All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.

Reviews, comments and feedback on television programmes featuring themes of interest to dinosaur fans and fossil collectors by Everything Dinosaur team members.

26 01, 2011

The Birth of Britain TV Documentary – Review

By |2023-03-06T15:41:05+00:00January 26th, 2011|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page, TV Reviews|0 Comments

The Birth of Britain Television Programme Review

There have been several excellent television documentaries on the subject of geology and geography aired recently.  For example, the very well put together “Men of Rock” shown by the BBC on Thursday evenings.  This three-part television programme, highlighting the contribution to geology made by notable scientists such as Louis Agassiz and James Croll.  These programmes are narrated by Professor Iain Stewart, whose bubbly enthusiasm for his subject makes good television.

However, a quick note in praise of Tony Robinson who narrates the Channel Four documentary series “The Birth of Britain”.  In these three programmes Tony Robinson travels the length and breadth of the mainland of Great Britain highlighting the volcanic past of the United Kingdom, the effect of the Ice Ages on shaping the landscape and in the last programme, how gold and other precious metals are mined.

Whilst Tony Robinson cannot boast the academic credentials of a Professor Iain Stewart, he is equally enthusiastic and seems to genuinely enjoy explaining the clues left to our island’s past in its geology and geography.

To his credit, he keeps his enthusiasm even when getting soaked.  He seems to have spent half the filming time in a rain shower. We know how he feels, the trickle of water seeping into the boots, the discovery that your waterproofs are not quite as “waterproof” as they used to be – all good fun.

The United Kingdom has some wonderful landscapes and we have enjoyed watching these programmes even looking on enviously as Tony Robinson speaks into the camera in yet another rainstorm.

Everything Dinosaur

“The Birth of Britain” documentaries are being shown on Channel Four at 8pm Mondays, although let down by some poor animation, they are informative and show some of the most spectacular parts of the British Isles as well as revealing what evidence can be found in cities and in railway stations that show what happened in the past.

To view models and figures of prehistoric animals, fossils of which have been found in Britain: Prehistoric Animal Models and Figures.

13 11, 2010

Review of BBC Television’s “First Life” Documentary

By |2023-03-06T12:20:11+00:00November 13th, 2010|Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, TV Reviews|2 Comments

Praising David Attenborough’s “First Life”

Last night, the BBC showed the second and concluding part of the television documentary “First Life”, which provided information regarding the origins of life on Earth.  Sir David Attenborough may be an octogenarian but his energy and enthusiasm for the natural world is as undiminished as ever and his intelligent commentary combined beautifully with state of the art computer graphics to give viewers an insight into the origins of life on Earth.

“First Life”

The long slow fuse to the Cambrian explosion, as we at Everything Dinosaur like to call the later stages of the Cryptozoic Eon, was handled very well in the first of the programmes entitled “Arrival”, the second and final part, called “Conquest” dealt with the rise of the arthropods and the rapid diversification of animals which ultimately led to the evolution of the first land animals.

In fairness to the production company, cramming 3.3 billion years of the history of life on Earth into just two, one-hour documentaries is an achievement in itself.  Such a programme would have been very difficult to make twenty years ago as our understanding of the evolution of early life forms has increased immensely over the last few years.

The major fossil sites that help to document the origins of life were visited and Sir David, tackled the steep slopes of the Burgess shales (British Columbia) and the sweltering heat of the Ediacaran hills with gusto.  We were expecting to hear a little more about the Gunflint sedimentary rocks of western Ontario (Canada) and their micro-organism fossils, but the oldest fossils visible to the naked eye – Stromatolites were discussed and Sir David did visit colonies in Australia, giving the viewer an impression of what some parts of the world would have looked like way back in time.

Great to see Charnia and Charnwood forest in the documentary, a part of England that Sir David knows well as he used to indulge in his hobby of fossil collecting in the exposed sedimentary rocks in the area.  One thing that did make a lasting impression on us, was the use of computer graphics to bring Charnia back from the dead as it were.  The lack of pigmentation was something that had not occurred to us.  This is obvious now that we think about it, organisms living at the bottom of the sea in complete darkness would not need pigmentation.

The Diversification of the Trilobites

The diversification of the trilobites was well handled, although it would have been nice to have seen a number of genera animated so that viewers could get a real impression of the multitude of forms that arose.  Indeed, in the second episode – “Conquest” the arthropods dominated, there was not much coverage of the molluscs, brachiopods or the Echinodermata.

