Sea Monsters
Encyclopedia
Sea Monsters was a BBC
television trilogy
which used computer-generated imagery
to show past life in Earth's seas. In the U.S. it was known as Chased by Sea Monsters. It was made by Impossible Pictures
, the creators of Walking with Dinosaurs
, Walking with Beasts
and Walking with Monsters
. In the series
, the British wildlife presenter Nigel Marven
is shown travelling to seven past seas in the history of the Earth and scuba diving
there, in order of dangerousness with the most dangerous last. He travels in a white sailboat
or motorboat
roughly 24 m (80 ft) long named 'The Ancient Mariner
'. His time-travelling device is not mentioned or shown, and the closest thing to it is his time map, showing the timeline of the seven deadliest seas and the creatures that lived at the time. He uses a scuba set
with a fullface mask so he can talk underwater
to produce the commentary. He performs some dives using a strong shark cage, which is spherical to make it harder for large sea creatures to bite it.
In the Ordovician
, the day is only 21 hours long and there is more carbon dioxide
than in the 21st century, forcing Nigel to don a medical-looking backpack filled with air tanks with a special oxygen mixture. To attract a Megalograptus, Nigel finds the corpse of a dead armor-plated fish washed up on the beach. Because there is no land life, there are no coastal scavengers to eat what the sea spits out. Before long, Nigel wades into shallow water and the armor-plated fish attracts a large Megalograptus. The creature devours the armor-plated fish, before attacking Nigel's foot, cutting it badly.
Later on, Nigel attempts to go after a Cameroceras by removing the eye of a dead trilobite and replacing it with a small video camera. He then uses the inflatable raft to venture out into the deeper waters, where he throws the trilobite video camera combo overboard. However, a Megalograptus is quickly attracted to it, and Nigel immediately gets it off of the trilobite. Later in the afternoon, a Cameroceras grabs and eats the trilobite, and Nigel and the cameraman plunge overboard to film it. On the dive, Nigel wears a chain mail suit, so that any marauding sea scorpion cannot harm him. He finds the Cameroceras in which he watches it devour two Megalograptus. The Cameroceras is more agile in the sea than Nigel, and as it attempts to swim away, Nigel grabs onto its shell. When the Cameroceras starts to dive down into the depths, Nigel swims away to the surface, almost getting attacked by another Megalograptus. When Nigel pilots the boat back to shore, he finds a surprise: there are large numbers of Megalograptus mating in the shallow waters. Nigel manages to make his way safely through the Megalograptus hoardes, but a few clamber onto the inflatable boat
and puncture it.
As Nigel walks along the tropical coastlines of Triassic Switzerland
, he explains that the reptiles are taking over the surface of the earth from the skies (e.g. Peteinosaurus), to the land (e.g. Coelophysis). But of course, he is here to see the earliest sea reptiles.
From the deck of the Ancient Mariner, Nigel and crew watch as a Nothosaurus comes up for air. When he sees one, Nigel dives into the seas, pursuing the elusive sea reptile.
Before long, Nigel finds a pair of Nothosaurus. The Nothosaurus circle him, and Nigel has his prod ready to put off any Nothosaurus that comes too close. One of the Nothosaurus move in closer, so Nigel grabs it around its head to swim with it, and he explains that he would be able to open and close its jaws with tremendous force, but the Nothosaurus jaw muscles are very weak. Therefore he can ride with it without the Nothosaurus struggling . He lets the Nothosaurus go so that it can breathe air, and Nigel discovers another bizarre sea reptile: a Tanystropheus.
Nigel follows the Tanystropheus, and attempts to get a closer look at it by grabbing onto its tail, impeding its movement. However, the Tanystropheus loses its tail, similar to the modern day leopard gecko
. Nigel can hold onto the tail only with difficulty, because it is thrashing around (intended as a predator deterrent). Suddenly the tail is snatched up and then eaten by a Cymbospondylus.
The Cymbospondylus begins to circle Nigel with glee, and he explains that its slow movement is designed to deceive prey, and it can move very quickly when it is needed to. After he pokes it with the prod several times, the Cymbospondylus swims away, and Nigel returns to the relative safety of the Ancient Mariner.
On a preliminary dive, another crew member of the Mariner (Mike) films a huge female Dunkleosteus
, swimming around the shallow reefs near the Ancient Mariner. The crew springs into action, and Nigel goes fishing for Bothriolepis. Nigel places a bet with one of the other crew members that the Dunkleosteus
will be able to slice through the Bothriolepis wrapped in the chain mail suit he used in the Ordovician
. When the round shark cage is fully assembled, Nigel descends into it. The smell of the dead Bothriolepis begins to attract a young Stethacanthus
. Eventually, the monstrous Dunkleosteus is sighted, which scares away the Stethacanthus, and the enraged fish repeatedly bashes the cage with its thick head, and looks as though it's about to rip a hole in the cage...
Eventually, Nigel throws the Bothriolepis out of the cage, and the Dunkleosteus
slices through the chainmail and the Bothriolepis. Spying a young Dunkleosteus, the huge adult turns cannibal and kills the baby. She then regurgitates the indigestible parts of its meal (the armor plating and the chainmail).
As Nigel departs for the surface, he explains that the placoderms as a whole have a grim future ahead of them. In another twenty million years, the entire Class
of Placoderms will disappear, much to the other Devonian fish's relief.
