Creature Feature: A Halloween Special on Nature’s Creepiest (and Coolest) Animals - Barking Mad

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Creature Feature: A Halloween Special on Nature’s Creepiest (and Coolest) Animals

Episode 69 • 31st October 2025 • Barking Mad • BSM Partners

00:21

Jordan Tyler

It's a dark night in the animal kingdom. Shadows stir, wings flutter, and somewhere in the distance, a toad croaks, a bat swoops, and a spider spins a silken trap.

00:43

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Every October, we tell ghost stories. But what if the most frightening creatures aren't ghosts at all? We what if they have fur, feathers, scales, or even eight very hairy legs?

01:00

Jordan Tyler

Tonight, we shine a light into the unknown, uncovering the myths, science, and the downright spooky truth about Halloween's most misunderstood animals.

01:13

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So grab your garlic, keep your flashlight close, and remember: not every creature that creeps is out to get you. Some just have a bad rap.

01:24

Jordan Tyler

Welcome to Barking Mad, a podcast by BSM Partners.

01:31

Dr. Stephanie Clark

We're your hosts, Dr. Stephanie Clark—

01:34

Jordan Tyler

—and I’m Jordan Tyler. So, we're here. We're ready to get spooky, and we have two of our colleagues here today. We have David Perez and Kait Wright as Halloween enthusiasts and Kait as a spider expert to talk about some of the animals commonly associated with spooky season, as well as some animals that aren't typically associated with Halloween. But maybe we should reconsider. But to kick us off today, David, take us to the movies. You are a movie buff, a scary movie buff at that, and a Halloween fanatic. And all these things are converging around your love for animals and pets. So I want to know, do you have a favorite Halloween movie that features an animal as a main character?

02:27

David Perez

Well, it's not really a Halloween movie, but my favorite scary movie that features animal is probably Silver Bullet. It is based on a Stephen King novella called Cycle of the Werewolf. So, I am a nerd when it comes to stuff like that. But it was originally commissioned. Stephen King was going to make a calendar, a 12-month calendar, and in each calendar, he was going to write a little excerpt and somebody was going to illustrate basically the werewolf doing something for each month of the year. But Stephen King never writes anything short. If you've ever read a book of his, it takes him five pages to describe a street. So, the calendar became a novella and then somebody wrote a movie around that. So, in this case, the movie is actually better than the book, one of the few times that's actually happened.

03:24

David Perez

But the movie is about a boy who is in a wheelchair who discovers that the local preacher is a werewolf. And if I spoiled it, I'm sorry, the movie's been out for like 40 years. So… sorry. But yeah, that's probably my favorite horror movie. Probably my favorite werewolf movie as well.

03:46

Jordan Tyler

Okay! I've never heard of that movie. I'm sorry to say, but I do love that it's a Stephen King thing. And it seems like Stephen King, like, had a thing maybe for making animals like key characters and some of his horror books. So, like, we also have, like, Cujo and I can't remember what the cat's name was in Pet Sematary...

04:07

David Perez

Church. Yeah. After Winston Churchill. So, see, I'm a nerd. I know stuff like that. Yeah. And that is a very sad book. Scary book, but a very sad book. It's a family moves into a house in Maine. There's a pet cemetery behind the house where people and kids have buried their dead pets for a long time. The cat dies… You can guess what happens after that.

04:33

Jordan Tyler

They did remake it recently, and the remake did freak me out. I did have nightmares about that one, for sure.

04:39

David Perez

Yeah. So, movie and book as well.

04:43

Jordan Tyler

Pope Gregory IX, in the year: 1233

05:47

Jordan Tyler

And so this basically just, like, kicked off their association with witches and witchcraft. Witches were said to be able to take on the form of a black cat, which is, again, where that superstition comes from—if a black cat crosses your path, it's bad luck because maybe it was a witch. Cats were also blamed, I learned this in researching for this episode, for spreading the bubonic plague. And so, they would, like, round them up and try to get rid of them. And it actually made the plague spread worse because there were fewer cats around to catch the rodents that were actually spreading the plague. So, totally misunderstood creatures. And it goes to show in other cultures, like in Scotland and in Japan, old folklore in those regions see black cats as symbols of good luck, like prosperity and good health. So, like, totally turning all of that on its head.

