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Walking with Monsters (also distributed as Before the Dinosaurs: Walking With Monsters) is a three-part British documentary film series about life in the Paleozoic, bringing to life extinct arthropods, fish, amphibians, synapsids, and reptiles. It is narrated by Kenneth Branagh. Using state-of-the-art visual effects, this prequel to Walking with Dinosaurs shows for example how a two-ton predatory fish came on land to hunt. The series draws on the knowledge of over 600 scientists and shows nearly 300 million years of Paleozoic history, from the Cambrian Period (530 million years ago) to the Early Triassic Period (248 million years ago). It was written and directed by Tim Haines. Image File history File links Circle-question-red. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... The Paleozoic Era (from the Greek palaio, old and zoion, animals, meaning ancient life) is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Subclasses and Orders    Order Temnospondyli - extinct Subclass Lepospondyli - extinct Subclass Lissamphibia    Order Anura    Order Caudata    Order Gymnophiona Amphibians (class Amphibia; from Greek αμφις both and βιος life) are a taxon of animals that include all living tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) that do not have amniotic eggs, are ectothermic (term for the animals... Orders & Suborders Order Pelycosauria * Suborder Caseasauria Suborder Eupelycosauria * Order Therapsida * Suborder Biarmosuchia Suborder Dinocephalia Suborder Anomodontia Suborder Gorgonopsia Suborder Therocephalia Suborder Cynodontia * For complete phylogeny, see text. ... Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ... Kenneth Charles Branagh (b. ... Visual Effects (or VFX for short) is the term given to a sub-category of special effects in which images or film frames are created and manipulated for film and video. ... The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ... The Cambrian is a major division of the geologic timescale that begins about 542 ± 1. ... The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 251 ± 0. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

As with some of the other BBC specials, it was renamed in North America, where its title was Before the Dinosaurs: Walking With Monsters. It has also aired as a two-hour special on the Canadian and American Discovery Channel. The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion (US$7. ... Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel distributed by Discovery Communications that provides non-fiction variety programming focused primarily on the themes of popular science, history, and knowledge about the world. ...

Episode One

The first episode begins with an illustration of the giant impact hypothesis: approximately 4.4 billion years ago when the Earth was formed, it is conjectured that a planet-like object referred to as Theia collided into the early Earth, dynamically reshaping the Earth and forming the moon. The episode then jumps ahead to the Cambrian Explosion, showing the first diversification of life in the sea. Strange predators called Anomalocaris feed on Trilobites, fight with each other, whereupon the wounded loser is attacked and nibbled on by a school of Haikouichthys. The Big Splash. ... Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... Theia (THAY-uh) is the hypothetical planet that, according to the giant impact theory of the Moons formation, collided with Earth over four billion years ago. ... Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... The Cambrian explosion is the geologically kukko sudden appearance in the fossil record of the ancestors of familiar animals, starting about 542 million years ago (Mya). ... Species  ? Image of the first complete Anomalocaris fossil found, residing in the Royal Ontario Museum Anomalocaris (unusual shrimp) is an extinct genus of anomalocarids, which are, in turn, thought to be closely related to the Arthropoda. ... Orders Agnostida Nectaspida Redlichiida Corynexochida Lichida Phacopida Subclass: Librostoma Proetida Asaphida Harpetida Ptychopariida For the robot vacuum cleaner, see Electrolux Trilobite. ...

The Haikouichthys are said to evolve into Cephalaspis, an armored jawless fish which is said to the first good sense of touch. One Cephalaspis is chased by a Brontoscorpio — a giant scorpion — but due to its electric touch sensing ability, it dodges the attack and the Brontoscorpio gets eaten by a Pterygotus, a 3 m long eurypterid hiding in the sea floor. Cameroceras also live in these waters. The film also shows a school of Cephalaspis swimming from the ocean to rivers where they spawn. A group of Brontoscorpio crawl on land and also arrive at the Cephalaspis's spawning pool. The Brontoscorpio feast, but there's too many Cephalaspis for them to eat at once. One Brontoscorpio moults and misses the feast. The Haikouichthys is a primitive fish-like animal from the Lower Cambrian Maotianshan shales of China. ... It was a fish who lived in the Silurian period it had an armoured and an advanced brain never been seen in Earths history so far. ... Brontoscorpio anglicus was a large scorpion, about 1 metre (3 feet) in length, that lived underwater during the Silurian period. ... Orders †Stylonuroidea Diener, 1924 †Eurypteroidea Burmeister, 1843 The eurypterids (sea scorpion) were the largest known arthropods that ever lived (with the possible exception of the Arthropleurids). ... In animals, moulting (Commonwealth English) or molting (American English) is the routine shedding off old feathers in birds, or of old skin in reptiles, or of old hairs in mammals (see also coat (dog)). In arthropods, such as insects, arachnids and crustaceans, moulting describes the shedding of its exoskeleton (which...

