Prehistoric Planet
Encyclopedia
Prehistoric Planet is a re-version
of the BBC
's Walking with Dinosaurs
and Walking with Beasts
series, done by Discovery Channel
and NBC
for the Discovery Kids
network. Though the producers kept nearly all of the original animation
, David Bock and Peter Sherman wrote new text for a younger target audience, narrated by Ben Stiller
and Christian Slater
, and interspersed the scenes with occasional quizzes to act as bumpers around the commercial breaks. New music
was incorporated as well. During the second season, minimal changes included an addition of a brief clip of Smilodon
and Gastornis
to the theme song. Most marketing and advertising for the series focused on the dinosaur
episode
s. In addition, the final episode, the Prehistoric Planet Top 10 focused solely on the creatures from Walking With Dinosaurs. Some small content edits were done to allow original programs to fit in the 23 minutes of non-commercial time that a normal half-hour program has on network TV. At present, only Season 1 has been released on home video
and DVD
.
(Arizona
) − This episode follows the evolution
of the first dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures in the late Triassic
period.
(Colorado
) − This episode follows the story of a young female Diplodocus
and her brothers and sisters in the late Jurassic
period.
(Oxfordshire
) − This episode follows the life of several baby Ophthalmosaurus
and a bull Liopleurodon
in the late Jurassic
period.
(Brazil
) − This episode follows an Ornithocheirus
in his long journey to the mating grounds in the early Cretaceous
period.
(Antarctica) − This episode follows the hardships of an Antarctican Leaellynasaura
clan
in the early Cretaceous
period.
(Montana
) − This episode follows the final years of the dinosaurs and a mother Tyrannosaurus
in the late Cretaceous
period.
(Germany
) − This episode follows the life of a mother Leptictidium
in the dense forests of Germany
in the early Eocene
epoch.
(Pakistan
) − This episode follows the sea journey of a pregnant Basilosaurus
search for food in the late Eocene
epoch.
(Mongolia
) − This episode follows the life of a young Paraceratherium
and his mother from his birth in the late Oligocene
epoch.
(Ethiopia
) − This episode follows the hardships of an Australopithecus
group and a young called Blue in the late Pliocene
epoch.
(Paraguay
) − This episode follows a male Smilodon
called Halftooth after he lost his territory in the early Pleistocene
epoch.
(Belgium
) − This episode follows a herd of woolly mammoth
journey to the Alps
in the last Ice Age
of the late Pleistocene
epoch.
.
Re-version
A relatively recent phenomenon in television production, re-versioning is the process of re-releasing an existing production or an entire series, updated in some form, as a "new" show. It is an alternative to a straight rerun of a series...
of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs is a six-part documentary television miniseries that was produced by BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the United Kingdom, in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in North America on the Discovery Channel in 2000, with Branagh's voice replaced with that...
and Walking with Beasts
Walking with Beasts
Walking with Beasts is a 2001 six-part television documentary miniseries, produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom, narrated by Kenneth Branagh. In North America it has been retitled Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, and the original Discovery Channel broadcast was narrated by Stockard Channing...
series, done by Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
for the Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids is an American website owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. created for children. Until October 10, 2010, it was an American digital cable specialty channel, owned by Discovery Communications with television programming for education of children. It was launched in October 1996...
network. Though the producers kept nearly all of the original animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
, David Bock and Peter Sherman wrote new text for a younger target audience, narrated by Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
and Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
, and interspersed the scenes with occasional quizzes to act as bumpers around the commercial breaks. New music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
was incorporated as well. During the second season, minimal changes included an addition of a brief clip of Smilodon
Smilodon
Smilodon , often called a saber-toothed cat or saber-toothed tiger, is an extinct genus of machairodonts. This saber-toothed cat was endemic to North America and South America, living from near the beginning through the very end of the Pleistocene epoch .-Etymology:The nickname "saber-tooth" refers...