The locations were stunning and the camera crew certainly racked up the air-miles with a number of exotic sites featured, but lovely to see the important Scottish fossils that have helped document the rise of the arthropods and the evolution of land animals.

A Replica of a Trilobite

CollectA Redlichia rex trilobite. "First Life"

CollectA Redlichia rex trilobite model.

For models and replicas of early prehistoric animals such as trilobites an nautiloids: CollectA Prehistoric Life Models.

Organisms that most readily capture our attention tend to be easily visible, intelligent with complex behaviour – mammals like us, for example.  Yet, as far as the history of recorded life on Earth is concerned – the fossil record, it is the invertebrates that are much more abundant and it is wonderful to see a television series that provides an insight into our current knowledge as to life’s origins.

The fossil remains of Pikaia (pronounced pick-kay-ah), from the Burgess Shale deposits did get a mention.  The discovery of a Cambrian organism with a notochord – the rise of Chordata Phylum had to be covered, after all, if it wasn’t for creatures like Pikaia, we would not be here today.

Personally, I would like to have seen more information on the competition that arose between Arthropoda and Mollusca and perhaps a little more on the evolution of plants, but apart from these minor points – another broadcasting triumph for the BBC.

A number of team members have asked for the book that accompanies the television programmes to be added to their Christmas lists.

Scientist’s knowledge of the Palaeozoic and the origins of life has been increased exponentially over the years.  A study of ancient strata in Sweden has led some researchers to conclude that the impact of extraterrestrial objects led to another spurt in the evolution of life in the Ordovician Period.

To read more about this research: Palaeozoic Meteorite Bombardment gives Life on Earth a Helping Hand.

23 10, 2010

Attenborough’s Journey

By |2023-01-13T19:43:21+00:00October 23rd, 2010|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Famous Figures, Main Page, TV Reviews|4 Comments

David Attenborough’s Journey a Prelude to the new BBC Documentary Series

On Sunday at 8pm (GMT), BBC Two will show the one hour television documentary called “Attenborough’s Journey”, the prelude to the new BBC natural history series “First Life” that tells the story of how the first animals and plants evolved.  “First Life” charts the origins of life on Earth and combines visits to some of the world’s most important fossil locations with ground-breaking CGI footage to bring long extinct animals such as trilobites and Anomalocaris back to life.

“Attenborough’s Journey” is a documentary about the making of the “First Life” series it follows Sir David Attenborough as he travels the world to film this new set of television programmes.  As Sir David (aged 84), journeys to the parts of the world that have had a special meaning to him in his fifty or so years of broadcasting.  He visits his childhood home in Leicestershire where he first collected fossils, including ammonites and trilobites.  He then travels onto Morocco’s arid deserts, again onward to the glaciers of Canada, before visiting Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Attenborough’s Journey

As an introduction to the “First Life” series of documentary programmes, “Attenborough’s Journey” provides a unique insight into the mind and character of one of the world’s most famous and well-travelled broadcasters.  This documentary combines recent footage shot on various locations with archive footage from Sir David’s five decades of television programme making.

When Sir David was asked about how he keeps going, despite being 84 years young, he commented that, although he has a few aches and pains there was no point worrying about it.

He said in an interview before his 84th birthday:

“My legs don’t work and people say, ‘You should have a knee replacement’, but when you are 83 there would be another year or 18 months of pain and stuff, and by that time you are 85, 86.  Come on!  We are mortal and you cannot make yourself a 26-year-old again.  You might as well cope with it the way it is going.”

We can’t wait for the TV programmes to be aired and I know a couple of my colleagues have already requested the book that accompanies the “First Life” series be added to their Christmas lists.

For models and replicas of many of the Palaeozoic invertebrates to be featured in the television series: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular Range.

29 11, 2009

Lyuba Makes Her Terrestrial Television Debut

By |2022-12-31T20:55:31+00:00November 29th, 2009|Animal News Stories, Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page, TV Reviews|0 Comments

Secrets of a Baby Mammoth

The discovery of a perfectly preserved baby Woolly Mammoth by a nomadic reindeer herder in the north-western part of the huge Siberian tundra, sent shock waves rippling across the scientific world.  Baby Woolly Mammoths had been found before, but they had been weak and sickly animals, Lyuba (as that was the name given to the carcase), was different.  Here was a young Mammoth that had drowned and by all accounts was a strong calf.  Her body was to provide an insight into the fauna and flora of an Ice Age world some 40,000 years ago.