Then the show moves on to the Devonian, when Cephalaspis has evolved into Hynerpeton (though it must first pass through the lobe-finned fish stage), amphibian-like tetrapods. Though they can go on land, Hynerpeton have to keep wet, and must return to the water, where sharks like Stethacanthus and a two ton killer fish, Hyneria, can hunt them down. and later a Stethacanthus is eaten by a Hyneria. One male Hynerpeton finds a mate, but just after spawning, he and his mate are ambushed by a Hyneria. They escape to land, but the narrator explains Hyneria has strong fins that can propel itself out of the water. The episode ends with the male Hynerpeton being killed by the Hyneria, which has crawled onto land. Hynerpeton is one of the earliest known amphibians ever to walk the Earth. ... Subclasses and Orders    Order Temnospondyli - extinct Subclass Lepospondyli - extinct Subclass Lissamphibia    Order Anura    Order Caudata    Order Gymnophiona Amphibians (class Amphibia; from Greek αμφις both and βιος life) are a taxon of animals that include all living tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) that do not have amniotic eggs, are ectothermic (term for the animals... Groups See text. ... Orders Carcharhiniformes Heterodontiformes Hexanchiformes Lamniformes Orectolobiformes Pristiophoriformes Squaliformes Squatiniformes Symmoriida(extinct) Shark (superorder Selachimorpha) are fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton[1] and a streamlined body. ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Hyneria lindae was a prehistoric predatory lobe-finned fish that lived during the Devonian period. ... A fin is a surface used to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media. ...

530 Million Years Ago — Cambrian — the Chengjiang biota, China:

• Anomalocaris
• Trilobite (not identified, revealed in encyclopedia)
• Haikouichthys
• jellyfish (live acted)

Haikouichthys as seen in Walking with Monsters

418 Million Years Ago — Silurian — South Wales, UK:

• Brontoscorpio
• Cephalaspis
• Pterygotus
• Cameroceras (identified as orthocone, revealed in encyclopedia)
• sea urchin (live acted)

Filming Location: Devil's Postpile National Monument, California, USA

Hyneria attacking the shark Stethacanthus, as depicted in Walking With Monsters.

360 Million Years Ago — Devonian — Pennsylvania, USA:

• Hynerpeton
• Hyneria
• Stethacanthus (identified as shark, revealed in encyclopedia)
• scorpion (live acted)

The Cambrian is a major division of the geologic timescale that begins about 542 ± 1. ... The Maotianshan shale is a late pre-Cambrian (Atdabanian) rock formation, of ca 522 Mya, now lying exposed in the Yunnan Province of China in the villages of Ercaicun and Chengjiang near the city of Kunming. ... Species  ? Image of the first complete Anomalocaris fossil found, residing in the Royal Ontario Museum Anomalocaris (unusual shrimp) is an extinct genus of anomalocarids, which are, in turn, thought to be closely related to the Arthropoda. ... Orders Agnostida Nectaspida Redlichiida Corynexochida Lichida Phacopida Subclass: Librostoma Proetida Asaphida Harpetida Ptychopariida For the robot vacuum cleaner, see Electrolux Trilobite. ... The Haikouichthys is a primitive fish-like animal from the Lower Cambrian Maotianshan shales of China. ... Orders Stauromedusae Coronatae Semaeostomeae Rhizostomae Jellyfish are marine invertebrates belonging to the Scyphozoan class. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Silurian is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Ordovician period, about 443. ... Approximate extent of South Wales South Wales (Welsh: ) is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. ... Brontoscorpio anglicus was a large scorpion, about 1 metre (3 feet) in length, that lived underwater during the Silurian period. ... It was a fish who lived in the Silurian period it had an armoured and an advanced brain never been seen in Earths history so far. ... Pterygotus is the largest known eurypterid, or sea scorpion. ... Species  ?  ?  ?  ? Cameroceras (chambered horn) was an 36 foot long orthocone that lived in the Ordovician. ... Subclasses Euechinoidea Superorder Atelostomata Order Cassiduloida Order Spatangoida (heart urchins) Superorder Diadematacea Order Diadematoida Order Echinothurioida Order Pedinoida Superorder Echinacea Order Arbacioida Order Echinoida Order Phymosomatoida Order Salenioida Order Temnopleuroida Superorder Gnathostomata Order Clypeasteroida (sand dollars) Order Holectypoida Perischoechinoidea Order Cidaroida (pencil urchins) Sea urchins are small spiny sea creatures... The longer fragments of basalt at the base of the cliff can be larger than a person. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Stethacanthus is an extinct genus of shark which lived in the Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous epochs, around 360 million years ago. ... Walking with Monsters (also distributed as Walking With Monsters: Life Before Dinosaurs and Before the Dinosaurs) is a three-part British documentary film series about life in the Paleozoic, bringing to life extinct arthropods, fish, amphibians, synapsids, and reptiles. ... Artists illustration of a Devonian scene. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... Hynerpeton is one of the earliest known amphibians ever to walk the Earth. ... Hyneria lindae was a prehistoric predatory lobe-finned fish that lived during the Devonian period. ... Stethacanthus is an extinct genus of shark which lived in the Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous epochs, around 360 million years ago. ... Superfamilies Pseudochactoidea Buthoidea Chaeriloidea Chactoidea Iuroidea Scorpionoidea See classification for families. ...

