katie, where are they? So I never
go near that.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Well, they are found kind of throughout the world because
they are actually multiple species with an order called ambly page. Uh.
And it is actually not a true scorpion, so it's
in the eracted class, which includes scorpions and spiders.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
I can see that.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
But the tail is whip scorpion, while being a relative
of both scorpions and spiders, is neither a scorpion nor
a spider.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Now, animals, I really need you to get into. How
are you both related to both of these but also
classified as neither.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
That's interesting.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
I mean, it's just its distinct order. So scorpions have
its order of species, spiders have its own order, and
so this one has its distinct order. They're just all
kind of cousins, you know.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Wow, Okay, those guys in class of his own, and
to be fair looking at it deserves to be, has
earned its own space title and recognition.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
So what Joel is reacting to is that this thing
looks like you crossed a crab, a spider, and a
scorpion and it created kind of a horrible alien. So
the this has these long legs, very long and skinny,
kind of like a spider. It has an antenna very
(29:34):
long and sort of skinny like I don't know, just
really long antenna, kind of like a lobster. And then
it has these two long, skinny legs that end in
these little pincer claws.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
And it is yeah, it's it's I think it's cool,
but I acknowledge that it's unpleasant looking. And they also
scuttle kind of like a crab. Oh, scuttling is something
that turn some people off, and so yeah it is.
They are basically a spooky, slender version of a crab,
(30:08):
spider or spider crab or whatever. They can get to
be quite big, usually spanning larger than an adult's palm. So,
for instance, the damon.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
I think, not Katie what.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
So for instance, the daemon Diadema tailus whip scorpion of
Central Africa has a body that's only a little over
an inch long or twenty eight millimeters, but its leg
span gets to be up around eight inches or twenty centimeters.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
I don't I don't want to be near his body
is so creepy. It's really like the legs are so
spread out, and I feel like, as a human, my
eyes are like which one do I need to focus on?
Speaker 1 (30:53):
You know?
Speaker 2 (30:53):
With a scorpion, they have the courtesy of being like,
here's one tail, don't lose sight of it. Okay, these guys,
they're like danger could come from anywhere at any time.
And also I scuttle, I can move in any direction
at any time.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
It's three hundred and sixty degrees of no. So they
may look horrifying, and yes they do, but they actually
have no venom. They're very shy, and they generally don't bite.
The most you have to fear from them is getting
pinched by their pair of long, pinchy pincers if you
(31:32):
scare them or antagonize them.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Por Phone crawls over you while you're sleeping, and you
just scream yourself.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
But you know, it's like a crab where it can pinch,
you can kind of hurt. These can, you know, make
little tiny puncture wounds, sort of like if you get
pricked by a thorn or something. But there's no venom,
so it's not dangerous. It's not dangerous at all. They
just look like they could kill you and latch onto
your face, rip your eyeballs out, but they can't.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Millions of years of human evolution has told you you
should not touch or be near this thing. Okay, your
body knows even though even though your brain may know better.
Be like, listen, you could survive a pinch and be fine.
Your body said, we will not be putting in this way.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
So it's interesting because these legs are very They are
arachnids and they have eight legs, but it looks like
they only have six, but that is because one pair
of their legs have been modified into the antenna, so
those really long antenna that get them. The name of
(32:39):
whip scorpion is the modified front legs that have grown
extra sensory neurons and actually is now used as antenna.
The pincers, the little what looks like little legs with pincers,
are actually modified petipalps. Pelps are when you look at
(33:01):
a spider. Sometimes they have what look like tiny little
arms near their mouth that kind of go like yeah,
which I think are cute, but yeah, those have become
really elongated and have the cool addition of pincers, and
they use those like a crab wood where they grab food,
grab prey. Sometimes they even stab the prey with them
(33:23):
and then bring it up to their mouth and then
they eat it with their chillicera.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
May I ask what their diet consists.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Of small invertebrates. Usually they will occasionally eat a small
vertebrate if the opportunity arises, but generally they only mess
around with other arthropods.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
I don't like when they start eating the vertebrates. It's
really terrifying to me. I will say, this is my
love hate relationship with the whole spider and spider esque community.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
Okay, y'all eat the little bugs.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
That bite me that I hate, and you keep my
house clear of them, and that's good, that's good for
all of us.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
But then you are also terrifying. I have to deal
with that.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
I've been getting pretty good about not killing the spiders
in my house for those of you who are really
about like you.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Just said it free.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
I can't touch them because it weirds me out, but
I will go get someone else in my household, Like,
will you just gently transfer this thing far outside of
our door so it can come back in, but also
it can just continue to do what it needs to do.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
This one.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
I'm sorry, buddy, if you come in my house, you
have to die. It's not I can't cohabitate even for
a second.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
It's so creepy.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Yeah, I mean some people keep them as pets in.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
Yeah, this thing can't show you affection. That's not a pet.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Pinch your cheek with it's a little cloth.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
No no, no, no.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
So they actually, despite I guess being nightmare fuel, they
are very much introverts. Mating consists of the male depositing
his sperm packets on the grid and gently guiding the
female over with the hopes that she'll pick up the
sperm packets, in seminate herself and bear offspring.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
So yeah, Wins could learn a lesson, is all I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Sorry, Katie said, please explain. I'm just saying I think
this is a much clearer way of doing things, just
to be like, if.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
You want to, it's here, but don't eat, no stress.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
I disagree, and the lady's like you, I think I
will pick it up and then just like he.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Leaves his sperm on the ground in like little packets,
like here you.