While walking in the mangrove swamps of Giza, Nigel comes across some mysterious footprints and a mound of fresh dung, by smelling the manure, he proves that the owner is a fruit-eater. Following the tracks, Nigel comes across an Arsinoitherium migrating overland. Nigel takes a calculated risk and offers the huge fruit-eater an apple
, but apparently this upsets the Arsinotherium and it charges at Nigel. Only by making a break into the thicker forests does Nigel escape from the mammal. Nigel watches from the forest as the Arsinotherium plunges into the water, and follows it. In the water, Nigel watches as a trio of Dorudon, a species of ancient whale
, pass by, and he explains that whales are the reason he came: not for the Dorudon, but a far bigger and meaner whale, Basilosaurus
.
The Ancient Mariner sails offshore, where the crew try a tactic to attract whales that has been used with mixed success: record a Basilosaurus call and play it back via a huge speaker that is lowered from the boat. After playing it for a while, an enraged Basilosaurus rams into the boat before diving again. Wasting no time, Nigel suits up and dives. However, the whale could attack from any direction, so Nigel stays close to the hull of the Mariner, using the boat like a shield to ward off the Basilosaurus. The Basilosaurus is evidently distressed by the calls, and attacks and disables the speaker (which is explained as a territorial response).
As the Ancient Mariner sails off forward through time, Nigel explains that the tropical Eocene is a world on the brink of great climatic change. As the Oligocene dawns, Basilosaurus, Arsinotherium and Dorudon will all vanish, victims of the climatic shifts that ended the Eocene
, changing the warm sea into a cold ocean.
After several minutes of heated debate, the crew of the Mariner come to an agreement. Before diving in offshore waters with the adult Megalodon
, Nigel will dive in the coastal waters, with the juveniles.
Before very long, Nigel finds an Odobenocetops
foraging for oysters in the mud, and it is being hunted by an adolescent Megalodon
shark. Only by taking cover in the thick underwater foliage does Nigel and the Odobenocetops manage to escape the huge shark.
On the next dive (with the adults), Nigel uses the round shark cage that he previously used in the Devonian
era against Dunkleosteus
. This time, Nigel hopes to fire a small video camera into the dorsal fin
of the shark from the relative safety of the cage. Eventually, a Megalodon is spotted, and Nigel quickly gets into the cage, while the crew sets up
bait (a bag of chum
), which quickly attracts the shark. As it attempted to attack the cage, Nigel tries to fire the camera.
However, Nigel panics, and never fires it. Later, he tries again, this time from the surface of the Mariner, as the dorsal fin of the Megalodon was much too high to aim at. The shark is drawn again to the boat via liberal amounts of chum. The shark tries to grab the chum but Nigel is nowhere to be seen.
shark-camera, and the Megalodon grabs and swallows the chum. In a few days, they find the camera floating in the sea, and when they load it into the on-board television, they watch the Megalodon in question attack a whale (Cetotherium
) the same size as it was.
When the crew of the Ancient Mariner head backwards in time, Nigel says that as the Ice Age
begins, the whales that Megalodon
preyed on migrated to colder waters, where Megalodon could not follow. Megalodon is doomed to extinction, by hunger.
Set around England
, which was then largely underwater. This is the second most dangerous sea. Hazards include Liopleurodon
, the largest carnivorous animal of all time. Nigel spies a school of migrating Leedsichthys
. One weaker one is lagging behind the school, and a native Metriorhynchus
and a foreign Hybodus
shark launch a joint attack. Using sonar
, Nigel discovers that a huge Liopleurodon
is heading toward the injured and dying Leedsichthys. The camera spots it circling the Leedsichthys which is already dead, though the Liopleurodon is eventually spooked away by the camera.
Nigel equips his and the cameraman's diving suit with a chemical system that will spray a cloud of deterrent at the huge pliosaur should they get too close. The crew use huge waterproof lights when they descend to the corpse of the Leedsichthys
, because it is night. A pair of Liopleurodon
are feasting on the carcass, and Nigel starts to move closer toward them. When one turns its head towards him, Nigel panics and ejects the chemical, which works on the huge predator.
Nigel is now entering his final sea mission in "Hell's Aquarium" as he calls it. On the land there's T. Rex, but even the most famous land predator of time all can't compare to what's in the water. After viewing a colony of Hesperornis on the coastline, Nigel and another member of the Mariner pause for a second to view a huge underwater bloodbath. As far as Nigel (using a periscope
) can figure out, an elderly Hesperornis was killed, and the resulting carnage has attracted many sea animals, such as Squalicorax, and Xiphactinus. However, Nigel noticed another predator around: a mosasaur known as Halisaurus. Nigel had previously read about mosasaurs, and after spotting some of the smaller species, he and the crew headed out to deeper water in search of Tylosaurus. But Nigel explains that this sea is far too dangerous to go diving in; mosasaurs and other huge carnivores like Xiphactinus are far too dangerous. Instead, the crew of the Ancient Mariner have rigged an ROV to dive for them, while the sonar and cameras on the side of the boat would give them early warning if any mosasaurs are nearby.