Episode Two

The second episode shows the swampy coal forests of the Carboniferous. It explains that because of a much higher oxygen content in the atmosphere, giant land arthropods evolved, such as Mesothelae, a spider the size of a human head, ("If it was alive today, it would be hunting Cats"); Meganeura, a dragonfly the size of an eagle, ("With an appetite to match") and Arthropleura, a millipede relative the size of a car ("It can rear up and look you in the eye.") A Mesothelae hunts down a Petrolacosaurus, the descendant of Hynerpeton from the first episode. It comes back from its hunting expedition only to find its burrow has flooded. Not only that, the Petrolacosaurus it caught is stolen by a Meganeura. On the Mesothelae's search for a new burrow, it is chased by an Arthropleura, which is later killed in a fight with a Proterogyrinus, a huge, seven-foot amphibian. The Mesothelae finally chases a Petrolacosaurus out of its own burrow and moves in. Thunder, rain and a forest fire pours in, devastating the life around. At last, only some animals survive...including Petrolacosaurus,who finds the dead body of Mesothelae that got hit by lightning and eats it. The coal forests were swampy forests which existed in the Carboniferous period, and accumulated peat which became coal. ... The Carboniferous is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Devonian period, about 359. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... Diversity 111 families, 40,000 species Suborders Mesothelae Mygalomorphae Araneomorphae  See table of families Closeup image of a Wolf Spider Wikispecies has information related to: Spiders Spiders are predatory invertebrate animals that have two body segments, eight legs, no chewing mouth parts and no wings. ... Binomial name Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Felis lybica invalid junior synonym The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. ... Families Aeshnidae Austropetaliidae Cordulegastridae Corduliidae Gomphidae Libellulidae Macromiidae Neopetaliidae Petaluridae A dragonfly is any insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera. ... Genera Several, see below. ... The appetite is the desire to eat food, felt as hunger. ... Subclasses, orders and families See text. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... // A human eye. ... The Liphistiidae are the most primitive living spiders, placed in their own suborder, called the Mesothelae. ... Binomial name Petrolacosaurus kansensis Petrolacosaurus was a small diapsid reptile, one of the earliest known. ... Hynerpeton is one of the earliest known amphibians ever to walk the Earth. ... A burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. ... Picture of flooding in Amphoe Sena, Ayutthaya Province, Thailand. ... Proterogyrinus was an anthracosaur which lived in the Carboniferous period. ... Subclasses and Orders    Order Temnospondyli - extinct Subclass Lepospondyli - extinct Subclass Lissamphibia    Order Anura    Order Caudata    Order Gymnophiona Amphibians (class Amphibia; from Greek αμφις both and βιος life) are a taxon of animals that include all living tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) that do not have amniotic eggs, are ectothermic (term for the animals... A thunderstorm over Piracicaba, Brazil. ... Rain is a source of precipitation which forms when separate drops of water fall to the Earths surface from clouds. ... Fire in San Bernardino, California Mountains (image taken from the International Space Station) A wildfire, also known as a forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, or bushfire (in Australasia), is an uncontrolled fire in wildland often caused by lightning; other common causes are human carelessness and arson. ...

The episode then moves on to the early Permian, where the swamp-loving trees of the Carboniferous have been replaced with more advanced conifers that are better adapted to survive in a changing climate. Petrolacosaurus has evolved into Edaphosaurus, a pelycosaur (Though, according to current scientific data, this is inaccurate). They live in herds and have outgrown their arthropod contemporaries in size so they are no longer a threat to them. A female Dimetrodon, another pelycosaur, hunts down a baby Edaphosaurus after disperging a herd of them. She is getting ready to lay eggs. She abandons her kill when the scent of blood attracts male Dimetrodon. She forms a nest on a hill and while she lays her eggs, she is watched by a Seymouria. Some time after laying her eggs, another female Dimetrodon tries to take over her nest. They fight for an entire day, and the original female manages to win. But she is weakened and has her right eye bitten out. The Seymouria takes the chance to steal some eggs in the mother's weakened state. Luckily, a male Dimetrodon eats the Seymouria and the eggs are unharmed. But when the eggs hatch, the mother-young bond is severed. This episode ends with the female Dimetrodon joining other adult Dimetrodon to cannibalize some of the young Dimetrodon while they race to the trees to escape. The Permian is a geologic period that extends from about 299. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... The pelycosaurs were smallish to large (upto 3 meters or more) primitive Late Paleozoic synapsid reptiles. ... In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... Seymouria was a reptile-like tetrapod from the early Permian of Texas. ...