06:38

David Perez

Well, they're wrong.

06:40

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Are you allergic to cats?

06:41

David Perez

I am.

06:43

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Only people who don't like cats are always allergic to cats.

06:48

Jordan Tyler

Well, the last thing I'll say about black cats in opposition to David specifically, is that they make really great cats. I had a black cat growing up, and he was the sweetest boy. And a lot of shelters today are kind of trying to get around the stigma by doing, like, black cat adoption events and campaigns. And there's actually a Black Cat Appreciation Day every year on August 17th. So, mark your calendars. David, looking forward to celebrating with you.

07:19

David Perez

I'll be right there with a mask on.

07:23

Dr. Stephanie Clark

And an EpiPen.

07:26

Jordan Tyler

So, some fun facts about black cats there. But let's shift toads. Aside from their association with witches brew in Macbeth, what kinds of spooky lore exist around these croaky creatures?

07:44

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So I actually, I looked up the horned toads, which are not toads, they're lizards. But we can get to that later. But for toads, they actually aren't always bad, right? Like, so they appear bad because of their warty appearance and they're typically associated as, like, familiars with, like, witches, like you had mentioned. But they're actually good for, like, ancient Egypt, they're a symbol of rebirth and fertility. And then I didn't even think about this, but the Frog Prince. It's about finding your true worth, and it's found through love and acceptance. But then also in, like, the East Asian culture, toads are, like, they mean wealth. So, like the money toad, which I've never heard of. But anyway, those are my fun facts.

08:29

Jordan Tyler

Park Service. This is back in: 2022

09:26

Kait Wright

Also, the toad. Protect the toad from your tongue.

09:29

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Don't assault toads.

09:32

Jordan Tyler

Okay, so toads, check. Maybe not so spooky after all. But don't worry, we have more. Kait, let's talk about spiders. So, give us your most fun facts about these creepy crawlies.

09:49

Kait Wright

So I love spiders. I've always loved learning about them since I was a kid, and my mom got me a book about spiders. And one thing about spiders is I feel like a lot of them have a bad rap as being dangerous or deadly. And that is not true. We will talk a little bit about some of the spiders that actually are more dangerous to humans. But first, let's talk about a lot of the myths about spiders and some of the really cute and positive things about spiders.

10:19

Kait Wright

So, one myth is that I don't know if you heard this growing up, but that supposedly you swallow, like, six to eight spiders in your sleep a year. So, that is a complete myth. I mean, spiders, they don't want to go in there. I'm sure at one point in time somebody had a spider climb in their mouth, but that fact is just made up.

10:39

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So wait, how many spiders get stuck in people's ears a year?

10:43

Kait Wright

Ears?

10:44

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Yeah. Do you ever see, like, the videos of, like, people pulling, like, bugs and spiders out of their ears?

10:49

Kait Wright

No, but to my knowledge, there are no spiders that want to climb in your ears. They don't want you. A few more things to clarify about spiders is a lot of times people they want to talk about, like, is a spider poisonous? And the correct term is actually venomous. Poison is something you eat. Venom is what bites you. So pretty much all spiders, they have venom. So, really what you want to know is not, is a spider venomous? Because, yeah, it's going to have venom. It’s, is this venom harmful? And there are only a few genus [genera] of spiders that are called medically significant to humans, which means that they are actually dangerous.

11:32

Kait Wright

One myth is about the daddy long-legs, which are actually harvestmen, which, while arachnids are not spiders, they are opiliones. And I've heard a myth that they have very potent venom, but just their little fangs are too tiny and they can't break the skin. So, I mean, they do have very tiny little fangs, but they don't have very potent venom. Also, these opiliones, most of them aren't even really hunters. Some of them do hunt little bugs, but also they eat things like mold, dead organic matter, and feces. They don't need a lot of venom for that.

12:09

David Perez

Speaking of long legs… great horror movie, by the way. Just came out last year with Nicolas Cage. Fantastic horror movie.

12:16

Jordan Tyler

It has Nicolas Cage as, like, the crazy guy. And like, you would not ever think that it was him.