Baby Mammoth

To read an article on Lyuba: New Baby Mammoth Found.

The story of the research and the study of this amazing well preserved fossil has been made into a ninety minute documentary.  It has been shown on satellite television channels before, but it is being shown on terrestrial television for the first time this Friday.

To view a model of a baby Woolly Mammoth, other Ice Age figures and replicas, plus of course, dinosaur models: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

A Model of a Baby Mammoth

baby mammoth

A baby Mammoth on the move.

The picture (above) shows the juvenile Woolly Mammoth model from Papo.  To view the Papo range of prehistoric animal models and figures in stock at Everything Dinosaur: Papo Prehistoric Animal Figures.

This programme is being shown on Channel 4 at 9pm on Friday December 4th.  It should be fascinating.

14 04, 2009

Primeval off to Hollywood

By |2022-12-21T21:45:47+00:00April 14th, 2009|Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, TV Reviews|0 Comments

Primeval Creators in Talks to turn TV Series into a Film

Impossible Pictures the company behind the hit television series Primeval are in talks with US film studio Warner Bros to turn the time travelling adventure into a Hollywood blockbuster.

According to industry insiders, work on the film will begin later this year, after Primeval has finished a run of its third series, now currently being shown on ITV1 on Saturday nights.  The show features a cast of characters led by evolutionary zoologist Nick Cutter (played by Douglas Henshall) who explore rifts in time that allow animals from the past and the future to roam in the modern world.  Primeval was originally pitched as an ITV rival to the new Doctor Who series, it has done well in the television ratings, regularly achieving viewing figures in excess of 7 million.

The film version will be a joint venture between the TV production company Impossible Pictures and Warner Bros.  It is not known whether the TV series cast will take their roles to the big screen or whether American actors will take the main roles.  The use of American actors and actresses is indeed a possibility as there are ongoing talks about creating a US TV series with a number of stateside networks.

We will have to wait and see, but it looks like the team behind the BAFTA and EMMY award winning Walking with Dinosaurs have plans to develop a substantial Primeval franchise.  Wish we could jump through one of their anomalies to see how things turn out.

4 08, 2008

The Genius of Charles Darwin

By |2023-02-25T18:22:46+00:00August 4th, 2008|Famous Figures, Main Page, TV Reviews|0 Comments

Darwinism – “The most Powerful Idea Ever to Occur to the Human Mind”

Jumping the gun somewhat on the inevitable deluge of TV programmes, documentaries and radio airtime that will be dedicated to Charles Darwin and natural selection next year (2009 marks the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth), Channel 4 starts a three-part series tonight.

Charles Darwin

Richard Dawkins, a controversial figure in scientific circles for his vocal support of atheism leads viewers through how Darwin came to his theories on evolution and natural selection, as well as looking at how evolution and creationism are taught in British schools.  The programmes have been scheduled to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s book “On the Origin of Species”, first published in 1858.

To read a short blog article marking the anniversary of the publication of the book “On the Origin of Species” The 150th Anniversary of the “Origin of Species”.

“Evolution is fact, backed by undeniable evidence” Dawkins asserts as he follows the journey of the Beagle to the Galapagos Islands and charts the events of Darwin’s life that led him to his dramatic and world changing conclusions.

The Theory of Evolution

Quoting the statistic that four out of every ten people in Great Britain say that God created the world, Dawkins sets out to explain the life and works of Darwin.  It is acknowledged that as Darwin himself was growing up he would have been taught that the Earth was only 6,000 years old,  a concept that was beginning to be challenged by the works of the early Geologists such as Adam Sedgewick.

No doubt the programme will contrast the theory of evolution with creationism, here’s hoping that the documentary series lives up to its billing and that it provides an basis for informed debate.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Everything Dinosaur.

14 06, 2008

Real Life “Jurassic Park” not too Far Away

By |2022-11-25T08:40:45+00:00June 14th, 2008|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page, TV Reviews|0 Comments

TV Documentary Explores Dinosaur Genome

A TV programme being shown for the first time in the UK (Discovery Channel over the weekend) aims to demonstrate steps taken by scientists to bring Dinosaurs back to life.  The programme to be shown on the Discovery Channel is entitled,  “Dinosaurs: Return to Life”; highlights the work done to date to explore and identify the DNA signature of Dinosauria.