Mesothelae chasing a small reptile, Petrolacosaurus

Filming Location: Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Florida, USA, and some painted or computer-generated backgrounds. A model of a fallen rotted-out Lepidodendron or Sigillaria trunk is sometimes used as a prop.

300 Million Years Ago — Carboniferous — Kansas, USA (in a coal forest):

• Petrolacosaurus
• Megarachne servinei (thought to be a giant spider, and so depicted, but in the story renamed as Mesothelae when (too late to rewrite or re-CGI this episode) the fossil Megarachne was found to be a eurypterid)
• Arthropleura
• Meganeura
• Proterogyrinus (identified as large amphibian, revealed on web and in encyclopedia)

Filming Location: Inyo National Forest, California, USA

Edaphosaurus confronting a smaller Seymouria.

280 Million Years Ago — Early Permian — Bromacker Quarry, Thuringia, Germany:

• Dimetrodon
• Seymouria (identified as amphibian, revealed on web and in encyclopedia)
• Edaphosaurus

Image File history File links Mesothelae. ... Image File history File links Mesothelae. ... Jonathan Dickinson State Park is located between Stuart and Jupiter in sourtheastern Florida. ... Species See text. ... Sigillaria is the name of a genus of primitive trees which flourished in the early carboniferous period. ... Theatrical properties, or props, are items used in stage plays and similar entertainments to further the action. ... The Carboniferous is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Devonian period, about 359. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Coal Coal (IPA: ) is a fossil fuel formed in swamp ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. ... Binomial name Petrolacosaurus kansensis Petrolacosaurus was a small diapsid reptile, one of the earliest known. ... Binomial name Megarachne servinei Megarachne servinei was a small Upper Carboniferous (= Pennsylvanian) eurypterid found near Córdoba, Argentina. ... The Liphistiidae are the most primitive living spiders, placed in their own suborder, called the Mesothelae. ... CGI may mean: CGI Group Inc. ... Binomial name Megarachne servinei Megarachne servinei was a small Upper Carboniferous (= Pennsylvanian) eurypterid found near Córdoba, Argentina. ... Orders †Stylonuroidea Diener, 1924 †Eurypteroidea Burmeister, 1843 The eurypterids (sea scorpion) were the largest known arthropods that ever lived (with the possible exception of the Arthropleurids). ... Wikipedia think that everyone looking at this page are ass holes. ... Binomial name Meganeura monyi (C. Brongniart, 1893) Meganeura monyi was a prehistoric insect of the Carboniferous period (300 million years ago), resembling and related to the present-day dragonfly. ... Proterogyrinus was an anthracosaur which lived in the Carboniferous period. ... Subclasses and Orders    Order Temnospondyli - extinct Subclass Lepospondyli - extinct Subclass Lissamphibia    Order Anura    Order Caudata    Order Gymnophiona Amphibians (class Amphibia; from Greek αμφις both and βιος life) are a taxon of animals that include all living tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) that do not have amniotic eggs, are ectothermic (term for the animals... The Inyo Mountains The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern California in the United States. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Seymouria was a reptile-like tetrapod from the early Permian of Texas. ... The Permian is a geologic period that extends from about 299. ... The Free State of Thuringia (German: Freistaat Thüringen) is located in central Germany and is considered one of the smaller of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), with an area of 16,200 km² and 2. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Seymouria was a reptile-like tetrapod from the early Permian of Texas. ... Edaphosaurus was much like the Dimetrodon but ate plants and screeched in a high pitched tone that often sounded like Boris, dont touch me there! ...