and Gastornis
Gastornis
Gastornis is an extinct genus of large flightless bird that lived during the late Paleocene and Eocene epochs of the Cenozoic. It was named in 1855, after Gaston Planté, who had discovered the first fossils in Argile Plastique formation deposits at Meudon near Paris...
to the theme song. Most marketing and advertising for the series focused on the dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
s. In addition, the final episode, the Prehistoric Planet Top 10 focused solely on the creatures from Walking With Dinosaurs. Some small content edits were done to allow original programs to fit in the 23 minutes of non-commercial time that a normal half-hour program has on network TV. At present, only Season 1 has been released on home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Dawn Of The Dinosaurs
220.000.000 BC, Late TriassicTriassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
(Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
) − This episode follows the evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
of the first dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures in the late Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
period.
- CoelophysisCoelophysisCoelophysis , meaning "hollow form" in reference to its hollow bones , is one of the earliest known genera of dinosaur...
- ThrinaxodonThrinaxodonThrinaxodon was a cynodont, an ermine-sized therapsid. Pits on the skull suggest that Thrinaxodon may have had whiskers, and by extension a protective covering of fur. There are suggestions that it was warm-blooded...
- PlaceriasPlaceriasPlacerias was a dicynodont that lived during the late Carnian age of the Triassic Period...
- PostosuchusPostosuchusPostosuchus, meaning "crocodile from Post ", was a basal archosaur that lived in what is now North America during the middle through to the late Triassic period...
- PeteinosaurusPeteinosaurusPeteinosaurus was a prehistoric reptile genus belonging to the Pterosauria. It lived in the late Triassic period in the middle Norian .-Name:...
- PlateosaurusPlateosaurusPlateosaurus is a genus of plateosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period, around 216 to 199 million years ago, in what is now Central and Northern Europe. Plateosaurus is a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur, a so-called "prosauropod"...
Jurassic Giants
152.000.000 BC, Late JurassicJurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
(Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
) − This episode follows the story of a young female Diplodocus
Diplodocus
Diplodocus , or )is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek "double" and "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones...
and her brothers and sisters in the late Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
period.
- DiplodocusDiplodocusDiplodocus , or )is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek "double" and "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones...
- AllosaurusAllosaurusAllosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
- OrnitholestesOrnitholestesOrnitholestes was a small theropod dinosaur of the late Jurassic of Western Laurasia . To date, it is known only from a single partial skeleton, and badly crushed skull found at the Bone Cabin Quarry near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, in 1900...
- StegosaurusStegosaurusStegosaurus is a genus of armored stegosaurid dinosaur. They lived during the Late Jurassic period , some 155 to 150 million years ago in what is now western North America. In 2006, a specimen of Stegosaurus was announced from Portugal, showing that they were present in Europe as well...
- BrachiosaurusBrachiosaurusBrachiosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Jurassic Morrison Formation of North America. It was first described by Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in the Grand River Canyon of western Colorado, in the United States. Riggs named the dinosaur Brachiosaurus altithorax,...
- AnurognathusAnurognathusAnurognathus is a genus of small pterosaur that lived approximately 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic Period ....
Jurassic Beach
149.000.000 BC, Late JurassicJurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
(Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
) − This episode follows the life of several baby Ophthalmosaurus
Ophthalmosaurus
Ophthalmosaurus is an ichthyosaur of the Middle to Late Jurassic period , named for its extremely large eyes. It had a graceful 6 metre long dolphin-shaped body, and its almost toothless jaw was well adapted for catching squid...
and a bull Liopleurodon
Liopleurodon
Liopleurodon is a genus of large, carnivorous marine reptile belonging to the Pliosauroidea, a clade of short-necked plesiosaurs. Two species of Liopleurodon lived during the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic Period , while the third, L. rossicus, lived during the Late Jurassic...
in the late Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
period.