Speaker 3 (35:37):
Go, guide you back to you can.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
Take a sperm, leave a sperm.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
In that lock.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
You'll learn about whether this is the kind of person
whose children you want to carry or not.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
You know, Yeah, I strong disagree. I don't want to
trip over random sperm packets.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Are you saying? Dating and La has warped me? This
is the earlier problem.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
It's one of those little robots that delivers food now,
but for sperm packets. Yeah sounds great.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
After the eggs hatch, the tiny baby tailless whip scorpions
will actually climb onto their mother's back until they are
old enough to be on their own and their mother
and the babies communicate using their weird antenna legs, which
is a rare social behavior from arachnids.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
That is kind of huge. Yeah, communicate through touch me
to you guys.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
Behaviorally, they're actually really sweet. They're just very kind of shy.
They are not aggressive at all because they don't really
have that much to defend themselves with. Like, yeah, they
can pinch you, and they will if they feel threatened,
but you know, it's not much. So they generally are
very very shy, very reserved. They're clearly very shy in
(36:53):
the dating pool. They just they want to hold hands,
like basically take a walk and hold hands is like
the equivalent of sex for them, and then they like
are communicate with their babies. It's very cute.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
Okay, So as long as one of these doesn't sneak
up on me in my own house, maybe I can
get somebody else to come take care of them and
escort them outside.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Yeah, because I can't. You're like, pinch me. I must
be having a nightmare. It's like, okay, we'll do.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Well.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Before we go, we've got to play a little game,
and that game is called.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Guess Who's squawking?
Speaker 1 (37:30):
The Mystery animal sound game.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
I love this game.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Every week I play a mystery animal sound and you,
the listener, and you the guest, try to guess who
is squawking. So first, last week's mystery animal sound, the
hint was this, this patriotic bird often doesn't get credit
for its work. Oh yeah, that came through.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
I almost pit water all over this sec. I didn't engineer.
I was so good. I did not, but I was
very close. Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Uh because patriot, he said, as patriotic, Uh eagle, and
he said.
Speaker 3 (38:16):
It was hard.
Speaker 1 (38:17):
It often doesn't get credit for its work. Is it.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
A it's a government government eagle?
Speaker 1 (38:32):
I love that. I really wish there was a species
of rapper called the government eagle. So this is it's
not a government eagle. You're doing in the right zone. Now,
this is actually the red tailed hawk. So congratulations to
the three fastest guessers Auntie Bee, Joey P, and Emily
(38:55):
M who all wrote in and guessed correctly.
Speaker 3 (38:58):
Smart folks.
Speaker 1 (38:59):
Yes, so, red tailed hawks are raptors found throughout North America.
They're a medium sized brown hawk with a white underbelly
and rusty red tail. Their majestic call is often stolen
and used as the call for bald eagles in movies
or TV show, which is their larger, more famous raptor.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Yes, okay, because when I heard it, I was like,
this definitely sounds like an eagle. Yeah, and what I
know of eagles it the call is very uh, unique
and specific.
Speaker 3 (39:34):
When you hear it, you're like, okay, attention. So I
can see.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
Why they were like, I don't know what sounds the
bald eagle is making, but it's not this.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
It's not this. You want to hear what sounds the.
Speaker 3 (39:45):
Bald Yeah, well that is adorable. Yes, that is listen
here in America.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
If you're not from here and have not seen the
way we use a bald evil, they're majestic sharpshooters, yeah,
in the sky who cut the sky with their wings
and then dive on their prey.
Speaker 3 (40:11):
They're very manly.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
We put them on a lot of our war vehicles.
That adorable chirping does not match the mental image we
have as Americans of our country's bird, the bald eagle.
So we did we as we typically do. We had
to steal it from something much cooler. And not acknowledge
that species.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
I know, but the red tailed hawk is also found
in North America. It's an American species. We're just like,
you're not big enough. We really need an It's like
this manufactured symbol, right, like they eat an eagle that
looks big and fierce, and the bald eagle is pretty big,
sharp eyes, just got those sharp byes, got those big claws.