12:23

David Perez

Yeah. Like, it may be one of his best performances ever. Very good.

12:27

Kait Wright

I'll put it on my list.

12:29

Dr. Stephanie Clark

I feel like him being a crazy guy probably isn't a far stretch for his—

12:31

David Perez

—it's not. But, like, he's in. He's in, like, makeup and, like, you really can't even recognize him.

12:37

Kait Wright

Stealing the Declaration of Independence really changed him.

12:40

David Perez

It really did.

12:42

Kait Wright

Another thing about spider venom is that some venoms are more toxic to different animals. Like the Sydney funnel-web spider, while the venom can be dangerous to all animals, it is especially toxic to primates, and that includes humans. Spider bites, they hurt, but they're really not dangerous most of the time. A lot of times they can be likened to a bee sting. And honestly, from the data I found, the CDC has found that more people die from, like, bees and yellowjacket stings than by spiders. So, honestly, maybe you should be more scared about wasps and bees, so…

13:23

Jordan Tyler

Okay, quick question. Since you brought up Australian spiders, is it true that there is a spider that is in Australia that's so big that it eats birds?

13:35

Kait Wright

So there are bird-eating tarantulas. I don't know about Australia. I mean, like, the biggest spider is probably just like a dinner plate. Even, like, the goliath bird eater is, like, massive in terms of mass. And then there are other spiders and tarantulas that have, like, huge leg spans. But again, like, they're not super venomous or dangerous to humans.

13:55

Jordan Tyler

I think more, like, aesthetically horrifying.

14:01

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Yeah, I used to think, like, quarter and nickel size were, like, massive… Well, I still do think…

14:10

Kait Wright

I think the biggest true spider, not a tarantula, is a huntsman spider. So, huntsman spiders, I think of them as very derpy. They like harvestmen. They have legs that are, like, too big for their own good. Like, if you walk around the store and you see Halloween decorations with spiders with, like, crazy long legs, just kind of like going everywhere, very gangly. They look a lot like huntsman spiders. If you look up pictures online. Like, yeah, they're big, but they just look so weird. And they're always in weird poses. They're just kind of funny.

14:43

Jordan Tyler

Okay. Wow. Well, I feel like I just learned a lot about spiders.

14:46

Dr. Stephanie Clark

I feel like I'm super itchy now. I'm not going to lie.

14:49

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. Like, I need to take a shower. Well, now that we're all itchy, moving on to another iconic Halloween animal: bats.

15:02

Dr. Stephanie Clark

rom European folklore. But in: 1897

15:49

Dr. Stephanie Clark

However, some fun facts about bats. Out of, like, 1,400 species of bats, there's only three that are blood suckers, and they're not even suckers. They lap the blood up, but they actually—they've got, like, detectors, and they can figure out, like, where, like, the most blood is located. And they do, like, a silent bite, and you can't feel it, but they have an anticoagulant, so that's what we use to, like, not lead blood clump, in their saliva, and it's the protein called draculin.

16:23

Jordan Tyler

No.

16:23

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Full circle, right? Yeah. And they don't even really. I mean, I guess, like, drinking is a better word than sucking, like…

16:33

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. I never knew there were only a few species that drank blood. I thought all of them were, what's the sanguivores, which basically means animal that feeds off of another animal's blood.

16:47

Dr. Stephanie Clark

But I guess along the lines of bats, we've got ravens and crows. And so, ravens and crows can actually be good and bad, depending on where you are on the whole scheme of things. For good, right—we'll start with good first—in the Marvel Universe, there is a God, or I don't even know what to call him. His name is Odin, and he has two ravens, and they're supposed to be, like, a good omen of him.

17:15

Jordan Tyler

Wasn't Odin the father of Thor and Loki? And that's where all of the Thor and Loki, like, movies—they've, like, totally spun all of that out. There's, like, a million movies about it now. The king of Asgard.

17:28

Dr. Stephanie Clark

There we go. I was like, he's like a… Yeah.

17:31

Jordan Tyler

A God-king. A king-God.

17:33

Dr. Stephanie Clark

But yes, he is Thor's dad. Good for you! I did not know that.