The next morning, Nigel discovers that they have hit a dead Archelon, which was mauled by some other predator before being hit by the boat. Later, after managing to domesticate a Pteranodon, the sonar picks up some creatures right beneath the boat. This was a good time for them to use the ROV, and when they send it down, the crew finds that it's a small pod of Elasmosaurus riding their wake like 21st century dolphin
s. Some of them knocked the ROV when they were investigating it, and an Archelon is also spotted. Having done the same thing with present-day leatherback turtles, Nigel forgoes his personal safety to track down the Archelon and ride it. He and the cameraman ride off in the small inflatable raft that they had used previously in the Ordovician
.
Before long, Nigel finds the Archelon when it comes up to the surface for air. He dives, grabbing onto the huge turtle's shell. But not long after, the sonar picked up something nearby: a Xiphactinus was circling Nigel and the Archelon. He quickly makes his escape back up to the raft, but disaster strikes. A family pod of Tylosaurus attack and completely overturn the raft, plunging the crew into the sea. Fortunately for Nigel, the Tylosaurus seem more interested in the boat than the humans, and they quickly escape back to the Mariner.
During the credits, night falls and the crew is fast asleep while the sonar onboard picks up a colossal mob of adult Tylosaurus moving in from all sides, preparing to attack the ship....it is unknown whether they survive or get eaten by the mosasaurs.
Sea
DVD and a similar Dutch DVD (which is Region 2 and plays on UK DVD players).
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...
television trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
which used computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
to show past life in Earth's seas. In the U.S. it was known as Chased by Sea Monsters. It was made by Impossible Pictures
Impossible Pictures
Impossible Pictures Ltd. is a London-based independent TV production company founded in 2002 by Tim Haines, creator of Walking with Dinosaurs and Jasper James....
, the creators of 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...
, 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...
and Walking with Monsters
Walking with Monsters
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...
. In the series
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
, the British wildlife presenter Nigel Marven
Nigel Marven
Nigel Marven is a British wildlife presenter, television producer, author, and ornithologist.-Career:Marven studied botany at Bristol University until the age of 22 when he left to begin his career at the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol...
is shown travelling to seven past seas in the history of the Earth and scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
there, in order of dangerousness with the most dangerous last. He travels in a white sailboat
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
or motorboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
roughly 24 m (80 ft) long named 'The Ancient Mariner
The Ancient Mariner
The Ancient Mariner is a fictional ketch yacht that was used in the BBC documentary film Sea Monsters. In the show, Nigel Marvin and the rest of the crew used the boat to travel to the seven deadliest seas of all time. It was approximately 80 feet long....
'. His time-travelling device is not mentioned or shown, and the closest thing to it is his time map, showing the timeline of the seven deadliest seas and the creatures that lived at the time. He uses a scuba set
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....
with a fullface mask so he can talk underwater
Underwater
Underwater is a term describing the realm below the surface of water where the water exists in a natural feature such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, or river. Three quarters of the planet Earth is covered by water...
to produce the commentary. He performs some dives using a strong shark cage, which is spherical to make it harder for large sea creatures to bite it.
Episodes
- 450 million years ago - Late OrdovicianOrdovicianThe Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
- 360 million years ago - Late DevonianDevonianThe Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
- 230 million years ago - Middle TriassicTriassicThe 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...
- 155 million years ago - Late JurassicJurassicThe 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...
- 75 million years ago - Late CretaceousCretaceousThe 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...
- 36 million years ago - Late EoceneEoceneThe 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...
- 4 million years ago - Early PliocenePlioceneThe 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...
The Seventh Most Dangerous Sea of All Time
- Name: The OrdovicianOrdovicianThe Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
- When: 450 Million Years Ago
- Hazards: Giant Orthocones, Sea Scorpions
- Cameroceras (Identified as a Giant OrthoconeOrthoconeAn orthocone is a usually long straight shell of a nautiloid cephalopod. During the 18th and 19th centuries, all shells of this type were named Orthoceras, but it is now known that many groups of nautiloids developed or retained this type of shell....
) - MegalograptusMegalograptusMegalograptus is a Ordovician eurypterid , and was among the earliest known genera . The generic name is derived from the fact that its first fossils were of its very spiny legs, which were mistaken for massive graptolites. It lived from 460 to 445 mya...
(Identified as a Sea ScorpionSea ScorpionSea Scorpion may refer to:* Eurypterids, members of the extinct class Eurypterida* some members of the Cottidae family of fish including the Long-spined Sea Scorpion and Short-spined Sea Scorpion...
) - AstraspisAstraspisAstraspis is an extinct genus of primitive jawless fish from the Ordovician of Central North America and Bolivia . It is related to other Ordovician fishes, such as the South American Sacabambaspis, and the Australian Arandaspis.-Basic Anatomy:Astraspids are hypothesized to have been about 200mm...
(Identified as an Armor-plated FishFishFish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
) - IsotelusIsotelusIsotelus is a genus of asaphid trilobite from the middle and upper Ordovician period, fairly common in the Northeastern United States, northwest Manitoba, southwestern Quebec and southeastern Ontario...
(Identified as a TrilobiteTrilobiteTrilobites are a well-known fossil group of extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the Atdabanian stage of the Early Cambrian period , and they flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era before...