(40:50):
And the red tailed hawk is not nothing. It's a
you know, fierce predator, but it's smaller. It's you know,
not as striking looking, I guess, but it's called it's
much more majestic then the bald eagles are. Link it's cute, though.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
I love the eagles sounding. I'm not gonna.
Speaker 1 (41:07):
It's just like they makes them sound like a little
like you know, it's like little kitty laugh or.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
You want to get out a tea set and not
go to war though, so uh.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
You know how Americans feel about tea.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Yeah, yeah, we put that in the bay.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
Okay, So now what does the he says, the red
tailed hawk? Yeah, what do these things look like?
Speaker 1 (41:33):
They look like a typical hawk. They just kind of
they're not you know, you know what a hawk looks like.
I do. It's it's they're kind of brown. They they're
sometimes called chicken hawks. They don't actually prey on chickens,
so that's not that's a misnomer. But yeah, they they're
just very hawk looking hawk.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Okay, here's why I'm upset for the red tailed hawk
right now. They've got the same eyes as the eagles,
which we've just described as one of the key elements
of what makes the eagle look badass. We gonna put
this on war vehicles, you know. I'm just saying, like,
it's got all of the same energy. It's a little smaller,
you know. Yeah, but it's got that burly chick. You
(42:12):
can pay metals to this bird. Check it's so early.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
I have mixed feelings because I do want the red
tailed hawk to be more recognized, but also I'm a pacifist,
so using it like, Look, the problem is we have
the wrong symbol on our on our drones.
Speaker 3 (42:28):
Right exactly. Yeah, put the red tail hawk on here.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
It's the wrong species of birds America.
Speaker 3 (42:34):
Listen, I vibe with it.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
This bird is actually kind of cute, and you guys
aren't know how I feel about birds. With this one.
It looks together with it. Oh, not like the craziness
of a turkey.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
Yeah, or.
Speaker 2 (42:48):
The absolute chaotic nature of an owl. Why are you
turning your head around to look at me? So you
turn your whole body with some respect. Okay, No, that's right.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
I lied to you. I said there would be no
birds in this here.
Speaker 3 (43:00):
We are right in the end. She's snuck it in
right in there.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
Wow, I learned something today.
Speaker 1 (43:08):
Well onto this week's mystery animal. Sound the hint. This
hairy animal doesn't want his picnic on a rainy day.
Speaker 3 (43:20):
That is a big baby. Whoa.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
It sounds like me that I get woken up from
a nap. I'm very upset. Why is it raining here? Okay,
it's some kind of bear. I feel confident in that lane.
It's harry and it doesn't want to get what Afro
bear hit it.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
I did.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
Friends with Government eagle their best.
Speaker 3 (43:50):
Because they own all the war vehicles.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Add that one to the list of animals I wish existed.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
Afro bear meats.
Speaker 1 (44:00):
Can you imagine?
Speaker 3 (44:01):
I can't?
Speaker 1 (44:02):
And he is fabulous, wonderful, wonderful. Well, that is an
incredible guess and we will find out next time on
Creature feature. Who is making that sound. If you out
there think you know who the mystery animal is this week,
write me an email at Creature Featurepod at gmail dot com.
(44:22):
You can also write questions to me and sometimes I
have listener questions episodes, or respond to your emails or
you know, send me pictures of your pets.
Speaker 3 (44:32):
Always love those.
Speaker 1 (44:34):
Yep. I get a lot of cute animals in my
inbox and I love it, so Thank you guys so
much for listening. Joe Well, thank you so much for
coming on the show. It's so lovely to see you
in person in three D.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Thank you so much for having me. It's good to
see you too.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
And now I know when you see a crab like spider,
it's probably just an introvert and it doesn't want to
be near you as much as you don't want to
be near it. So I've really I guts to take
that inform home and protect additional spiders, which is an
insane thing I never thought I would do.
Speaker 1 (45:06):
Well. Where can people find you?
Speaker 3 (45:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (45:09):
Will you guys tell me you can find me all
over the internet at Due Monique It's Joelle em O and.
Speaker 3 (45:14):
iQue you.
Speaker 1 (45:17):
Well. Thank you so much, and thanks to Graham for
doing the audio on this episode. I'm usually flying solo abroad,
but I am so happy to pop into the studio
and thank you guys so much for listening. If you
are enjoying the show, you can leave a rating or
review and I read every single review and all the
(45:40):
ratings really do help the show. Or tell a friend
you know, just like say like, hey, you want to
learn about weird crab spiders that can pinch you like,
tell them, let them know, spread the word, and thanks
to the Space Classics for their super awesome song XO
loom Enough Creature features a production of iHeartRadio. For more
podcasts like the one you just heard, visit the iHeartRadio
(46:02):
app Apple Podcasts, or hey, guess.
Speaker 4 (46:03):
What for me?
Speaker 1 (46:04):
Listen to your favorite shows. I don't care. See you
next Wednesday.
Creature Feature News
Host
Katie Goldin
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