- OphthalmosaurusOphthalmosaurusOphthalmosaurus is an ichthyosaur of the Middle to Late Jurassic period , named for its extremely large eyes. It had a graceful 6 metre long dolphin-shaped body, and its almost toothless jaw was well adapted for catching squid...
- LiopleurodonLiopleurodonLiopleurodon is a genus of large, carnivorous marine reptile belonging to the Pliosauroidea, a clade of short-necked plesiosaurs. Two species of Liopleurodon lived during the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic Period , while the third, L. rossicus, lived during the Late Jurassic...
- EustreptospondylusEustreptospondylusEustreptospondylus is a genus of megalosaurid dinosaur, from the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic period in southern England, at a time when Europe was a series of scattered islands Eustreptospondylus ("well-curved vertebra", in reference to the arrangement of the spine in the original...
- CryptoclidusCryptoclidusCryptoclidus was a genus of plesiosaur from the Middle Jurassic period of England.-Discovery:Cryptoclidus is a plesiosaur whose specimens include adult and juvenile skeletons, and remains which have been found in various degrees of preservation in England, Northern France, Russia, and South America...
- RhamphorhynchusRhamphorhynchusRhamphorynchus may refer to:*Rhamphorhynchus, a genus of pterosaur*Rhamphorhynchus, a former monotypic genus of orchid, containing only the species now called Aspidogyne mendoncae...
- HybodusHybodusHybodus is an extinct genus of once-common, widespread and long lived sharks, first appearing towards the end of the Permian period, and disappearing at the beginning of the Cretaceous. During the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods the hybodonts were especially successful and could be...
- PerisphinctesPerisphinctesPerisphinctes is an extinct genus of ammonite cephalopod. They lived during the Jurassic Period , and serve as an index fossil for that time period....
Sky King
127.000.000 BC, Early CretaceousCretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
(Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
) − This episode follows an Ornithocheirus
Ornithocheirus
Ornithocheirus was a pterosaur from the Cretaceous period of Europe and South America...
in his long journey to the mating grounds in the early Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
period.
- OrnithocheirusOrnithocheirusOrnithocheirus was a pterosaur from the Cretaceous period of Europe and South America...
- IguanodonIguanodonIguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs...
- UtahraptorUtahraptorUtahraptor is a genus of theropod dinosaurs, including the largest known members of the family Dromaeosauridae. Fossil specimens date to the upper Barremian stage of the early Cretaceous period...
- DakotadonDakotadonDakotadon is a genus of iguanodont dinosaur from the Barremian-age Lower Cretaceous Lakota Formation of South Dakota, USA, known from a partial skull. It was first described in 1989 as Iguanodon lakotaensis, by David B. Weishampel and Philip R. Bjork. Its assignment has been controversial. Some...
- TapejaraTapejaraTapejara is a genus of Brazilian pterosaur from the Cretaceous Period...
- PolacanthusPolacanthusPolacanthus, deriving its name from the Ancient Greek poly-/πολυ- "many" and acantha/ακανθα "thorn" or "prickle", was an early armored, spiked, plant-eating ankylosaur from the early Cretaceous period. Early depictions often gave it a very vague head as it was only known from the rear half of the...
- IberomesornisIberomesornisIberomesornis is a monotypic genus of enantiornithine bird of the Cretaceous of Spain.In 1985 the fossil of Iberomesornis was discovered by Armando Díaz Romeral in the Early Cretaceous Calizas de La Huérguina Formation at Las Hoyas, Cuenca Province, east central Spain, which dates to the late...
Dinosaurs Of The Ice Forest
106.000.000 BC, Early CretaceousCretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
(Antarctica) − This episode follows the hardships of an Antarctican Leaellynasaura
Leaellynasaura
Leaellynasaura is a genus of small herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous, first discovered in Dinosaur Cove, Australia. The type species is Leaellynasaura amicagraphica...
clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
in the early Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
period.