)
In the Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
, the day is only 21 hours long and there is more carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
than in the 21st century, forcing Nigel to don a medical-looking backpack filled with air tanks with a special oxygen mixture. To attract a Megalograptus, Nigel finds the corpse of a dead armor-plated fish washed up on the beach. Because there is no land life, there are no coastal scavengers to eat what the sea spits out. Before long, Nigel wades into shallow water and the armor-plated fish attracts a large Megalograptus. The creature devours the armor-plated fish, before attacking Nigel's foot, cutting it badly.
Later on, Nigel attempts to go after a Cameroceras by removing the eye of a dead trilobite and replacing it with a small video camera. He then uses the inflatable raft to venture out into the deeper waters, where he throws the trilobite video camera combo overboard. However, a Megalograptus is quickly attracted to it, and Nigel immediately gets it off of the trilobite. Later in the afternoon, a Cameroceras grabs and eats the trilobite, and Nigel and the cameraman plunge overboard to film it. On the dive, Nigel wears a chain mail suit, so that any marauding sea scorpion cannot harm him. He finds the Cameroceras in which he watches it devour two Megalograptus. The Cameroceras is more agile in the sea than Nigel, and as it attempts to swim away, Nigel grabs onto its shell. When the Cameroceras starts to dive down into the depths, Nigel swims away to the surface, almost getting attacked by another Megalograptus. When Nigel pilots the boat back to shore, he finds a surprise: there are large numbers of Megalograptus mating in the shallow waters. Nigel manages to make his way safely through the Megalograptus hoardes, but a few clamber onto the inflatable boat
Inflatable boat
An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull beneath it is often flexible. On boats longer than , the floor often consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed...
and puncture it.
The Sixth Most Deadly Sea of All Time
- Name: The TriassicTriassicThe 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...
- Time: 230 Million Years Ago
- Hazards: Nothosaurs, Cymbospondylus
- PeteinosaurusPeteinosaurusPeteinosaurus was a prehistoric reptile genus belonging to the Pterosauria. It lived in the late Triassic period in the middle Norian .-Name:...
(Identified as a 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...
) - LiliensternusLiliensternusLiliensternus was a genus of coelophysoid dinosaur from the Late Triassic period, about 205 Ma.Liliensternus was originally named in 1934 by Friedrich von Huene as a second species of Halticosaurus, H. liliensterni, the specific name honouring the German amateur paleontologist, Dr...
(Identified as a Coelurosaur) - NothosaurusNothosaurusNothosaurus is an extinct genus of sauropterygian reptile from the Triassic period, approximately 240-210 million years ago, with fossils being distributed from North Africa and Europe to China...
(Identified as a NothosaurNothosaurNothosaurs were Triassic marine sauropterygian reptiles that may have lived like seals of today, catching food in water but coming ashore on rocks and beaches. They averaged about in length, with a long body and tail. The feet were paddle-like, and are known to have been webbed in life, to help...
) - TanystropheusTanystropheusTanystropheus , was a 6 metre long reptile that dated from the Middle Triassic period. It is recognisable by its extremely elongated neck, which measured 3 metres long - longer than its body and tail combined. Despite this length, it had only ten neck vertebrae, each quite long...
- CymbospondylusCymbospondylusCymbospondylus was a basal early ichthyosaur that lived between the middle and later years of the Triassic period...
- PrestosuchusPrestosuchusPrestosuchus is an extinct genus of a group of rauisuchians called prestosuchids. Friedrich von Huene named the genus in honor of Vicentino Prestes de Almeida....
(in book) - NeuticosaurusNeuticosaurusNeuticosaurus is an extinct genus of marine reptile belonging to the nothosaur order, from Germany and France. At 18 cm long, it was one of the smallest nothosaurs. Neuticosaurus probably fed on small fish....
(in book) - MastodonsaurusMastodonsaurusMastodonsaurus was a large-headed temnospondyl that belonged to a group of advanced, mostly Triassic amphibians called capitosaurids. It was a giant among the stegocephalians and the largest animal of its time...
(in book)
As Nigel walks along the tropical coastlines of Triassic Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, he explains that the reptiles are taking over the surface of the earth from the skies (e.g. Peteinosaurus), to the land (e.g. Coelophysis). But of course, he is here to see the earliest sea reptiles.
From the deck of the Ancient Mariner, Nigel and crew watch as a Nothosaurus comes up for air. When he sees one, Nigel dives into the seas, pursuing the elusive sea reptile.
Before long, Nigel finds a pair of Nothosaurus. The Nothosaurus circle him, and Nigel has his prod ready to put off any Nothosaurus that comes too close. One of the Nothosaurus move in closer, so Nigel grabs it around its head to swim with it, and he explains that he would be able to open and close its jaws with tremendous force, but the Nothosaurus jaw muscles are very weak. Therefore he can ride with it without the Nothosaurus struggling . He lets the Nothosaurus go so that it can breathe air, and Nigel discovers another bizarre sea reptile: a Tanystropheus.
Nigel follows the Tanystropheus, and attempts to get a closer look at it by grabbing onto its tail, impeding its movement. However, the Tanystropheus loses its tail, similar to the modern day leopard gecko
Leopard gecko
The leopard gecko is a nocturnal ground-dwelling lizard naturally found in the deserts of southern Central Asia, and throughout Pakistan, to the northwestern parts of India. Unlike most geckos, leopard geckos possess movable eyelids...