Episode Three

Gorgonopsids as seen in Walking with Monsters

The third episode is set in the Late Permian, on the supercontinent Pangaea, which was covered by a vast and inhospitable desert. In this arid climate, early therapsids, which are described as more "mammal-like" than reptile, are shown fighting to survive. The programme starts with an old Scutosaurus, an ancestor of turtles, being killed by a female Gorgonops . She then joins other members of her kind at a small waterhole but scares them off at first. Other inhabitants include Diictodon, a small burrowing dicynodont (a type of mammal like "reptile"). In the pool itself is a large amphibian Rhinesuchus, which attacks the female Gorgonops in desperation, latching onto her jaw but lets go and returns to the waterhole after being intimidated by the strength of the Gorgonops. A herd of Scutosaurus arrive and eventually drink the waterhole dry. The female Gorgonops tries to nab some Diictodon but is unsuccessful. She returns to the waterhole and un-earths the Rhinesuchus wrapped in a "cocoon" which it utilized to live through the drought. Because it is in a torpid state, it is helpless and is devoured by the Gorgonops. The Gorgonops is eventually killed by a sandstorm which is a foreshadowing of the oncoming Permian-Triassic extinction event. The scene ends with a description of the evolution of the tuber-eating Diictodon into the later and much larger Lystrosaurus. Image File history File links Gorgonopsid. ... Image File history File links Gorgonopsid. ... Gorgonops is the name given to a synapsid reptile which lived 250 million years ago. ... The Permian is a geologic period that extends from about 299. ... For other uses, see Pangaea (disambiguation). ... This article is about arid terrain. ... Groups Biarmosuchia Dinocephalia Anomodontia Theriodontia    Cynodontia       (...mammals) Therapsids, previously known as the mammal-like reptiles, are a group of synapsids. ... Subclasses Subclass Allotheria* Order Docodonta (extinct) Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Subclass Prototheria Order Monotremata Subclass Theria Infraclass Trituberculata (extinct) Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of... Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ... Scutosaurus was an armor-covered pareiasaur, perhaps as much as 13 feet long, which lived around 260 million years ago. ... blue: sea turtles, black: land turtles Suborders Cryptodira Pleurodira See text for families. ... Gorgonops (Gorgon + -ops, from Greek meaning face) is the name given to a type synapsid reptile which lived about 260 million years ago, during the late Permian period. ... A waterhole, in its simplest definition, is a hole filled with water. ... Mammal-like reptiles is a term used to describe the prehistoric animals that appear to be the reptilian ancestors of mammals. ... A drought is a period of time when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban, human, or environmental water needs. ... The Permian-Triassic (P-T or PT) extinction event, sometimes informally called the Great Dying, was an extinction event that occurred approximately 251 million years ago (mya), forming the boundary between the Permian and Triassic geologic periods. ... Articles with similar titles include benign tumours such as tuberous sclerosis. ...

Scutosaurus, as seen in BBC's Walking with Monsters

Lystrosaurus live in the early Triassic. The world's number of Lystrosaurus is high, and the animals must migrate constantly to find plants to eat. As the Lystrosaurus herd cross a ravine, several Ericiolacerta attack. The program claims they may have powerful poison in its bite, helping to eventually kill the bitten Lystrosaurus. As the Lystrosaurus cross a lake, they are attacked and eaten by several starving Proterosuchus , long-legged crocodile ancestors. Meanwhile, dragonflies are the prey of choice of a small reptile called Euparkeria that can run and hop on its hind legs due to evolved hip structure. Euparkeria will, according to the film, evolve into dinosaurs, which will dominate the Earth, leaving the mammals trapped under the shadows of dinosaurs for the next many million years. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Scutosaurus was an armor-covered pareiasaur, perhaps as much as 13 feet long, which lived around 260 million years ago. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion (US$7. ... The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 251 ± 0. ... Migration occurs when living things move from one biome to another. ... Grand Canyon, Arizona A canyon, or gorge, is a valley walled by cliffs. ... The skull and crossbones symbol (Jolly Roger) traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ... A man-made lake in Keukenhof, Netherlands A lake is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size contained on a body of land. ... Proterosuchus is an extinct genus of diapsid reptile. ... Genera Mecistops Crocodylus Osteolaemus See full taxonomy. ... Families Aeshnidae Austropetaliidae Cordulegastridae Corduliidae Gomphidae Libellulidae Neopetaliidae Petaluridae The dragonfly is an insect belonging to the Order Odonata, Suborder Anisoptera and characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body. ... Binomial name Euparkeria capensis Broom, 1913a Is considered to be one of the dinosaurs ancestors. ... Orders Saurischia    Sauropodomorpha    Theropoda Ornithischia Dinosaurs are giant reptiles that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for most of their 165-million year existence. ...

Euparkeria as depicted in Walking With Monsters.

250 Million Years Ago — Late Permian — Siberia, Pangaea:

• Gorgonops (identified as gorgonopsid, revealed in encyclopedia)
• Scutosaurus
• Rhinesuchus (identified as labyrinthodont, revealed in encyclopedia)
• Diictodon

248 Million Years Ago

Filming Locations: La Palma, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands Image File history File links Euparkeria. ... Image File history File links Euparkeria. ... The Permian is a geologic period that extends from about 299. ... Siberian Federal District (darker red) and the broadest definition of Siberia (red) arctic northeast Siberia Udachnaya pipe Siberia (Russian: , Sibir; Tatar: ) is a vast region of Russia constituting almost all of Northern Asia and comprising a large part of the Euro-Asian Steppe. ... For other uses, see Pangaea (disambiguation). ... Gorgonops (Gorgon + -ops, from Greek meaning face) is the name given to a type synapsid reptile which lived about 260 million years ago, during the late Permian period. ... Scutosaurus was an armor-covered pareiasaur, perhaps as much as 13 feet long, which lived around 260 million years ago. ... Rhinesuchus (nose crocodile) was a large labyrinthodont amphibian of the Permian. ... Diictodon was an extermely common theraspid, roughly 18 inches long. ... Satellite image of La Palma, with the Caldera de Taburiente visible (north is to the lower right). ... Gran Canaria, rarely Grand Canary (archaic), is the third largest island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean 210 km from the northwest coast of Africa and belonging to Spain. ... Fuerteventura, a Spanish island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. ... Capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife Official language(s) Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 13th  7,447 km²  1. ...