- LeaellynasauraLeaellynasauraLeaellynasaura is a genus of small herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous, first discovered in Dinosaur Cove, Australia. The type species is Leaellynasaura amicagraphica...
- MuttaburrasaurusMuttaburrasaurusMuttaburrasaurus is a genus of herbivorous ornithopod dinosaur, living in what is now northeastern Australia between 100 and 98 million years ago during the early Cretaceous Period. It has been recovered in some analyses as a member of the iguanodontian family Rhabdodontidae...
- AustralovenatorAustralovenatorAustralovenator is a genus of allosauroid theropod dinosaur from late Albian -age rocks of Australia...
- KoolasuchusKoolasuchusKoolasuchus is an extinct genus of brachyopoid temnospondyl in the family Chigutisauridae. Fossils have been found from Victoria, Australia and date back 120 Ma to the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Koolasuchus is the latest known temnospondyl. Koolasuchus is known from several fragments of...
Death Of The Dinosaurs
65.500.000 BC, Late CretaceousCretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
(Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
) − This episode follows the final years of the dinosaurs and a mother Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
in the late Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
period.
- TyrannosaurusTyrannosaurusTyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
- TorosaurusTorosaurusTorosaurus is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period , between 70 and 65 million years ago. It possessed one of the largest skulls of any known land animal. The frilled skull reached in length...
- AnkylosaurusAnkylosaurusAnkylosaurus is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur, containing one species, A. magniventris...
- AnatotitanAnatotitanAnatotitan is a genus of flat-headed or hadrosaurine hadrosaurid ornithopod dinosaur from the very end of the Cretaceous Period, in what is now North America...
- DeinonychusDeinonychusDeinonychus was a genus of carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur. There is one described species, Deinonychus antirrhopus. This 3.4 meter long dinosaur lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million years ago . Fossils have been recovered from the U.S...
- DidelphodonDidelphodonDidelphodon is a genus of stagodont marsupials from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Three species are known: Didelphodon vorax, D. padanicus, and D. coyi. Although perhaps little larger than a Virginia Opossum, it was one of the largest mammals of the Mesozoic...
- QuetzalcoatlusQuetzalcoatlusQuetzalcoatlus was a pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of North America , and one of the largest known flying animals of all time. It was a member of the Azhdarchidae, a family of advanced toothless pterosaurs with unusually long, stiffened necks...
- DeinosuchusDeinosuchusDeinosuchus is an extinct genus related to the alligator that lived 73 to 80 Ma , during the late Cretaceous period. The name translates as "terrible crocodile" and is derived from the Greek deinos , "terrible", and soukhos , "crocodile"...
- ParksosaurusParksosaurusParksosaurus was a genus of hypsilophodont ornithopod dinosaur from the early Maastrichtian-age Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta, Canada. It is based on most of a partially articulated skeleton and partial skull, showing it to have been a small, bipedal, herbivorous dinosaur...
- DinilysiaDinilysiaDinilysia is an extinct genus of snake from the Late Cretaceous of South America. The snake reached a length of 6-10 feet and preyed on smaller animals...
Bring On The Beasts
49.000.000 BC, Early EoceneEocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
(Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) − This episode follows the life of a mother Leptictidium
Leptictidium
Leptictidium is an extinct genus of small mammals; together with macropods and humans, they are the only known completely bipedal mammals. Comprising five species, they resembled today's elephant shrews...
in the dense forests of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the early Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
epoch.
- LeptictidiumLeptictidiumLeptictidium is an extinct genus of small mammals; together with macropods and humans, they are the only known completely bipedal mammals. Comprising five species, they resembled today's elephant shrews...
- GastornisGastornisGastornis is an extinct genus of large flightless bird that lived during the late Paleocene and Eocene epochs of the Cenozoic. It was named in 1855, after Gaston Planté, who had discovered the first fossils in Argile Plastique formation deposits at Meudon near Paris...