. Nigel can hold onto the tail only with difficulty, because it is thrashing around (intended as a predator deterrent). Suddenly the tail is snatched up and then eaten by a Cymbospondylus.
The Cymbospondylus begins to circle Nigel with glee, and he explains that its slow movement is designed to deceive prey, and it can move very quickly when it is needed to. After he pokes it with the prod several times, the Cymbospondylus swims away, and Nigel returns to the relative safety of the Ancient Mariner.
The Fifth Most Dangerous Sea of All Time
- Name: The DevonianDevonianThe Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
- Time: 360 Million Years Ago
- Hazards: Dunkleosteus
- BothriolepisBothriolepisBothriolepis was the most successful genus of antiarch placoderms, if not the most successful genus of any placoderm, with over 100 species found on every continent.-Description and palaeobiology:...
(Identified as a Placoderm) - StethacanthusStethacanthusStethacanthus is an extinct genus of shark which lived in the Early Carboniferous epoch, around 360 million years ago. Fossils have been found in Europe and North America....
(Identified informally as an "Ironing Board" SharkSharkSharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
) - DunkleosteusDunkleosteusDunkleosteus is a genus of prehistoric fish, one of the largest arthrodire placoderms ever to have lived, existing during the Late Devonian period, about 380-360 million years ago.This hunter, measuring up to and weighing , was a hypercarnivorous apex predator...
- OnychodusOnychodusOnychodus is a genus of prehistoric lobe-finned fish which lived during the Devonian period . It is one of the best known of the group of onychodontiform fishes. Scattered fossil bones of Onychodus were first discovered in 1857, in North America, and described by John Strong Newberry...
(in book) - CladoselacheCladoselacheCladoselache is a genus of extinct shark. It appeared in the Devonian period.This primitive shark grew to be up to long and roamed the oceans of North America. It is known to have been a fast moving and fairly agile predator due to its streamlined body and deep forked tail...
(in book) - CheirolepisCheirolepisCheirolepis is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish that lived in the Devonian period of Europe and North America. It is the only genus yet known within the family Cheirolepidae and the order Cheirolepiformes...
(in book) - GraptoliteGraptoliteGraptolithina is a class in the animal phylum Hemichordata, the members of which are known as Graptolites. Graptolites are fossil colonial animals known chiefly from the Upper Cambrian through the Lower Carboniferous...
(in book)
On a preliminary dive, another crew member of the Mariner (Mike) films a huge female Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus is a genus of prehistoric fish, one of the largest arthrodire placoderms ever to have lived, existing during the Late Devonian period, about 380-360 million years ago.This hunter, measuring up to and weighing , was a hypercarnivorous apex predator...
, swimming around the shallow reefs near the Ancient Mariner. The crew springs into action, and Nigel goes fishing for Bothriolepis. Nigel places a bet with one of the other crew members that the Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus is a genus of prehistoric fish, one of the largest arthrodire placoderms ever to have lived, existing during the Late Devonian period, about 380-360 million years ago.This hunter, measuring up to and weighing , was a hypercarnivorous apex predator...
will be able to slice through the Bothriolepis wrapped in the chain mail suit he used in the Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
. When the round shark cage is fully assembled, Nigel descends into it. The smell of the dead Bothriolepis begins to attract a young Stethacanthus
Stethacanthus
Stethacanthus is an extinct genus of shark which lived in the Early Carboniferous epoch, around 360 million years ago. Fossils have been found in Europe and North America....
. Eventually, the monstrous Dunkleosteus is sighted, which scares away the Stethacanthus, and the enraged fish repeatedly bashes the cage with its thick head, and looks as though it's about to rip a hole in the cage...
Episode Two: "Into the Jaws of Death"
...However, the enraged fish only slightly dents the cage.Eventually, Nigel throws the Bothriolepis out of the cage, and the Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus is a genus of prehistoric fish, one of the largest arthrodire placoderms ever to have lived, existing during the Late Devonian period, about 380-360 million years ago.This hunter, measuring up to and weighing , was a hypercarnivorous apex predator...
slices through the chainmail and the Bothriolepis. Spying a young Dunkleosteus, the huge adult turns cannibal and kills the baby. She then regurgitates the indigestible parts of its meal (the armor plating and the chainmail).
As Nigel departs for the surface, he explains that the placoderms as a whole have a grim future ahead of them. In another twenty million years, the entire Class
Class (biology)
In biological classification, class is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, order, family, genus, and species, with class fitting between phylum and order...
of Placoderms will disappear, much to the other Devonian fish's relief.
The Fourth Most Dangerous Sea of All Time
- Name: The EoceneEoceneThe 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...
- Time: 36 Million Years Ago
- Hazards: Basilosaurus
- ArsinoitheriumArsinoitheriumArsinoitherium is an extinct genus of paenungulate mammal related to elephants, sirenians, hyraxes and the extinct desmostylians, as well as to other extinct embrithopods...
- 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...
- 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...
- SarkastodonSarkastodonSarkastodon is an extinct genus within the family Oxyaenidae that lived during the upper Eocene, approximately 35 million years ago. It was a large, carnivorous animal that lived in what is today Mongolia...
(in book) - 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...