Early Triassic — Antarctica, Pangaea: The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 251 ± 0. ...

• Lystrosaurus
• Euparkeria
• Ericiolacerta (identified as therocephalian)
• Proterosuchus (identified as chasmatosaur, revealed in encyclopedia)

Ending and Credits

• Allosaurus (not identified)
• Brachiosaurus (not identified)
• Diplodocus (not identified)
• Anurognathus (not identified)
• Othnielia (not identified)
• Stegosaurus (not identified)

Species Lystrosaurus curvatus Lystrosaurus declivus Lystrosaurus mccaigi Lystrosaurus murrayi Lystrosaurus oviceps Lystrosaurus platyceps Lystrosaurus (meaning shovel reptile, pronounced list-row-sore-uss) was a genus of Early Triassic Period therapsids, which lived approximately 250 million years ago in what is now Antarctica, India and South Africa. ... Binomial name Euparkeria capensis Broom, 1913a Is considered to be one of the dinosaurs ancestors. ... Ericiolacerta was a small (8 inches/20cm) Therapsid reptile from the early triasic of South Africa. ... Families See Taxonomy The Therocephalians are a lineage of therapsids, and therefore sometimes described as mammal-like reptiles. ... Proterosuchus is an extinct genus of diapsid reptile. ... Species type (Marsh, 1878) Paul, 1987 Mateus , 2006 jimmadseni Chure, 2000 vide Glut, 2003 Synonyms Creosaurus Marsh, 1878 Labrosaurus Marsh, 1879 Camptonotus Marsh, 1879  ?Epanterias Cope, 1878 Allosaurus (IPA: ) was a large (up to 11. ... Species (type) ?B. (Giraffatitan) brancai Brachiosaurus (IPA: ) meaning Arm Lizard, from the Greek brachion/βραχιων meaning arm and sauros/σαυρος meaning lizard, was a genus of sauropod dinosaur which lived during the Late Jurassic Period. ... Species (type) Hatcher, 1901 (Gillette, 1991) Lucas et al. ... Binomial name Anurognathus ammoni Döderline, 1923 Anurognathus was a tiny pterosaur that lived approximately 155-140 million years ago (Tithonian). ... Othnielia is a hypsilophodont dinosaur, named after its discoverer Professor Othniel Marsh, an American fossil hunter of the 19th century. ... Species Marsh, 1877 (type) Marsh, 1887 Gilmore, 1914 Stegosaurus (IPA: ) is a genus of stegosaurid armoured dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period (Kimmeridgian to Early Tithonian) in what is now western North America. ...

Artistic Touches

As in the entire Walking with line of films, the animals sometimes interact with the camera:

• A Brontoscorpio stings the camera and breaks it.
• Another Brontoscorpio bumps the camera with its claw as it crawls onto land.
• A Hynerpeton knocks the camera while it is swimming, so does a Hyneria.
• A Hynerpeton breathes on the camera.
• A Hyneria splatters water on the camera while diving back into the water.
• A Mesothelae crawls on the camera, and so does an Arthropleura.
• A Dimetrodon shakes intestines to avoid eating the faeces inside, and most of it splats onto the camera.
• A Dimetrodon digs up some dirt, and it lands on the camera.
• A baby Dimetrodon splatters some dung on the camera when it jumps in a pile of it.
• A Gorgonops sniffs the camera.
• A Gorgonops splatters water on the camera when it jumps in some water.
• A Diictodon looks curiously at the camera.
• A Proterosuchus knocks the camera while it is swimming.
• A Lystrosaurus bumps and sniffs the camera.