“Jurassic Park”

A team of scientists from Montana State University, a part of the Western USA with geology dating form the Age of Reptiles, aim to unlock the secrets of the dinosaur genetic code and if they are ultimately successful this could lead to the creation of dinosaurs once again.  The Jurassic Park, of the Michael Crichton novel would become a reality.  The progress the team have made on this remarkable project will be revealed in the TV documentary, receiving its premier in the UK.  The question is posed; will scientists be able to reverse an extinction and ever be able to resurrect a dinosaur?

For Jack Horner, a professor of palaeontology at Montana State University and one of the consultants on the Jurassic Park films, the answer is a definite yes.

Professor Horner commented: “Of course we can bring them back to life. Their ancestral DNA is still present.  The science is there. I don’t think there are any barriers, other than the philosophical.”

As genetic research has developed over the last twenty years or so, there have been numerous attempts to unravel the genetic make-up of a number of organisms.  Professor Raul Cano, professor of microbiology at California Polytechnic State University, attempted to extract DNA from the preserved remains of insects trapped in amber.  The Californian team claimed that they had extracted strands of DNA from a 40 million year old bee.  In a similar programme of research at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, a group of scientists claimed that they had extracted the DNA from a fossilised termite.

Mammoth DNA

However, the initial results could not be replicated and it is now thought that the samples had been contaminated with modern DNA.  Attempts have been made to recover genetic material from frozen Siberian Mammoths and from fossil Neanderthal bones, but to resurrect a dinosaur, scientists will need to be able to recover DNA from a fossil of an animal at least 65 million years old.

Many scientists believe that DNA being an organic substance would not be able to last 10,000 years under ideal preservation conditions, so finding valid dinosaur DNA would be impossible.  However, both American and Russian teams claim that they have discovered fossils that have permitted the extraction of dinosaur proteins.  This could lead to a breakthrough in this form of genetic research.  The Russian team claim to have extracted proteins from a ceratopsian (horned dinosaur) and identified it to be similar in structure to the DNA of an ostrich.  This would be somewhat expected as birds are thought to be close relatives of dinosaurs.  Indeed, some palaeontologists have speculated that the Dinosauria clade should be re-classified along avian and non-avian forms.

Work by Hans Larsson, a palaeontologist at McGill University in Canada, has begun to unravel the links between the birds and dinosaurs.  He conducted an experiment in November 2007 into the evolution from the long tail of dinosaurs into the short, stubby tails of birds.  Advanced birds, such as the ornithothoraces and the modern neornithes have a much reduced tail structure.  This is called the pygostyle and it consists of the last five tail vertebrae fused together into a plate of bone.  The anatomy of the tail is one of the diagnostic characteristics that scientists use to differentiate between birds and maniraptoran dinosaurs such as Velociraptor.  If a tail is found to contain less than 25 caudal vertebrae then this feature is used to help classify this organism as a bird.

Archaeopteryx for example had this shortened tail and so it is classified with the Aves clade.

A Picture of Archaeopteryx (Ancient Wing)

Archaeopteryx model

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The picture of Archaeopteryx is a 1:5 scale model from the Museum Line range and other dinosaur models: Bullyland Museum Line Models.

Working with chicken embryos that were no more than 48-hours old, the McGill University team discovered that there were 16 vertebrae developing in the embryonic spine, effectively evidence of a reptilian tail.  As the embryo developed the “tail” became shorter and shorter, until the young bird hatched with just the five vertebrae of a modern bird (neornithes).

Larsson and his team claim that this research indicates that the blueprint for a dinosaur remains dormant within the genetic make-up of birds.  Taking their study further, the team have hatched mutant chicks with three extra vertebrae, providing evidence that they have been able to partially switch back on dormant genetic processes.

A group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin have also been attempting to manipulate the genome of chickens, not an easy task when it is considered that chickens have 78 chromosomes compared to just 46 in humans.  Although the number of chromosomes does not seem to be related to the complexity of the organism, it is more directly related to the time a species has existed, with older species accumulating more chromosomes.

This American team attempted to turn on the processes for constructing teeth within the beaks of chickens.  Early birds had teeth, but just like their long tails, they evolved toothless beaks in order to lose weight so that this would assist with flight.  The team have reported some success, with embryos producing a form of dentition similar to the teeth of embryonic alligators, another indication of the close relationship between crocodilians, Aves and Dinosauria.

Professor Horner and his fellow scientists have speculated that within 100 years the knowledge and the techniques will be available to produce a dinosaur from a bird embryo – a sort of deconstructing one advanced theropod to produce a dinosaur.

Whether or not this is the right ethical approach has yet to be debated, after all, look what happened in the Jurassic Park movie!