17:38

Jordan Tyler

Haha, my nerds showing.

17:40

Dr. Stephanie Clark

No, I mean, I watch them and then I like, “Oh, yeah, that was great!” And didn't realize, like, anyone was related.

17:46

Jordan Tyler

Well, there's so many characters too so it’s hard to keep track.

17:47

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So many renditions, like, let's be honest.

17:52

Jordan Tyler

Yeah, it's a lot. It's a lot.

17:54

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So, aside from the Marvel Universe, the Bible and Native American mythology use crows to provide provisions and care. So, it's a sign of, like, good things are coming. And then for anyone who watches the Game of Thrones or The Crow, which is a comic. Again, nope. They're spiritual guides. So, I've never seen the Game of Thrones. I'm behind the times, but I guess there's a crow in there.

18:23

Jordan Tyler

There's a crow somewhere in there, I don’t know.

18:25

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Somewhere in the Game of Thrones, and he is guiding people spiritually.

18:31

Jordan Tyler

I did know that crows and ravens are supposed to be, like, quite intelligent in terms of bird. You think of, like, “bird brain” being, like—birds not being super intelligent, but I think that ravens and crows actually, like, are. And they've been used, like, historically for, like, helping people, like, with tasks and, like, messages and stuff like that.

18:53

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Yeah, so that's part of my bad omen. So perfect segue into it. They're surprisingly smart, and they're known to watch and study human behavior, and they can actually remember faces. So, it got me thinking that, like, birds aren't real. Right? So, we're all just being watched by crows and ravens.

19:11

Jordan Tyler

Regardless of whether the Birds Aren't Real movement is real, those crows and ravens be watching us. Okay?

19:21

Dr. Stephanie Clark

And they know you. Like, if you do something, they're like, I got you. But I thought this was really interesting. So, they're bad omens because they're scavengers, which, I mean, anyone who lives in the Midwest knows that crows and ravens are scavengers, but they are also known to consume dead bodies, and they're considered the vultures of Europe. Yeah. I was like, “Oh, okay. Yeah, you are kind of dark.” And then their caw. Right. Like, it's meant as, like, a bad omen because it's supposed to be, like, super jarring on, like, silent nights. I'm like, well, just because they don't have a pretty song, I guess… Yeah.

20:00

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. That's something I learned when I was looking into owls too. So, speaking of things that fly and are associated with Halloween, an owl's hoot is one of the reasons they're seen as ominous. And, I mean, they're also nocturnal, so really not doing themselves any favors in the spooky department by being nocturnal. But aside from that, their haunting hoots have been seen in various communities throughout history, from the ancient Romans all the way to the Native Americans as omens of death. So, a certain hoot pattern or a hoot from a certain type of owl would symbolize the impending death of a family member. And then another hoot would mean that your friend was going to die and, you know, so on and so forth. And these sentiments from the Native Americans were passed down to the Puritans and the Europeans that settled early America. They've continued since then. And we still associate owls with Halloween and, you know, spooky, mysterious, creepy vibes, for lack of a better word.

21:07

Jordan Tyler

But similar to ravens and crows, there are also more positive views about owls. Like the ancient Greeks, for example, saw owls as a symbol of Athena's wisdom. So, they were almost worshipped in that way. And then you think of Hedwig from Harry Potter. Like, I feel like that movie went a long way to kind of soften our modern perception of owls being creepy and shifted the narrative to how they're actually super smart and loyal and deliver you all your wizard mail… How great!

21:44

Dr. Stephanie Clark

I think we all were waiting for the owl to come with our letter.

21:48

Jordan Tyler

I freaking wish. If that's how life worked, like real life worked, I feel like I would be just a happier person.

21:56

Dr. Stephanie Clark

As long as you're not living under the staircase.

21:59

Jordan Tyler

True, true. But, and I'll say this, I said this about bats, I'll say it about owls. Have you ever seen a baby owl? I mean, they're so cute.