Body Part Close-Ups

Occasionally, the camera gets a close-up of certain body parts of animals. Here are the list of body part close-ups:

• Anomalocaris's eyes
• Haikouichthys's backbone
• Cephalaspis's sensory gland
• Cephalaspis's brain
• Brontoscorpio' lungs
• Hynerpeton's lung
• Hynerpeton's skin
• Petrolacosaurus's skin
• Petrolacosaurus's heart
• Edaphosaurus's sail
• Dimetrodon's teeth
• Diictodon's ear
• Scutosaurus's stomach
• Euparkeria's hip bones

Species  ? Image of the first complete Anomalocaris fossil found, residing in the Royal Ontario Museum Anomalocaris (unusual shrimp) is an extinct genus of anomalocarids, which are, in turn, thought to be closely related to the Arthropoda. ... // A human eye. ... The Haikouichthys is a primitive fish-like animal from the Lower Cambrian Maotianshan shales of China. ... The vertebral column seen from the side Different regions (curvatures) of the vertebral column The vertebral column (backbone or spine) is a column of vertebrae situated in the dorsal aspect of the abdomen. ... It was a fish who lived in the Silurian period it had an armoured and an advanced brain never been seen in Earths history so far. ... It was a fish who lived in the Silurian period it had an armoured and an advanced brain never been seen in Earths history so far. ... In animals the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), is the control center of the central nervous system, responsible for thought. ... Brontoscorpio anglicus was a large scorpion, about 1 metre (3 feet) in length, that lived underwater during the Silurian period. ... Respiratory system The lungs flank the heart and great vessels in the chest cavity. ... Hynerpeton is one of the earliest known amphibians ever to walk the Earth. ... Respiratory system The lungs flank the heart and great vessels in the chest cavity. ... Hynerpeton is one of the earliest known amphibians ever to walk the Earth. ... In zootomy and dermatology, skin is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial tissues that guard underlying muscles and organs. ... Binomial name Petrolacosaurus kansensis Petrolacosaurus was a small diapsid reptile, one of the earliest known. ... In zootomy and dermatology, skin is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial tissues that guard underlying muscles and organs. ... Binomial name Petrolacosaurus kansensis Petrolacosaurus was a small diapsid reptile, one of the earliest known. ... The heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ... Edaphosaurus was much like the Dimetrodon but ate plants and screeched in a high pitched tone that often sounded like Boris, dont touch me there! ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The visible teeth of a smile. ... Diictodon was an extermely common theraspid, roughly 18 inches long. ... A pierced human ear. ... Scutosaurus was an armor-covered pareiasaur, perhaps as much as 13 feet long, which lived around 260 million years ago. ... In anatomy, the stomach is a bean-shaped hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication. ... Binomial name Euparkeria capensis Broom, 1913a Is considered to be one of the dinosaurs ancestors. ... The hip bone (or innominate bone) is a large, flattened, irregularly shaped bone, constricted in the center and expanded above and below. ...

Inaccuracies

Because the series takes an artistic license with regards to its views on evolution, there are a number of inaccuracies especially related to ancestor-descendant relationships. Generally, one can never scientifically claim that a particular fossil form must be directly ancestral to another life form (fossil or not), at most it can be claimed what fossil forms are likely basal to what other life forms. Not only does the series repeatedly suggest this anyway, many of the claimed 'direct ancestors' are not even considered basal:

• Cephalaspis was not the ancestor of gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) or tetrapods. Gnathostomes (in the form of placoderms and acanthodians) appear in the fossil record before Cephalaspis, probably originated from, or are closely related to, thelodonts, instead. Furthermore, even though Cephalaspis was found only during the early Devonian, it is shown being pursued by the Late Silurian Brontoscorpio.
• Gorgonops is only known from South Africa, but is shown preying on Scutosaurus, whose remains are only known from Siberia. A Russian relative of Gorgonops that may have preyed on Scutosaurus was Inostrancevia. Other animals that are known from Africa are Diictodon and Rhinesuchus.
• In the series, Petrolacosaurus is incorrectly identified as an ancestral synaspid, when in fact, it was an early diapsid and could therefore not have been the ancestor of any synapsids (e.g. Edaphosaurus). The most basal synapsid, Archaeothyris, would have been a more suitable candidate.
• The makers of Walking with Monsters originally intended to portray Megarachne. During production, Megarachne was reidentified as a eurypterid, and as such, the giant spider was renamed "Mesothelae," which is actually a suborder of spider.

