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.

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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.

Ankylosaurus, the Fused Lizard

Paleo Bites

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.

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Tiktaalik, the Large Freshwater Fish

Paleo Bites

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.

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Anthropornis, the Man Bird

Paleo Bites

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.

Sarcosuchus, the Flesh Crocodile

Paleo Bites

05/14/24 • 23 min

(image source: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Sarcosuchus)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Sarcosuchus, one of the biggest crocodilians in the fossil record that lived alongside some big hitters like Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Suchomimus. Oh, and also a giant sawshark. A truly terrifying swamp, that was. From the Mid Cretaceous, this 38-foot crocodylomorph ate any poor herbivorous dinosaurs that dared to trespass its swamp. Hey, Ouranosaurus, wanna cross the river? You gotta pay the toll... IN BLOOD. Nomnomnomnomnomnomnom.

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.

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

Oviraptor, the Egg Thief

Paleo Bites

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.

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Dunkleosteus, the Bone of Dunkle

Paleo Bites

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.

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Mononykus, the Single-Clawed One

Paleo Bites

07/11/23 • 29 min

(image source: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Mononykus)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lexi Ryan discuss Mononykus, a dinosaur that was really good at poking and pretty much nothing else with those singular claws of theirs. They could point, poke, and pork. That’s it. Good night, everyone. From the Late Cretaceous, this 3-foot alvarezsaurid probably lived like an anteater picking bugs out of logs with its claws and its long tongue. Its tongue didn’t fossilize though, so that’s pure speculation. We paleontologists can make things up on occasion.

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Jaekelopterus, the Wing of Jaekel

Paleo Bites

02/18/20 • 18 min

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaekelopterus#/media/File:Jaekelopterus_rhenaniae_reconstruction.jpg)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Allen Brooks discuss Jaekelopterus, the giant sea scorpion that might have been the largest arthropod ever, because that's exactly what the world needed. From the Early Devonian, this 10-foot eurypterid snipped at fish and other invertebrates while remaining safely confined in the realm of storybooks and horror movies and not real life. This didn't exist. It didn't. That's what my therapist told me!

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Gasosaurus, the Gasoline Lizard

Paleo Bites

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)

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Homotherium, the Same Beast

Paleo Bites

09/05/23 • 22 min

(image source: https://fanon.fandom.com/wiki/Homotherium_latidens_(SciiFii))

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Homotherium, another one of those saber-toothed cats early humans had to deal with because we’ve never had enough problems. From the Mid Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene, this 5-foot machairodont felid was more like a saber-toothed cougar than a saber-toothed tiger, as it was a pursuit hunter that could run down prey rather than merely ambushing them. Then again, neither term is accurate, because these are completely different cats. You can’t call things things that they aren’t; that’s why if someone says the word “jellyfish,” the appropriate response is to hang them.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Paleo Bites have?

Paleo Bites currently has 269 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.

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Paleo Bites

Matthew Donald

Top 10 Paleo Bites Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does Paleo Bites have?

What topics does Paleo Bites cover?

What is the most popular episode on Paleo Bites?

What is the average episode length on Paleo Bites?

How often are episodes of Paleo Bites released?

When was the first episode of Paleo Bites?

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