- AmbulocetusAmbulocetusAmbulocetus was an early cetacean that could walk as well as swim. It lived during early Eocene some 50-49 million years ago. It is a transitional fossil that shows how whales evolved from land-living mammals. The Ambulocetus fossils were found in Pakistan by anthropologist Johannes Thewissen...
- PropalaeotheriumPropalaeotheriumPropalaeotherium was an early genus of perissodactyl ancestral to the horse endemic to Europe and Asia during the Middle Eocene.Its name means "before Palaeotherium", as it is the ancestor of Palaeotherium, another relative of early horses...
- GodinotiaGodinotiaGodinotia is an extinct genus of lemur-like prosimians belonging to the Adapidae family. It lived during the Eocene epoch , and its fossils have been found in the Messel Pit, Germany, showing that it already exhibited hominid features that would help make the primates such a successful group...
- TitanomyrmaTitanomyrmaTitanomyrma was a genus of giant ant. The latest species to be discovered, T. lubei, was described in 2011, when a fossilized winged queen ant, comparable in size to hummingbirds, was found in Wyoming. This fossil is the first body of a giant ant found in the Western Hemisphere...
Killer Whale's Tale
36.000.000 BC, Late EoceneEocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
(Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) − This episode follows the sea journey of a pregnant Basilosaurus
Basilosaurus
Basilosaurus is a genus of cetacean that lived from in the Late Eocene. Its fossilized remains were first discovered in the southern United States . The American fossils were initially believed to be some sort of reptile, hence the suffix -"saurus", but later found to be a marine mammal...
search for food in the late Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
epoch.
- BasilosaurusBasilosaurusBasilosaurus is a genus of cetacean that lived from in the Late Eocene. Its fossilized remains were first discovered in the southern United States . The American fossils were initially believed to be some sort of reptile, hence the suffix -"saurus", but later found to be a marine mammal...
- Andrewsarchus
- EmbolotheriumEmbolotheriumEmbolotherium is an extinct genus of brontothere that lived in Mongolia during the late Eocene period. It is most easily recognized by a large bony protuberance emanating from the anterior end of the skull...
- DorudonDorudonDorudon was a genus of ancient cetacean that lived alongside Basilosaurus 41 to 33 million years ago, in the Eocene. They were about five meters long and were most likely carnivorous, feeding on small fish and mollusks. Dorudontines lived in warm seas around the world...
- MoeritheriumMoeritheriumMoeritherium is a genus consisting of several species. These prehistoric mammals are related to the elephant and, more distantly, the sea cow...
- ApidiumApidiumThe genus Apidium is that of at least three extinct primates living in the early Oligocene, roughly 36 to 32 millions years ago. Apidium fossils are common in the Fayoum deposits of Egypt...
Mega-Mammal
25.000.000 BC, Late OligoceneOligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
(Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
) − This episode follows the life of a young Paraceratherium
Paraceratherium
Paraceratherium, also commonly known as Indricotherium or Baluchitherium , is an extinct genus of gigantic hornless rhinoceros-like mammals of the family Hyracodontidae, endemic to Eurasia and Asia during the Eocene to Oligocene 37.2—23.030 Mya, existing for approximately...
and his mother from his birth in the late Oligocene
Oligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
epoch.
- Indricothere
- ChalicotheriumChalicotheriumChalicotherium is a genus of extinct browsing odd-toed ungulates of the order Perissodactyla and family Chalicotheriidae, found in Europe, Africa, and Asia during the Late Oligocene to Lower Pliocene, living from 16—7.75 mya, existing for approximately .This animal...
- HyaenodonHyaenodonHyaenodon is an extinct genus of Hyaenodonts, a group of carnivorous creodonts of the family Hyaenodontidae endemic to all continents except South America, Australia and Antarctica, living from 42—15.9 mya, existing for approximately .-Morphology:Some species of this genus were amongst the largest...