22:10

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So, when I was beginning my journey of loving animals and I was going to be a vet, I actually worked at a wildlife rehab center. I volunteered there when I was in high school and we actually would take care of owls. And so, I remember like 16-, 17-year-old little me, like literally just like picking up owls, moving them from one cage, like cleaning their cage and like putting them back in. Like it was like no big deal and they were just, like, doo-doo!

22:35

Jordan Tyler

And they're just like looking at you with those big eyes.

22:39

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Yeah, and they're like, thanks for my clean cage, *poo*, you're like, oh man…

22:41

Jordan Tyler

They're cute, they're freaking cute, case closed. Okay, so now that we've set the record straight on some of Halloween's most wanted animals, let's shift to some lesser-known creeps. When we were planning this episode, Dr. Steph found the most amazing blog post about animals that ought to be represented more during Halloween, but aren't. So, here is us making the case for their creepiness.

23:12

Dr. Stephanie Clark

They earn their own campfire stories.

23:15

Jordan Tyler

That's true, that's true. They’ve got to earn it. But I think there's some compelling cases in here. So, let's start out with my personal nightmare: centipedes. Now, I never knew this for sure because I never wanted to know, but how centipedes have anywhere from 15 to 177 pairs of legs. So, on the high end of that, that’s 354 legs. With those legs, they can travel 1.3 feet per second. So, they're quick little buggers.

23:45

Jordan Tyler

I do have to admit that centipedes are actually good guys. Okay, just hear me out. Hear me out, hear me out. They rarely bite humans. They can bite, but they rarely bite. They're more, you know, they'll just kind of get out of your way. They eat other pests, so they eat things like cockroaches, flies, termites, moths, spiders, and other pesky bugs. So, they can serve as a form of pest control for some of our other undesirables that are crawling around our homes. So, if you see one, it's okay to scream. I'm going to be screaming. But just maybe don't step on it because it could actually be feeding on other insects that are invading your home that you really, really don't want. So… if we can get past the legs, which is going to be hard. I know it's going to be hard for me, too. These guys, actually, they're not that bad.

24:46

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So, our next, less creepy crawly, more fluttery fluttery, is—and I'm going to butcher the scientific name, so—we'll just call it the death’s-head hawkmoth. Which I'm like, how many names do you need for this… death’s-head hawkmoth? Anyway, so we may have seen this like Silence of the Lambs or Dracula and definitely like Return of the Native, but it's got a couple of different, like, meanings. And so, it symbolizes like, death, darkness, doom. Dun, dun, dun—literally. But other than that, moths in general have been known to be associated with transformation. And so, yeah, this one has an ominous look. But it also, aside from moths being transformative and not very bad, this one bad guy, ominous look and unusual behaviors. So that got me thinking: what unusual behavior? Like, what could be so unusual about a moth?

25:50

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So this moth actually squeaks when it's scared… and it eats honey! And so, what it does is it raids beehives, and it uses its squeak to mimic the queen bee. So, the bees stop, freeze, look, and then it just goes in and takes the honey.

26:17

Jordan Tyler

Diabolical.

26:18

Dr. Stephanie Clark

I know, right? And if that wasn't bad enough as a moth, these caterpillars actually bite, and they're known to eat potatoes, which are nightshades. So, all spooky-spooky. But I was like, “Okay, what unusual behavior, truly, can a moth have?: And so, yeah, those are the unusual behaviors. So, on top of that and the ominous appearance, we have dun, dun, dun—dark, doom, and death.

26:45

Jordan Tyler

I realize now as we're going through this, all of these are bugs. Oh, I guess we have some lizards later on, so we'll get to those. But speaking of bugs, there is a beetle. It's black and it has an orange marking on its back. I mean, it's got Halloween written all over it. And they're called burying beetles, and that's because they find corpses of small animals and bury them underground. And then, like, that's their new home. Another word for that is called a decomposer. So, it can be like a pair of mated beetles carving out their new crib, it could be multiple pairs, it could just be one beetle. But it's where they mate, it's where they tend their eggs, and it's where they raise their larva. So, the corpse not only serves as shelter, but food for the whole family.

27:40

Jordan Tyler

But it's also important to note that the burying beetle, the American burying beetle is an endangered species. So while I am calling for them to be on the cast of characters for Halloween, let's keep them alive. Please don't step on them. If you see one again, it's okay to scream, but let's try to keep these guys alive so that they can frolic among animal corpses.

