Life, Death, and Taxonomy
334 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago - ★★★★★ - 50 ratingsLearn about all things animalia in this family friendly podcast. Each week Joe and Carlos dive deep into nature to find animals that have at least one amazing talent they use to survive. Gather up some animal knowledge and crazy nature facts to drop on your friends at parties with each new episode of Life, Death, and Taxonomy.
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Episodes
Episode 34 – Japanese Honey Bee: Hot Hugs From Murderbugs
August 21, 2018 06:23 - 31 minutes - 34.8 MB“…and today we are talking about a sweet bee that secrets glee onto house bees that make honeys when they please inside trees.” Intro Being a honey bee means that you can get organic honey without paying the Trader Joe’s prices. But that doesn’t mean life is going to be easy. When predators barge through […]
Episode 33 – Southern Grasshopper Mouse: The Wasteland Warrior
August 14, 2018 06:00 - 31 minutes - 35.2 MB“…and today we’re talking about a creature that is the half-orc barbarian class of mice and would give Cluny the Scourge a run for his money.” Intro The sonoran desert can be a hard place to find a good meal, especially for a hungry mouse. Plus, what can you do when one of your favorite […]
Episode 32 – Geography Cone Snail: A Diabetical Evil
August 07, 2018 06:00 - 26 minutes - 28.9 MB“…and today we’re talking about a snail that would leave a trail of pale dales, if it were to go to a shell collecting conventional in a town full of handsy guys name dale.” Description Sea snail with a cylindrical shell. The shell has a base pinkish white color with brownish red splotches that form thick […]
Episode 31 – Barn Owl: The Sneaky Screech
July 31, 2018 06:11 - 27 minutes - 30.8 MB“…And today we’re talking about sneak flying fluff with the face of an adorable ghost.” Intro A predator needs to be fast. The ever-alert prey of the fields and forests always have an ear and eye out for potential threats. If you’re not fast, there’s only one thing you can do, fly under the radar […]
Episode 30 – Hoatzin: The Fowl-Smelling Tree Cow
July 24, 2018 10:00 - 29 minutes - 31.6 MB“…And today we are talking about a weird and clumsy birb that is inexplicably not endangered.” Taxonomy Debate Given its own order because it’s such a little weirdo. But some think it could be closely related to other birds like tinamous, the Galliformes (gamebirds), the rails, the bustards, seriemas, sandgrouse, doves, turacos and other Cuculiformes, and […]
Episode 29 – Humpback Whale: Krill or be Krilled
July 17, 2018 12:00 - 30 minutes - 33.5 MBIntro The ocean is a vast world filled with perils, including an array of large, voracious predators looking to make a meal out of anything they can get their jaws around. But there’s one aquatic avenger that seems to answer the call to protect and surf. The Humpback Whale is a creature with sophisticated intelligence […]
Episode 28 – Photuris Firefly: From Dusk Till Dawn
July 10, 2018 12:00 - 49 minutes - 46.7 MBImagine you’re a male firefly and you only have a month or so to find your soulmate. You flash your lights and strut your stuff, but nothing comes of it. Then, a ray of hope shines as you witness the tantalizing bioluminescent strobe patterns of your one true love. You buzz forth only to find […]
Episode 27 – American Bison: The Star Spangled Buffalo
July 08, 2018 21:32 - 29 minutes - 33.2 MBThe vast amber waves of grain seem an unceasing sea of unbroken golden wheat and prairie grasses. But a mighty beasts roams this American savanna, framed by a blue mountain backdrop. It’s size dwarfs most other creatures on the continent and it’s appetite is nearly insatiable. But big, brown, and bearded are the qualities America’s […]
Episode 26 – Tube Worm: Blood Plumes Near Magma Fumes
June 26, 2018 06:00 - 33 minutes - 38.4 MBIf you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Or, at least, get some distance between you and that molten underwater volcano. But there’s one animal that can not only take the heat, it needs it to survive. The tube worm is a weird-looking matchstick at the bottom of the ocean, and it’s […]
Episode 25 – American Black Bear: The Super Supper Smeller
June 19, 2018 06:00 - 34 minutes - 38.7 MBThey can smell when you have a pie, they can smell when you tell the lie, “My, oh, my! I have no pie!” Its a sense of smell you can’t deny, on a big ol bear you shan’t defy. They can smell it in a car, Underwater, and from afar. But finding food is the […]
Episode 24 – Epomis Beetle: An Underbug Story