- EntelodonEntelodonEntelodon , is a genus of Entelodontidae endemic to Europe, Eurasia, Asia from the early Eocene through Oligocene living 37.2—28.4 mya, existing approximately ....
- Bear dogBear dogAmphicyonidae is an extinct family of large terrestrial carnivores belonging to the suborder Caniformia and which inhabited North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa from the Middle Eocene subepoch to the Pleistocene epoch 46.2—1.8 Mya, existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:Amphicyonidae was named...
First Came The Apes
3.200.000 BC, Late PliocenePliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
(Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
) − This episode follows the hardships of an Australopithecus
Australopithecus
Australopithecus is a genus of hominids that is now extinct. From the evidence gathered by palaeontologists and archaeologists, it appears that the Australopithecus genus evolved in eastern Africa around 4 million years ago before spreading throughout the continent and eventually becoming extinct...
group and a young called Blue in the late Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
epoch.
- AustralopithecusAustralopithecusAustralopithecus is a genus of hominids that is now extinct. From the evidence gathered by palaeontologists and archaeologists, it appears that the Australopithecus genus evolved in eastern Africa around 4 million years ago before spreading throughout the continent and eventually becoming extinct...
- DinofelisDinofelisDinofelis is a genus of sabre-toothed cats belonging to the tribe Metailurini. They were widespread in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America at least 5 million to about 1.2 million years ago...
- AncylotheriumAncylotheriumAncylotherium is an extinct genus of the family Chalicotheriidae, subfamily Schizotheriinae, endemic to Europe, Asia, and Africa during the Late Miocene-Pliocene , existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:...
- DeinotheriumDeinotheriumDeinotherium , also called the Hoe tusker, was a large prehistoric relative of modern-day elephants that appeared in the Middle Miocene and continued until the Early Pleistocene. During that time it changed very little...
Saber Tooth
1.000.000 BC, Early PleistocenePleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
(Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
) − This episode follows a male Smilodon
Smilodon
Smilodon , often called a saber-toothed cat or saber-toothed tiger, is an extinct genus of machairodonts. This saber-toothed cat was endemic to North America and South America, living from near the beginning through the very end of the Pleistocene epoch .-Etymology:The nickname "saber-tooth" refers...
called Halftooth after he lost his territory in the early Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
epoch.
- SmilodonSmilodonSmilodon , often called a saber-toothed cat or saber-toothed tiger, is an extinct genus of machairodonts. This saber-toothed cat was endemic to North America and South America, living from near the beginning through the very end of the Pleistocene epoch .-Etymology:The nickname "saber-tooth" refers...
- MacraucheniaMacraucheniaMacrauchenia was a long-necked and long-limbed, three-toed South American ungulate mammal, typifying the order Litopterna. The oldest fossils date back to around 7 million years ago, and M...
- MegatheriumMegatheriumMegatherium was a genus of elephant-sized ground sloths endemic to Central America and South America that lived from the Pliocene through Pleistocene existing approximately...
- PhorusrhacosPhorusrhacosPhorusrhacos was a genus of giant flightless predatory birds that lived in Patagonia, containing the single species Phorusrhacos longissimus. Their closest living relatives are the much smaller seriema birds...
- DoedicurusDoedicurusDoedicurus clavicaudatus was a prehistoric glyptodont, living during the Pleistocene until the end of the last glacial period, some 11,000 years ago. This was the largest known glyptodontid, and one of the better known members of the New World Pleistocene megafauna, with a height of 1.5 meters and...
Ice Age Survivor
30.000 BC, Late PleistocenePleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
(Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) − This episode follows a herd of woolly mammoth
Woolly mammoth
The woolly mammoth , also called the tundra mammoth, is a species of mammoth. This animal is known from bones and frozen carcasses from northern North America and northern Eurasia with the best preserved carcasses in Siberia...
journey to the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
in the last Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
of the late Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
epoch.