28:05

Dr. Stephanie Clark

What is their natural habitat?

28:08

Jordan Tyler

So woodlands to grasslands, so they have a variety of habitats. Ooh—"the American burying beetle are not completely understood, but they seem to prefer large, intact areas with little or no human disturbance.” So, it seems like the likelihood of us coming across a burying beetle. Slim, but not impossible.

28:24

Jordan Tyler

Okay, so that is the bearing beetle. I have one more bug to talk about, and I'm sorry for talking about it, but I can't not. It's ticks. I know. I just, like, got, like, a whole body shiver. I freaking hate ticks. I'm not sure these creatures have any redeeming factors, so we won't even pretend, but obviously they feed on blood. They are suckers. They don't just slap it up, they suck it. Besides being terrible in that way, they are also known to carry diseases and pathogens, so they can cause Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever. There's a ton of terrible things that ticks carry and can pass on to humans and to animals like our pets.

29:13

Jordan Tyler

Some tick bites can cause temporary paralysis, which is absolutely terrifying. I didn't know that. And when they bite you, they secrete an anesthetic in their saliva. So, you don't even know when they bite you. I'm sure we've all been bitten by a tick at some point in our lives, and you know this, but that's why you don't find it until, like, it's stuck on your body and, like, has been sucking your blood for a few hours. Some, depending on the species because there's all different types of ticks, some suck for minutes, some suck for days, but let's be real, they all suck just the same.

29:55

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Once a sucker, always a sucker.

29:59

Jordan Tyler

There it is. But, yeah, coming back to these things can transmit disease. This makes preventive pet care super important. We're on a pet podcast, we’ve got to talk about it. For pets that go outside, ticks can latch on anywhere. I've seen videos of people pulling ticks, like, out of your dog's, like, gums. Like, they had, like, gotten, like, up into, like, the bed of your tooth or the pet's tooth. They can be in between your dog or cat's toes. We picked one off of a feral cat's eye, like, the corner of their eye this past summer. So, it's really important to be vigilant. Check your pets after they go outside, especially during the peak tick season, which in the United States is April through September. Generally, they're most common in the warmer months.

30:48

Jordan Tyler

And be proactive. So, like, when we're gearing up for spring and summer, check out some flea and tick prevention mechanisms. Whether it's a gel that you apply to the skin, whether it's a medicated collar, or whether it's some other approach you want to take. Regardless, always consult your veterinarian for the best advice. If you have any specific questions or concerns, they'll be able to help you find what's right for your pet.

31:10

Dr. Stephanie Clark

I have one PSA: just because you have an inside animal does not mean that they're safe, so…

31:16

Jordan Tyler

It's true!

31:19

Dr. Stephanie Clark

This is my vet tech hat sitting on right now. Like, I don't know how many times that I've heard, like, “Oh, my pets don't go outside,” or, “My cat's an indoor cat.” Ticks and fleas and mosquitoes do not know personal space and boundaries. They don't stop at the door. Like, ticks can crawl on you. They can be on your pants, on your socks on, your shoes—you walk inside and then you've just introduced it into your home.

31:44

Jordan Tyler

Preach, girl, preach. Such a good point and so important to bring up. So, thanks to Dr. Steph for keeping us all safe. But, I think that's enough bug talk for the day for perhaps the rest of my life. Let's now move on to some creepy reptiles.

32:03

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Yeah. So, we have the Chinese crocodile lizard. They are endangered. Poor little guys. But what makes them kind of creepy crawly is their prehistoric look and their crocodilian features. But they also have unusual behaviors for a lizard. So, of course I had to look into these unusual behaviors for a lizard because I need to know. They are pregnant for nine months, which is a very long time for a lizard to be pregnant. But they're pregnant for so long because they give live birth. They do not lay eggs. Yeah.

32:38

Jordan Tyler

That’s, like, got to be super uncommon, right?

32:42

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Yeah, no. Lizards are supposed to, like most cold-blooded, lay legs.

32:47

Jordan Tyler

So do you think they're the only… Hang on.