June 12, 2018 06:00 - 35 minutes - 40.5 MBThe animal kingdom usually seems pretty straightforward. The bigger animal eats the smaller animal. But there are some cases where the tables are turned and the little guys win. At first glance, the Epomis beetle might seem like an easy meal for a hungry frog. But not all is as it seems in this brutal […]
Episode 23 – Pacu Fish: Incredible Incisors
June 10, 2018 18:46 - 31 minutes - 35.3 MBThe life of an aquatic herbivore may mean non-stop soggy salads but there’s one South American fish that doesn’t mind at all. They may look like their killer kin, but they hide a secret smile that allows them to live vegan lifestyle. But adaptation is the name of the game in Life, Death, and taxonomy. […]
Episode 22 – Indian Grey Mongoose: The Quick and the Fuzzy
May 29, 2018 16:34 - 25 minutes - 29.3 MBWe have a saying in India: “Don’t go near King Cobras”. But the Indian Grey Mongoose says “bupkis” to that. When you are combating the world’s largest venomous snake, you’d better be light on your feet, swift as the sunrise, and also completely immune to snake venom. Surviving isn’t easy in Life, Death, and Taxonomy. […]
Episode 21 – Hairy Frog: The Real Wolverine
May 22, 2018 06:00 - 26 minutes - 30.8 MBThe earth is covered in creatures with all kinds of amazing traits. But sometimes, those traits can be pretty horrifying by human standards. In the Congo, when push comes to shove, you better have something up your sleeve. If you don’t have sleeves, like most amphibians, you might have to dig a little deeper to […]
Episode 20 – Sea Devil: The Monster With Attachment Issues
May 15, 2018 06:00 - 29 minutes - 33.6 MBAlright ye landlubbers! Hoist up the main sail, strike yer colors, and listen to the tale of the Black Sea Devil—a fish with the face of a demon. With cold, lifeless eyes and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, the Sea Devil won’t think twice about snatchin’ up its prey and draggin’ it down […]
Episode 19 – Woolly Bear Moth: Just Dying to Fly
May 08, 2018 15:08 - 24 minutes - 28.4 MBIn nature, animals fight hard to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation. For an insect in the frigid regions of North America, even the pursuit of adulthood is a demanding task. Meet one caterpillar that is just dying to leave their life crawling on the ground and take to the sky […]
Episode 18 – African Land Snail: She’s the Man
May 01, 2018 06:00 - 26 minutes - 30.8 MBIf there are three things that Africa has given the Western World, they would be papyrus, hurricanes, and snails the size of your forearm. On the world’s list of invasive species, the Giant African Land Snail is high up on the list. But what makes this sluggish slimeball such a problem? Join us as we […]
Episode 17 – Rubber Boa: They Hunt at Night
April 24, 2018 06:00 - 27 minutes - 32.2 MBWhen you think of the rolling vistas of the alpine regions of the North Eastern United States, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Is it snakes? Probably not. Because if a snake wants to survive out here, it better develop some amazing tricks to take the cold. But if your not an animal […]
Episode 16 – Nursery Web Spider: What is Love? Baby Don’t Eat Me
April 17, 2018 17:33 - 22 minutes - 25.6 MBRomance is the air! Animals show affection in all kinds of ways. But affection doesn’t really come into play for the Nursery Web Spider. To pass along his genes without being eaten alive, a male needs to play a dangerous game of chance. So grab your nuptial gift, wrap it in silk, and remember that […]
Episode 15 – Rufous Hummingbird: A Long Strange Trip on Little Wings
April 10, 2018 03:00 - 30 minutes - 35.6 MBImagine you were born a few weeks ago and one morning you wake up and your parents are gone. It’s getting colder and the days are getting shorter. Something inside you is spurring you on, out of your nest and into the darkness of night. One tiny bird embarks a journey that spans thousands of […]
Episode 14 – Samurai Crab: Ghost of the Sea of Japan
April 03, 2018 06:00 - 30 minutes - 34.8 MBDeep beneath the waves of the Sea of Japan, an ancient child emperor and his retinue of samurai drowned themselves rather than be captured by the enemy. Tales tell of their souls binding to the carapaces of tiny crabs dwelling at the bottom of the ocean. With faces as fierce as the samurai they host, […]
Episode 13 – Collared Pika: Alaska’s Cutest Botanist
March 27, 2018 06:00 - 26 minutes - 30.2 MBThe Alaskan Winter is harsh. The days grow shorter until the sun doesn’t come out at all. The temperature drops to negative fifty and nothing grows for months. Most animals hibernate to limit the need for food when it is so scarce, except for one little mammal. To survive the desolate Alaskan winter one little […]