(in book) - Gigantophis (in book)
- PalaeomastodonPalaeomastodonPalaeomastodon an extinct genus of Proboscidea. Palaeomastodon fossils have been found in Africa, lived some 36-35 million years ago. They are believed to be the ancestors of elephants or mastodons. This genus is related to Moeritherium....
(in book) - PhysogaleusPhysogaleusPhysogaleus is a small prehistoric shark that lived in the Eocene.-In popular culture:It was featured in the book adaptation of the 2003 BBC series Sea Monsters, a spin-off to Walking with Dinosaurs . In the book, it tried to steal the kill of a Basilosaurus, with no results...
(in book)
While walking in the mangrove swamps of Giza, Nigel comes across some mysterious footprints and a mound of fresh dung, by smelling the manure, he proves that the owner is a fruit-eater. Following the tracks, Nigel comes across an Arsinoitherium migrating overland. Nigel takes a calculated risk and offers the huge fruit-eater an apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
, but apparently this upsets the Arsinotherium and it charges at Nigel. Only by making a break into the thicker forests does Nigel escape from the mammal. Nigel watches from the forest as the Arsinotherium plunges into the water, and follows it. In the water, Nigel watches as a trio of Dorudon, a species of ancient whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
, pass by, and he explains that whales are the reason he came: not for the Dorudon, but a far bigger and meaner whale, 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...
.
The Ancient Mariner sails offshore, where the crew try a tactic to attract whales that has been used with mixed success: record a Basilosaurus call and play it back via a huge speaker that is lowered from the boat. After playing it for a while, an enraged Basilosaurus rams into the boat before diving again. Wasting no time, Nigel suits up and dives. However, the whale could attack from any direction, so Nigel stays close to the hull of the Mariner, using the boat like a shield to ward off the Basilosaurus. The Basilosaurus is evidently distressed by the calls, and attacks and disables the speaker (which is explained as a territorial response).
As the Ancient Mariner sails off forward through time, Nigel explains that the tropical Eocene is a world on the brink of great climatic change. As the Oligocene dawns, Basilosaurus, Arsinotherium and Dorudon will all vanish, victims of the climatic shifts that ended the 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...
, changing the warm sea into a cold ocean.
The Third Most Dangerous Sea of All Time
- Name: The PliocenePlioceneThe 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...
- Time: 4 Million Years Ago
- Hazards: Megalodon
- OdobenocetopsOdobenocetopsOdobenocetops was a small whale from the Pliocene. It had two tusks, and, in some fossils, one tusk was longer than the other.-Description:...
- MegalodonMegalodonThe megalodon and ὀδούς ) is an extinct species of shark that lived roughly from 28 to 1.5 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era .The taxonomic assignment of C...
- CetotheriumCetotheriumCetotherium is a genus of the extinct cetaceans from the family Cetotheriidae .-Known species:...
(Identified as a whaleWhaleWhale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
) - ThalassocnusThalassocnusThalassocnus is an extinct genus of semi-aquatic or aquatic marine sloth from the Miocene and Pliocene of South America. Fossils found to date have been from the coast of Peru. They were apparently grazers of sea grass and seaweed. Over time, they apparently shifted from a preference for feeding...
(in book) - ThylacosmilusThylacosmilusThylacosmilus was a genus of sabre-toothed metatherian predators that first appeared during the Miocene. Remains of the animal have been found in parts of South America, primarily Argentina...
(in book)
After several minutes of heated debate, the crew of the Mariner come to an agreement. Before diving in offshore waters with the adult Megalodon
Megalodon
The megalodon and ὀδούς ) is an extinct species of shark that lived roughly from 28 to 1.5 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era .The taxonomic assignment of C...
, Nigel will dive in the coastal waters, with the juveniles.
Before very long, Nigel finds an Odobenocetops
Odobenocetops
Odobenocetops was a small whale from the Pliocene. It had two tusks, and, in some fossils, one tusk was longer than the other.-Description:...
foraging for oysters in the mud, and it is being hunted by an adolescent Megalodon
Megalodon
The megalodon and ὀδούς ) is an extinct species of shark that lived roughly from 28 to 1.5 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era .The taxonomic assignment of C...
shark. Only by taking cover in the thick underwater foliage does Nigel and the Odobenocetops manage to escape the huge shark.
On the next dive (with the adults), Nigel uses the round shark cage that he previously used in the Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
era against Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus is a genus of prehistoric fish, one of the largest arthrodire placoderms ever to have lived, existing during the Late Devonian period, about 380-360 million years ago.This hunter, measuring up to and weighing , was a hypercarnivorous apex predator...
. This time, Nigel hopes to fire a small video camera into the dorsal fin
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
of the shark from the relative safety of the cage. Eventually, a Megalodon is spotted, and Nigel quickly gets into the cage, while the crew sets up
bait (a bag of chum
Chumming
Chumming is the practice of luring animals, usually fish or sharks, by throwing "chum" into the water. Chum often consists of fish parts and blood, which attract fish, particularly sharks due to their keen sense of smell....
), which quickly attracts the shark. As it attempted to attack the cage, Nigel tries to fire the camera.
However, Nigel panics, and never fires it. Later, he tries again, this time from the surface of the Mariner, as the dorsal fin of the Megalodon was much too high to aim at. The shark is drawn again to the boat via liberal amounts of chum. The shark tries to grab the chum but Nigel is nowhere to be seen.
