Log in

goodpods headphones icon

To access all our features

Open the Goodpods app
Close icon
headphones
Paleo Bites

Paleo Bites

Matthew Donald

Welcome to Paleo Bites, the weekly podcast hosted by Matthew Donald where we make dumb jokes, reference pop culture, derail like crazy, and oh yeah, discuss and rate dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. Each episode Matthew and a rotating set of guest co-hosts talk about a different genus of primeval critter, explain basic stats, exchange plenty of banter, barely fact-check, and at the end, rate the creature one out of 65 million for any reason, including but not limited to sexiness, mana, and dexterity. So join Matthew and his friends as we embark on this prehistoric odyssey and review the dinosaurs from Aardonyx to Zuul as well as many other extinct beasts, entertaining folks while undoubtedly making serious paleontologists weep. Musical sting by Magnus Ringblom from Epidemic Sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

profile image

1 Listener

Share icon

All episodes

Best episodes

Top 10 Paleo Bites Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Paleo Bites episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Paleo Bites for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Paleo Bites episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Paleo Bites - Ankylosaurus, the Fused Lizard
play

11/11/19 • 26 min

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ankylosaurus_dinosaur.png)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-hosts Christina Eilert and Jake Chapman discuss Ankylosaurus, the tank of the dinosaurs, except not, because it doesn't have a cannon. From the Late Cretaceous, this 26-foot long armored herbivore is sure to wallop you in the knees with entertainment and a big lump of bone and osteoderms at the end of its tail!

Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

profile image

1 Listener

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Paleo Bites - Tiktaalik, the Large Freshwater Fish
play

09/20/22 • 28 min

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiktaalik by Zina Deretsky)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Tiktaalik, a real asshole that should have known what horrible things crawling onto land would eventually lead to for the world. From the Late Devonian, this 8-foot sarcopterygian has been the subject of many memes using this very image about how it’s personally responsible for all of human suffering, which in all honesty might just be a tad harsh. Wait, rent is due soon and I might lose my insurance? Yeah, frick this guy.

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content at Patreon.com/MatthewDonald. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here, as well as his non-dinosaur-related book "Teslanauts" by clicking here.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Paleo Bites - Kunpengopterus, the Kunpeng Wing
play

04/22/25 • 21 min

(image source: https://marchan-forest.blogspot.com/2021/)


Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Kunpengopterus, a monkey-like pterosaur in that it had opposable thumbs, which is pretty cool I gotta say. There’s no joke there, I genuinely think that’s cool. From the Late Jurassic, this 3-foot wukongopterid was first thought to be just a run-of-the-mill pterodactyloid before the aforementioned thumbs were discovered, and then scientists got all giddy and it got popular again! A monkey-dactyl? That’s freaking awesome! It’s so awesome it’s turned our usual snarky descriptions into sincere excitement! Something’s wrong, we’re acting too positive. We gotta make the next episode’s description extra cynical to rebalance the universe.


Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content at Patreon.com/MatthewDonald. Also, you can get links to follow Matthew Donald and purchase his books at https://linktr.ee/matthewdonald. His latest book, Teslamancer, just released August 27th! And mild spoiler alert... there are kind of dinosaurs in it... mwuahahaha.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Paleo Bites - Dunkleosteus, the Bone of Dunkle
play

05/19/20 • 21 min

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkleosteus#/media/File:Dunkleosteus_terrelli_-_MUSE.jpg)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O'Regan discuss Dunkleosteus, the literally boneheaded fish that haunted the nightmares of early sharks. From the Late Devonian, this 26-foot placoderm not only preyed on anything it could get its plated teeth on, but also might have been an early example of giving live birth. So that's weird.

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Paleo Bites - Anthropornis, the Man Bird
play

08/11/20 • 17 min

(image source: http://animaladay.blogspot.com/2011/10/anthropornis.html)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Franklin discuss Anthropornis, the biggest penguin of all time with a snicker-inducing name. From the Mid Eocene, this 6-foot-tall bird patrolled the Antarctic waters of old and probably did a lot of cool stuff back in its time. Geddit, "cool," because it lived in Antarctica? I'm sure I'm the first person to ever make that joke.

