whizzbang.biz Blog

Ever since I was young I have been fascinated by Prehistoric animals. I think I could pronounce Pachycephalosaurus before I could even walk (Although spelling it correctly has always proved a bit of a challenge lol). Anyway I recently decided to watch this Exciting three part series narrated with great enthusiasm by Kenneth Branagh about a time before dinosaurs ruled the Earth.

Part one deals with the earliest creatures who inhabited the sea, such as Primitive crustaceans, shelled Ammonites, Belemnites, Trilobites, Sea Scorpions and the first Primitive sharks. It also looks at how over millions of years primitive fish such as Cephalaspid evolved a way to escape the predators in the water and were able to get onto dry land to eat the many invertebrates already living there, however this was not without its hazards, which included huge dragonflies like Meganeura, carnivorous spiders and gigantic centipedes

Part two looks at how Amphibians may have evolved from fish such as Mudskippers to become animals like Icthiostega & Hynerpeton , which were able to climb onto dry land and prey on the many invertebrates which lived there. It also looks at how amphibians gradually evolved to become reptiles, such as the awesome Dimetrodons & Edaphosaurs, who no longer needed to return to water so frequently and could lay their eggs on land,

Part three looks at how a change in the Earth’s atmosphere and climate plus a Massive surge in volcanic activity led to a widespread extinction. Life becomes increasingly difficult for the Herds of Scutasaurs, aswell as The awesome Half mammal Half Reptile Gorgonopsids and the Giant amphibian Labyrinthodont.

The only animals who seemed to benefit from this drastic change were small Burrowing mammal like reptiles such as Diictodon, who, once the Earth has recovered, evolved into highly successful & enormous Herds of Lystrosaurus who roamed the Earth during the Triassic period. These were preyed on by Poisonous Pherosophalians aswell as Crocodile like Chasmatosaurs.

The program also looks at the tiny Insect eating Euparkeria, who because of their unique abilities and adaptability were to eventually evolve into that most fascinating group of animals The Dinosaurs