Episode Three: "To Hell... And Back?"
Nigel has been knocked off the boat by the shark and when he swims back, he finally managed to land a hit with theshark-camera, and the Megalodon grabs and swallows the chum. In a few days, they find the camera floating in the sea, and when they load it into the on-board television, they watch the Megalodon in question attack a whale (Cetotherium
Cetotherium
Cetotherium is a genus of the extinct cetaceans from the family Cetotheriidae .-Known species:...
) the same size as it was.
When the crew of the Ancient Mariner head backwards in time, Nigel says that as the 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...
begins, the whales that Megalodon
Megalodon
The megalodon and ὀδούς ) is an extinct species of shark that lived roughly from 28 to 1.5 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era .The taxonomic assignment of C...
preyed on migrated to colder waters, where Megalodon could not follow. Megalodon is doomed to extinction, by hunger.
The Second Most Dangerous Sea Ever
- Name: The JurassicJurassicThe 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...
- Time: 155 Million Years Ago
- Hazards: Liopleurodon
- LeedsichthysLeedsichthysLeedsichthys was a giant pachycormid that lived in the oceans of the Middle Jurassic period. The closest living relative of the pachycormids is the bowfin, Amia calva, but this is only very distantly related....
- MetriorhynchusMetriorhynchusMetriorhynchus is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliform that lived in the oceans during the Middle to Late Jurassic. Metriorhynchus was named by the German palaeontologist Christian von Meyer in 1830. Metriorhynchus was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
(in book) - 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...
(in book) - 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...
(in book)
Set around England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which was then largely underwater. This is the second most dangerous sea. Hazards include 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...
, the largest carnivorous animal of all time. Nigel spies a school of migrating Leedsichthys
Leedsichthys
Leedsichthys was a giant pachycormid that lived in the oceans of the Middle Jurassic period. The closest living relative of the pachycormids is the bowfin, Amia calva, but this is only very distantly related....
. One weaker one is lagging behind the school, and a native Metriorhynchus
Metriorhynchus
Metriorhynchus is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliform that lived in the oceans during the Middle to Late Jurassic. Metriorhynchus was named by the German palaeontologist Christian von Meyer in 1830. Metriorhynchus was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea...
and a foreign Hybodus
Hybodus
Hybodus 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...
shark launch a joint attack. Using sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
, Nigel discovers that a huge 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...
is heading toward the injured and dying Leedsichthys. The camera spots it circling the Leedsichthys which is already dead, though the Liopleurodon is eventually spooked away by the camera.
Nigel equips his and the cameraman's diving suit with a chemical system that will spray a cloud of deterrent at the huge pliosaur should they get too close. The crew use huge waterproof lights when they descend to the corpse of the Leedsichthys
Leedsichthys
Leedsichthys was a giant pachycormid that lived in the oceans of the Middle Jurassic period. The closest living relative of the pachycormids is the bowfin, Amia calva, but this is only very distantly related....
, because it is night. A pair of 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...
are feasting on the carcass, and Nigel starts to move closer toward them. When one turns its head towards him, Nigel panics and ejects the chemical, which works on the huge predator.
The Most Dangerous Sea Ever
- Name: The CretaceousCretaceousThe 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...
/"Hell's Aquarium" - Time: 75 Million Years Ago
- Hazards: Xiphactinus, Sharks, Giant Mosasaurs
- HesperornisHesperornisHesperornis is a genus of flightless aquatic birds that spanned the first half of the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period . One of the lesser-known discoveries of the paleontologist O. C. Marsh in the late 19th century Bone Wars, it was an important early find in the history of avian...
- SqualicoraxSqualicoraxSqualicorax is a genus of extinct lamniform shark known to have lived during the Cretaceous period. A fully articulated 1.9 m long fossil skeleton of Squalicorax has been found in Kansas, evidence of its presence in the Western Interior Seaway...
(Identified as a sharkSharkSharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
) - XiphactinusXiphactinusXiphactinus was a large, 4.5 to 6 m long predatory bony fish that lived in the Western Interior Sea, over what is now the middle of North America, during the Late Cretaceous. When alive, the fish would have resembled a gargantuan, fanged tarpon...
- HalisaurusHalisaurusHalisaurus is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. With a length of 3–4 m , it was small compared to most other mosasaurs. It was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1869, but renamed Baptosaurus by Marsh in 1870, who thought the name was already in use by a fish...
(Identified as a MosasaurMosasaurMosasaurs are large extinct marine lizards. The first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764...
) - 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...
- PteranodonPteranodonPteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota, was one of the largest pterosaur genera and had a maximum wingspan of over...
- ElasmosaurusElasmosaurusElasmosaurus + σαυρος sauros 'lizard') is a genus of plesiosaur with an extremely long neck that lived in the Late Cretaceous period , 80.5 million years ago.-Description:...
- ArchelonArchelonArchelon is a genus of extinct sea turtle, the largest that has ever been documented.-Discovery:...
- TylosaurusTylosaurusTylosaurus was a mosasaur, a large, predatory marine lizard closely related to modern monitor lizards and to snakes.-Paleobiology:...
(Identified as a Giant MosasaurMosasaurMosasaurs are large extinct marine lizards. The first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764...