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Paleo Bites - Gasosaurus, the Gasoline Lizard
play

02/02/21 • 19 min

(image source: https://images.dinosaurpictures.org/gasosaurus_b605.jpg)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Gasosaurus, a poor schmuck of a dinosaur stuck with a name that'll make third-graders snicker the world over. From the Mid Jurassic, this 12-foot theropod has an unclear placement in the meat-eating dinosaur tree; it could be a carnosaur, a coelurasaur, a metriacanthosaur, or maybe an ancestor of all of them. Sounds lot a load of hot air. (snicker)

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Paleo Bites - Oviraptor, the Egg Thief
play

01/03/23 • 22 min

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oviraptor)


Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Oviraptor, the most unfairly judged dinosaur found fossilized with a bunch of eggs and thus was assumed to be stealing those eggs rather than nurturing their own. There’s no way this thing could actually be a good mother, now could it? From the Late Cretaceous, this 5-foot maniraptoran theropod had a cassowary-like beak and roadrunner-like feathers, making it quite bird-like in many ways. And birds don’t eat eggs, they lay them! See, I’m a scientist. Although I’m sure some birds eat eggs, but whatever.


Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content at Patreon.com/MatthewDonald. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here, as well as his non-dinosaur-related book "Teslanauts" by clicking here.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Paleo Bites - Moeritherium, the Beast of Lake Moeris
play

10/17/23 • 25 min

(image source: https://www.thoughtco.com/moeritherium-lake-moeris-beast-1093246)


Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Moeritherium, a pig-hippo-tapir thing that was actually closer related to elephants than any of those other creatures, because the only thing nature is consistent at is being inconsistent. From the Late Eocene, this 6-foot proboscid lived in the mangrove swamps of its Egyptian home while blissfully unaware of the bleak desert it would become a few minor extinctions and Ice Ages later. Imagine what your own home will be like 35 million years from now! Probably be just cosmic dust along with the rest of the Earth after we’ve annihilated it.


Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content at Patreon.com/MatthewDonald. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here, as well as his non-dinosaur-related book "Teslanauts" by clicking here.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Paleo Bites - Megantereon, the Giant Beast
play

06/03/25 • 21 min

(image source: https://newdinosaurs.com/megantereon/)


Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Megantereon, a fairly typical saber-toothed cat with one major claim to fame in that we have direct evidence of it hunting early humans, so any time you think there’s danger in the darkness, you can thank this guy for instilling that instinct into you. Thanks, Megantereon! I really appreciate running upstairs after turning off the basement lights so the Shadow Figure doesn’t get me; that’s peak childhood right there. From the Late Pliocene, this 6-foot machairodontid felid has a name that really isn’t indicative of its actual stature. This thing may be a slightly larger than normal cat, but “giant beast” it ain’t. Unless I also am a giant beast, which I suppose I am. I certainly eat like one, anyway.


Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content at Patreon.com/MatthewDonald. Also, you can get links to follow Matthew Donald and purchase his books at https://linktr.ee/matthewdonald. His latest book, Teslamancer, just released August 27th! And mild spoiler alert... there are kind of dinosaurs in it... mwuahahaha.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Paleo Bites - Enhydriodon, the Otter Tooth
play

06/10/25 • 21 min

(image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/676736281530757612/)


Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Enhydriodon, a giant species of otter that you really otter avoid. That’s the kind of humor you should expect on this show. I truly can’t believe we’re nearing 300 episodes. From the Early Pliocene, this 7-foot mustelid was believed to be mostly terrestrial but very comfortable in the water, akin to the tigers of today. So it’s an otter not in the water? What’s the otter with this thing? Again, let me reiterate: THREE. HUNDRED. EPISODES. Of this show. Or at least close to it, anyway.


Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content at Patreon.com/MatthewDonald. Also, you can get links to follow Matthew Donald and purchase his books at https://linktr.ee/matthewdonald. His latest book, Teslamancer, just released August 27th! And mild spoiler alert... there are kind of dinosaurs in it... mwuahahaha.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode

Show more best episodes

Toggle view more icon

FAQ

How many episodes does Paleo Bites have?

Paleo Bites currently has 294 episodes available.

What topics does Paleo Bites cover?

The podcast is about Funny, Natural Sciences, Humor, Comedy, Nature, Podcasts, Science and Paleontology.

What is the most popular episode on Paleo Bites?

The episode title 'Ankylosaurus, the Fused Lizard' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Paleo Bites?

The average episode length on Paleo Bites is 24 minutes.

How often are episodes of Paleo Bites released?

Episodes of Paleo Bites are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Paleo Bites?

The first episode of Paleo Bites was released on Nov 11, 2019.

Show more FAQ

Toggle view more icon

Comments