Classes Placodermi Chondrichthyes Acanthodii Osteichthyes Gnathostomata is the group of vertebrates with jaws. ... Orders Antiarchi † Arthrodira † Petalichthyda † Phyllolepida † Ptyctodontida † Rhenanida † The Placodermi are fish known from fossils dating to the Devonian period. ... Orders Climatiiformes Ischnacanthiformes Acanthodiformes Acanthodii (sometimes called spiny sharks) is a class of extinct fishes, having features of both bony fish (Osteichthyes) and cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes). ... The jawless fish of the order Thelodonti (Nipple teeth) were very similar to the Heterostraci, though were not heavily armored. ... Brontoscorpio anglicus was a large scorpion, about 1 metre (3 feet) in length, that lived underwater during the Silurian period. ... Scutosaurus was an armor-covered pareiasaur, perhaps as much as 13 feet long, which lived around 260 million years ago. ... Siberian Federal District (darker red) and the broadest definition of Siberia (red) arctic northeast Siberia Udachnaya pipe Siberia (Russian: , Sibir; Tatar: ) is a vast region of Russia constituting almost all of Northern Asia and comprising a large part of the Euro-Asian Steppe. ... Paleospecies Inostrancevia alexandri Inostrancevia latifrons Inostrancevia uralensis Inostrancevia vladimiri Inostrancevia was a Gorgonopsidae therapsid found in Sokolki, on Smaller Northern Dvina River near Arkhangelsk in Russia. ... Binomial name Archaeothyris florensis Reisz, 1972 Archaeothyris was an amniote, it was lizard-like in appearance. ... Binomial name Megarachne servinei Megarachne servinei was a small Upper Carboniferous (= Pennsylvanian) eurypterid found near Córdoba, Argentina. ... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ...

Criticism

Some viewers criticize Walking with Monsters to be an overly dramatic presentation of speculation as fact. [1] (see editorial review)

In the "Trilogy of Life" documentary, included on the Walking With Monsters DVD, the producers of the "Walking With" trilogy state that their intention was not to write a scientific thesis but to bring prehistoric animals to life. The documentary also states that science is littered with mistakes (some scientists might even say that science only progresses by making mistakes) and that while scientists can make guesses as to how these prehistoric creatures might have looked or behaved while they were alive, there is no guarantee that these guesses are correct and in this case, we have no way of knowing for sure.

Evolution according to the program

Haikouichthys → Cephalaspis → Hynerpeton The Haikouichthys is a primitive fish-like animal from the Lower Cambrian Maotianshan shales of China. ... It was a fish who lived in the Silurian period it had an armoured and an advanced brain never been seen in Earths history so far. ... Hynerpeton is one of the earliest known amphibians ever to walk the Earth. ...

Hynerpeton (egg) → Petrolacosaurus (egg) Hynerpeton is one of the earliest known amphibians ever to walk the Earth. ... Binomial name Petrolacosaurus kansensis Petrolacosaurus was a small diapsid reptile, one of the earliest known. ...

Petrolacosaurus → Edaphosaurus Binomial name Petrolacosaurus kansensis Petrolacosaurus was a small diapsid reptile, one of the earliest known. ... Edaphosaurus was much like the Dimetrodon but ate plants and screeched in a high pitched tone that often sounded like Boris, dont touch me there! ...

Dimetrodon → Gorgonops This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Gorgonops (Gorgon + -ops, from Greek meaning face) is the name given to a type synapsid reptile which lived about 260 million years ago, during the late Permian period. ...

Diictodon → Lystrosaurus Diictodon was an extermely common theraspid, roughly 18 inches long. ... Species Lystrosaurus curvatus Lystrosaurus declivus Lystrosaurus mccaigi Lystrosaurus murrayi Lystrosaurus oviceps Lystrosaurus platyceps Lystrosaurus (meaning shovel reptile, pronounced list-row-sore-uss) was a genus of Early Triassic Period therapsids, which lived approximately 250 million years ago in what is now Antarctica, India and South Africa. ...

Euparkeria → Allosaurus Binomial name Euparkeria capensis Broom, 1913a Is considered to be one of the dinosaurs ancestors. ... Species type (Marsh, 1878) Paul, 1987 Mateus , 2006 jimmadseni Chure, 2000 vide Glut, 2003 Synonyms Creosaurus Marsh, 1878 Labrosaurus Marsh, 1879 Camptonotus Marsh, 1879  ?Epanterias Cope, 1878 Allosaurus (IPA: ) was a large (up to 11. ...

The Hynerpeton does not evolve into a Petrolacosaurus in the adult stage, but with an egg. The Hynerpeton egg did not have a shell, and it evolves into Petrolacosaurus by evolving a shell and the Carboniferous part of the program starts with a Petrolacosaurus hatching from its egg.

See also

• Walking with Dinosaurs
• Chased By dinosaurs
• The Ballad of Big Al
• Walking with Beasts
• Sea Monsters
• Prehistoric Park

The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ... // This program features Nigel Marven as a time-traveller who encounters dinosaurs in the wild. ... The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ... // Walking with Beasts is a 2001 six-part television documentary produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom, narrated by Kenneth Branagh. ... Sea Monsters was a BBC television program which used computer-generated imagery to show past life in Earths seas. ... Prehistoric Park is a 6-part television series in documentary style, from Impossible Pictures Limited, (the makers of Walking with Dinosaurs) which premiered on ITV1 on 22 July 2006 and on Animal Planet on 29 October 2006. ...

References

• BBC Walking with Monsters
• BBC Shop Before the Dinosaurs: Walking with Monsters DVD
• "Walking with Monsters" at the Internet Movie Database
• Discovery channel press release