) - Unidentified hadrosaur (in book)
- AnkylosaurusAnkylosaurusAnkylosaurus is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur, containing one species, A. magniventris...
(in book) - DromaeosaurusDromaeosaurusDromaeosaurus was a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived during the Late Cretaceous period , sometime between 76.5 and 74.8 million years ago, in the western United States and Alberta, Canada. The name means 'running lizard'....
(in book) - 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...
(in book) - 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...
(in book) - HainosaurusHainosaurusHainosaurus is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It was one of the largest mosasaurs, though its size has been revised more than once. At first it was estimated to be , and the largest mosasaurid. During the 1990s, its size was revised to long; more recently,...
(in book) - Giant SquidGiant squidThe giant squid is a deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae, represented by as many as eight species...
(in book)
Nigel is now entering his final sea mission in "Hell's Aquarium" as he calls it. On the land there's T. Rex, but even the most famous land predator of time all can't compare to what's in the water. After viewing a colony of Hesperornis on the coastline, Nigel and another member of the Mariner pause for a second to view a huge underwater bloodbath. As far as Nigel (using a periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
) can figure out, an elderly Hesperornis was killed, and the resulting carnage has attracted many sea animals, such as Squalicorax, and Xiphactinus. However, Nigel noticed another predator around: a mosasaur known as Halisaurus. Nigel had previously read about mosasaurs, and after spotting some of the smaller species, he and the crew headed out to deeper water in search of Tylosaurus. But Nigel explains that this sea is far too dangerous to go diving in; mosasaurs and other huge carnivores like Xiphactinus are far too dangerous. Instead, the crew of the Ancient Mariner have rigged an ROV to dive for them, while the sonar and cameras on the side of the boat would give them early warning if any mosasaurs are nearby.
The next morning, Nigel discovers that they have hit a dead Archelon, which was mauled by some other predator before being hit by the boat. Later, after managing to domesticate a Pteranodon, the sonar picks up some creatures right beneath the boat. This was a good time for them to use the ROV, and when they send it down, the crew finds that it's a small pod of Elasmosaurus riding their wake like 21st century dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s. Some of them knocked the ROV when they were investigating it, and an Archelon is also spotted. Having done the same thing with present-day leatherback turtles, Nigel forgoes his personal safety to track down the Archelon and ride it. He and the cameraman ride off in the small inflatable raft that they had used previously in the Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
.
Before long, Nigel finds the Archelon when it comes up to the surface for air. He dives, grabbing onto the huge turtle's shell. But not long after, the sonar picked up something nearby: a Xiphactinus was circling Nigel and the Archelon. He quickly makes his escape back up to the raft, but disaster strikes. A family pod of Tylosaurus attack and completely overturn the raft, plunging the crew into the sea. Fortunately for Nigel, the Tylosaurus seem more interested in the boat than the humans, and they quickly escape back to the Mariner.
During the credits, night falls and the crew is fast asleep while the sonar onboard picks up a colossal mob of adult Tylosaurus moving in from all sides, preparing to attack the ship....it is unknown whether they survive or get eaten by the mosasaurs.
Animals of the Timeline
Land- PlaceriasPlaceriasPlacerias was a dicynodont that lived during the late Carnian age of the Triassic Period...
- CoelophysisCoelophysisCoelophysis , meaning "hollow form" in reference to its hollow bones , is one of the earliest known genera of dinosaur...
- 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...
- MacrogryphosaurusMacrogryphosaurusMacrogryphosaurus is a genus of basal iguanodont dinosaur from the Turonian-early Coniacian age Upper Cretaceous Portezuelo Formation of Patagonia, Argentina. It was described by Jorge Calvo and colleagues, with M...
- AnkylosaurusAnkylosaurusAnkylosaurus is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur, containing one species, A. magniventris...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
Sea
- Cameroceras
- MegalograptusMegalograptusMegalograptus is a Ordovician eurypterid , and was among the earliest known genera . The generic name is derived from the fact that its first fossils were of its very spiny legs, which were mistaken for massive graptolites. It lived from 460 to 445 mya...
- DunkleosteusDunkleosteusDunkleosteus is a genus of prehistoric fish, one of the largest arthrodire placoderms ever to have lived, existing during the Late Devonian period, about 380-360 million years ago.This hunter, measuring up to and weighing , was a hypercarnivorous apex predator...
- CymbospondylusCymbospondylusCymbospondylus was a basal early ichthyosaur that lived between the middle and later years of the Triassic 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- TylosaurusTylosaurusTylosaurus was a mosasaur, a large, predatory marine lizard closely related to modern monitor lizards and to snakes.-Paleobiology:...
- 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...
- 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...
- MegalodonMegalodonThe megalodon and ὀδούς ) is an extinct species of shark that lived roughly from 28 to 1.5 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era .The taxonomic assignment of C...
DVD
Sea Monsters has never been released on DVD in the UK, but featured on the American Chased By DinosaursChased by Dinosaurs
Chased by Dinosaurs is a BBC program featuring Nigel Marven as a time-traveller who encounters dinosaurs in the wild. The two-part series, a sequel to Walking with Dinosaurs, was broadcast over Christmas 2002 and featured Nigel and his "team of fellow explorers" encountering prehistoric life over a...
DVD and a similar Dutch DVD (which is Region 2 and plays on UK DVD players).