32:50

Dr. Stephanie Clark

I don't know if they're the only…

32:53

Jordan Tyler

It can't be the only one, but I didn't know that was a thing at all. That's fascinating. Alright!

32:59

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Yeah, I mean I think they look kind of cool. I feel like I've seen them like at the zoo.

33:03

Jordan Tyler

They're cute. They kind of look like little like mini kimono dragons…

33:03

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Yes,

33:04

Jordan Tyler

…but like small.

33:06

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Moving on to things that are super fast: the legless lizard. (They're not fast, but in my brain they're super fast.)

33:18

Jordan Tyler

Okay, I'm sorry… What's the difference between a legless lizard and a snake?

33:25

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Let me tell you! So, they have all the characteristics of a lizard and they actually sometimes can have little nubbins. I don't know if that's the political word. They call them bumps or scales. But they can have tiny little hands.

33:40

Jordan Tyler

Little nubbins, I’m dying…

33:41

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So, like for them to be completely legless… okay. But they're not handless or… what is a lizard hand called?

33:51

Jordan Tyler

It's called a nub, and I'm not accepting any other answer.

33:55

Dr. Stephanie Clark

ChatGPT referred to them as bumps or scales. And I'm like, well that there has to be a word for that.

34:01

Jordan Tyler

Okay, okay, so they've got something going on.

34:04

Dr. Stephanie Clark

They got littles. Little littles. So, they're called glass lizards or slow worms because they don't… So, like lizards, they have, what's called is like a self-shedding or autonomy tail where like if you grab a lizard, like the tail breaks off. They have that as well, but if the tail breaks off, it just grows back shorter, blunter, a different color, and it lacks the bony structure. So, just let your mind wander with that if that doesn't cause enough horror…

34:36

Jordan Tyler

What you're telling me is that when a legless lizard loses its tail, it regrows a noodle.

34:44

Dr. Stephanie Clark

A short, stubby noodle.

34:40

Jordan Tyler

Alright!

34:41

Dr. Stephanie Clark

I'm like, it makes sense, right? Like, we're not going to create these bones when we grow the tail. But, like, is the thing just like flapping in the wind? Like, I don't know.

34:55

Jordan Tyler

These are the questions that we need to get to the bottom of.

34:58

Dr. Stephanie Clark

But they differ in snakes, right? So, like, you're like, okay, this legless lizard, isn't it just a snake? Snakes have like a flat body that help them go like on flat surfaces or, like, up a wall or up a tree. These lizards are like more round-bodied, so they have a harder time moving on flat surfaces.

35:18

Jordan Tyler

Alright, so don't put legless lizards in a box with snakes. They're not.

35:23

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Don't put horned toads in a box with toads. They're actually lizards, and when threatened, they squirt a stream of blood from their eye. We're talking like real threatened, right? Like, say, a dog were to like pick them up or something like that. And it's not just regular blood. It's supposed to be really foul-tasting and it contains chemicals and it's supposed to be like super repulsive. So, it makes the animal open its mouth and like drop it out.

35:51

Jordan Tyler

Oh, my gosh. Out of its eyes?!

35:53

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Out of its eyes.

35:56

Jordan Tyler

Why?

35:57

Dr. Stephanie Clark

And this is even more diabolical, they eat harvester ants, which are poisonous, which the toad then, or lizard then harvests the venom and incorporates it into its own blood… I will eat the venom of my enemies.

36:14

Jordan Tyler

Stolen valor vibes. Wow. What the hell?

36:21

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So, yeah, there you go. Some super short, fun facts, but like, okay.

36:24

Jordan Tyler

That's insane. Wow, I feel like we should have led with the horned toad because that is perhaps the most diabolical thing I've ever heard.

36:36

Dr. Stephanie Clark

I want to say it gets like, it gets some pretty good, like, distance.

36:40

Jordan Tyler

I mean, it looks like it's really coming out of there, like at speed.

36:44

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Five feet!