Episode 12 – Leafcutter Ant: The Ant Farm Fungus Farmer
March 20, 2018 06:00 - 26 minutes - 29.7 MBSooie! I’ve been a simple farmer all my life, gettin’ up at the crack of dawn and plowin’ the fields ‘til sundown. But humans ain’t the only ones to grow a crop or two. The leaf cuttin’ ant is a prime example of what a hard-workin’ organism can do when they ain’t one of them […]
Episode 11 – Axolotl: The Peter Pan Salamander
March 13, 2018 06:00 - 34 minutes - 38.9 MBIn the heart of Mexico, a rare creature once found its home in the depths Lake Chaco near present day Mexico City. Unfortunately, that lake no longer exists. With it’s home drained to make room for the expanding metropolis, this unique amphibian has been forced into canals and streams infested by invasive predators like the […]
Episode 10 – Greenland Shark: The Oldest Fish in the Brook
March 06, 2018 06:00 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBThey say you should respect your elders. But what if your elder is a gigantic shark? The oldest living vertebrate might just cruising around the Arctic Sea. Find out how old a fish can get in this episode of Life, Death, and Taxonomy. Music by Music Head
Episode 9 – Colorado River Toad: The Psychedelic Secreter
February 27, 2018 06:00 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBThere are lots of ways to deter a predator when you’re a toad. You could puff up to make yourself look bigger. You could do your best impression of a carcass and play dead. Or you could coat your whole body with a deadly poison. But one genus of toad likes to spike the sauce […]
Episode 8 – Diving Bell Spider: The Ultimate Bubble Butt
February 20, 2018 08:00 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBEveryone likes to maintain their personal bubble, but what if that maintenance meant a little bit of free diving? Take a deep breath, strap some air to your thorax, and dive down to the depths of knowledge with us as we explore a certain spider’s underwater world where it’s eat or be eaten. We don’t […]
Episode 7 – Binturongs: The Cat Who Smelled Like Popcorn and Wasn’t a Cat
February 13, 2018 06:00 - 23 minutes - 21.3 MBHave you ever walked into a movie theater and wondered what smelled like an arboreal dwelling fur-monster? You might, after learning about the strange scent this fuzzy forest creature makes as it travels from tree to tree on this episode of Life, Death and Taxonomy.
Episode 6 – The Thumb Splitting Mantis Shrimp
February 06, 2018 02:00 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBWelcome, ladies and gents, to the all-night spectacular fight between two of the world’s most formidable pugilists! In one corner, we have the undefeated Muhammad Ali. In the other… I don’t believe it! Ladies and gents, tonight our very own Ali will be putting up his dukes against… a shrimp? Looks like you can never […]
Episode 5 – Bower Birds: From Plumes to Rooms
January 30, 2018 00:00 - 30 minutes - 28 MBThe ladies like a guy with an eye for style, at least, the bird we are going to talk about today thinks so. Some creatures fight for their mates but not this little gentleman. He knows that sometimes you’ve got to get creative to get the girl. But that’s just how it goes in Life, […]
Episode 4 – Horned Lizard: Survival Through Blood, Sweat, and Tears
January 23, 2018 00:30 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBIn the dusty old texan desserts, ain’t no one gonna help you when buzzerds and coyotes come a-callin. If you wanna survive out here, you better make like a lizard with a deep bag of tricks. Set a spell and learn you a thing or two about the lengths one wasteland reptile will go to […]
Episode 3 – Tardigrades: The Teeny Titans Living in Your Backyard
January 12, 2018 18:55 - 34 minutes - 31.6 MBDid you know that we are constantly surrounded by tiny superheroes? The "space bear" is one of nature's most resilient animals. Find out just how much the Tardigrade can take in this new episode!
Episode 2 – The Ethiopian Wolf: Nature’s Goodest Boy
January 12, 2018 18:50 - 30 minutes - 24 MBAltruism is usually known as a human characteristic, but did you know that a rare wolf native to the heart of Africa can be altruistic? Join us as we learn just how nice a wolf can be.
Episode 1 – The Not-So-Humble Humboldt Squid
January 02, 2018 01:00 - 30 minutes - 28.7 MBThe ocean can be a terrifying place, and that's mostly thanks to animals like the Humboldt Squid. But their ferocity is hardly the most interesting thing about these cephalopods. Join us for our pilot episode as we explore the depths of the sea to come face to face with the Kraken itself!