- Woolly MammothWoolly mammothThe woolly mammoth , also called the tundra mammoth, is a species of mammoth. This animal is known from bones and frozen carcasses from northern North America and northern Eurasia with the best preserved carcasses in Siberia...
- Irish ElkIrish ElkThe Irish Elk or Giant Deer , was a species of Megaloceros and one of the largest deer that ever lived. Its range extended across Eurasia, from Ireland to east of Lake Baikal, during the Late Pleistocene. The latest known remains of the species have been carbon dated to about 7,700 years ago...
- Woolly RhinocerosWoolly RhinocerosThe woolly rhinoceros is an extinct species of rhinoceros that was common throughout Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch and survived the last glacial period. The genus name Coelodonta means "cavity tooth"...
- NeanderthalNeanderthalThe Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
- Cave LionCave lionPanthera leo spelaea also known as the European or Eurasian cave lion, is an extinct subspecies of lion known from fossils and many examples of prehistoric art.-Physical characteristics:This subspecies was one of the largest lions...
- Cro-MagnonCro-MagnonThe Cro-Magnon were the first early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiometrically dated to 35,000 years before present....
Prehistoric Planet Top 10
This episode details a list of animals from the first season that the developers thought were the most impressive creatures on EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
- LiopleurodonLiopleurodonLiopleurodon is a genus of large, carnivorous marine reptile belonging to the Pliosauroidea, a clade of short-necked plesiosaurs. Two species of Liopleurodon lived during the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic Period , while the third, L. rossicus, lived during the Late Jurassic...
(Due to eating dinosaurs.) - TyrannosaurusTyrannosaurusTyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
(Due to being princePrincePrince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
of the dinosaurs.) - StegosaurusStegosaurusStegosaurus is a genus of armored stegosaurid dinosaur. They lived during the Late Jurassic period , some 155 to 150 million years ago in what is now western North America. In 2006, a specimen of Stegosaurus was announced from Portugal, showing that they were present in Europe as well...
(Due to discouraging AllosaurusAllosaurusAllosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
.) - AllosaurusAllosaurusAllosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
(Due to being one of the only predators to take down DiplodocusDiplodocusDiplodocus , or )is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek "double" and "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones...
.) - DiplodocusDiplodocusDiplodocus , or )is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek "double" and "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones...
(Due to being one of the biggest sauropods of its timeTimeTime is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
.) - TorosaurusTorosaurusTorosaurus is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period , between 70 and 65 million years ago. It possessed one of the largest skulls of any known land animal. The frilled skull reached in length...
(Due to its large skullSkullThe skull is a bony structure in the head of many animals that supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.The skull is composed of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. A skull without a mandible is only a cranium. Animals that have skulls are called craniates...
.) - OrnithocheirusOrnithocheirusOrnithocheirus was a pterosaur from the Cretaceous period of Europe and South America...
(Due to being the biggest pterosaurPterosaurPterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
ever.) - UtahraptorUtahraptorUtahraptor is a genus of theropod dinosaurs, including the largest known members of the family Dromaeosauridae. Fossil specimens date to the upper Barremian stage of the early Cretaceous period...
(Due to being a predator that took down IguanodonIguanodonIguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs...
.) - IguanodonIguanodonIguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs...
(Due to being able to chew, and having a thumbThumbThe thumb is the first digit of the hand. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position , the thumb is the lateral-most digit...
spikeSpikeSpike may refer to:-Device to puncture or fasten:* Nail , especially one over ten inches long* Rail spike, or Screw spike used to construct railroad tracks* Tree spiking, making a tree dangerous to cut with a chainsaw...
.) - CoelophysisCoelophysisCoelophysis , meaning "hollow form" in reference to its hollow bones , is one of the earliest known genera of dinosaur...
(Due to being a fierceFierceFierce was a three-piece, all girl R&B group from the United Kingdom. They were signed to Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildstar Records, and scored four hit singles on the UK Singles Chart in 1999 and 2000...
predator.)