36:46

Jordan Tyler

Our Google search history is going to be so messed up after this episode. So, this is the last thing. This is the last animal… I guess it's animal… on our list that we would like to put up on the Halloween monster list, if you will. What I'm talking about are tardigrades lovingly referred to as water bears. These creatures are only about half a millimeter long, but they're known to be able to survive in like, crazy extreme conditions. So, like, some species can live at 272 degrees below Celsius, others can withstand temperatures of up to 150 degrees Celsius. So, like, that's to say they don't thrive in these conditions, but they can survive in these conditions, which is pretty crazy. So, super resilient. They're found pretty much everywhere in any environment from like the bottom of the ocean to like the top of a mountain. And they can even survive in the vacuum of space? I was like… Um…

37:48

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Who knows?

37:50

Jordan Tyler

Apparently research has shown that they can survive radiation, they can survive freezing, dehydration, high pressure, and yeah, even vacuums. So, they can even survive in space.

38:02

Dr. Stephanie Clark

How do we know this? Like, are we torturing these poor guys?

38:06

Jordan Tyler

Maybe. We might be. Let's maybe not put animals in space? But the word tardigrade literally means “slow paced.” So, while they're super hardy, they don't really move around a lot. They eat bacteria and plants. Some species are cannibalistic, so meaning they'll eat other tardigrades. And as a final fun fact, they have survived all of Earth's five major extinction events. I learned that there have been five extinction events.

38:41

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Right? I was like, I thought there's just one, the dinosaurs.

38:45

Jordan Tyler

Apparently that was the fifth one.

38:46

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Oh…

38:48

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. And I mean, as like a final like, WTF fact, scientists have posited that there could very well be tardigrades on the moon. How did they get there? I don't know.

38:58

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Are they truly animal? Wikipedia, obviously very reliable, refers to them as micro animals. So, I'm going to ruin it for everyone. When we were doing research for this episode and were pulling this, all I could think about is what scabies look like under a microscope.

39:14

Jordan Tyler

Oh, God.

39:15

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Ruin it. Go ahead. Like cousins! So, people are like, “Oh, these guys are so cute.” And I'm. All I can think of is, like, they look like scabies.

39:33

Jordan Tyler

You know what it, also—they look like the sandworm from Dune.

39:37

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Yes. Also, I just looked up that they're also called moss piglets?

39:53

Jordan Tyler

Oh my God, that's so cute. They're often found in moss. Water bears, moss piglets, micro animals related to arthropods. So, related to crustaceans and insects. So, is tardigrades bugs?

39:37

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Or are tardigrade shrimps?

39:57

Jordan Tyler

Tardigrades is shrimps is bugs… Okay, I'm done. I'm done.

40:07

Dr. Stephanie Clark

They really are. They're in the kingdom animale, so I don't think scabies are in the kingdom of animale, so… Oh, they are.

40:16

Jordan Tyler

They are, yeah.

40:17

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Yeah, they are.

40:18

Jordan Tyler

Are they—they're in the same class as spiders, though.

40:21

Dr. Stephanie Clark

How does that make you feel? We are all in the same kingdom. Like, in the kingdom of kingdoms. We Scabies and moss piglets… Yee haw.

40:33

Jordan Tyler

Yee haw! Well, on that note, let's go ahead and wrap up for today. I'm sure everyone is sufficiently creeped out, but at the very least you learned some fun new facts about animals today.

40:50

Dr. Stephanie Clark

We hope you've enjoyed hearing the real legends behind Halloween's most iconic animals. From the black cat that brings luck instead of curses, to the toad that's actually a lizard, and spiders who are more scared of you than you are of them.

41:08

Jordan Tyler

As you wander into Halloween night, remember: the wild things out there aren't out to haunt you. They're just little living their best spooky season lives.

41:18

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Whether you're handing out candy or hiding from centipedes, we hope you'll look at nature's so-called monsters a little differently this year. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Barking Mad. If you want to learn more about BSM Partners, please visit us at www.bsmpartners.net. Don't forget to subscribe on your favorite leading podcast platform or share it with a friend to stay current on the latest pet industry trends and conversations.

41:44

Jordan Tyler

We'd also like to thank our dedicated team: Ada-Miette Thomas, Neeley Bowden, Kait Wright, Cady Wolf, and Dr. Katy Miller. See you next time!