10 05, 2008

Fossil Detectives Coming to Television

By |2023-02-25T08:22:29+00:00May 10th, 2008|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page, TV Reviews|1 Comment

New BBC Television Series set to Inspire next Generation of Geologists and Palaeontologists

Coming to BBC4 in June is a brand new television series that highlights the rich fossil legacy of the British Isles.  The new series is to be called “Fossil Detectives” and its aim is to explore the various ancient landscapes that make up the British Isles, visiting some of the best fossil locations in the country.

Fossil Detectives

Using a similar format to highly successful Open University/BBC format on “Coast” which took viewers on a tour of the coastline of the British Isles, Fossil Detectives will transport viewers from the north of Scotland down to the Isle of Wight, as well as taking them back in time hundreds of millions of years.

When it comes to enthusing the British public about rocks and fossils few people are better suited than Hermione Cockburn, the presenter chosen to front this set of programmes.  Hermione has a background in Earth sciences and has studied landscapes all over the world including Africa and Antarctica.  Although heavily involved in television work since she won the BBC Talent “Science on Screen” competition in 2002, she is still an Open University tutor on the OU science course S216 (Environmental Science).

Hermione Cockburn

Currently residing in Edinburgh, a city famous for its fantastic geology, this latest BBC series involved Hermione travelling the length and breadth of the country to illustrate the rich fossil and Earth Science heritage of Britain.  For fossil hunters there is no need to invest in expensive equipment, a keen pair of eyes and a little bit of knowledge is all that is required to uncover traces of our ancient past.  Naturally, famous fossil sites such as the “Jurassic coast” of southern England and the Isle of Wight will feature in the TV series as well as some of the less well known but just as spectacular finds such as the West Runton Elephant (Steppe Mammoth).

A Drawing of a Steppe Mammoth

Steppe Mammoth illustration.

An illustration of a Steppe Mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii).

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Eofauna Scientific Research have created a range of models depicting prehistoric elephants including Mammuthus trogontheriiEofauna Scientific Research Models.

For Hermione making the series was great fun, but even though she got to travel to some amazing places the highlight for her was when she met her hero Sir David Attenborough and viewed his private fossil specimens, collected on his travels all over the world.

She commented: “we spent an hour talking through his fossil collection.  I was so excited – I almost feel that I can retire happily now”.

The fossil detectives will be shown next month, with so many new discoveries it might not be too long before a second series is required.

8 02, 2008

Primeval Team visit the Silurian

By |2023-02-24T22:15:59+00:00February 8th, 2008|Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, TV Reviews|0 Comments

Saturday Night and a Trip to the Silurian

The ITV science fiction series Primeval (ITV1 7.20pm) takes viewers back to the Silurian period on Saturday night, the team of time travellers take on some very nasty Arachnids based loosely on the giant sea scorpions – animals such as Brontoscorpio which could grow to nearly a metre long.

Silurian

Brontoscorpio means “thunder scorpion” it was certainly a fearsome predator of the late Silurian.  It is related to modern scorpions, but the huge arthropods such as Pterygotus which could grow to nearly 3 metres long would not have posed much of a threat to Professor Cutter and his team on land.

In this particular episode, the A.R.C (Anomaly Research Centre) team go through a time portal to around 420 million years ago to rescue a young girl and her dog.  However, some team members get stuck on the other side, trapped in the Silurian when the anomaly closes and they are left to deal with attacks from giant scorpions who erupt out of the sand beneath them.

Scientists have been impressed by the size and scale of some of these early arthropods, particularly the Eurypteridae such as Pterygotus and recent discoveries have shed further light on these fearsome ancient beasts.

It seems that these particular predators got even bigger during the Devonian, feeding on the early vertebrates, the ancestors of modern fish.

To read an article about sea scorpion discoveries: Claws! Giant Sea Scorpion of the Devonian.

Ancient Arthropods

In reality, as far as we can ascertain from the fossil record, these arthropods would have been extremely cumbersome and awkward on land.  It has been speculated that these animals ventured out onto land to scavenge on the shoreline and to shed their exoskeletons but their primitive breathing apparatus would have had to be kept moist all the time so they would not have ventured far from water.

As the vertebrates evolved so the large species of Eurypteridae went into decline perhaps they were no longer able to compete with new predators such as the larger placoderms (armoured fish) such as the fierce Dunkleosteus.

For models and replicas of prehistoric animals including Dunkleosteus (whilst stocks last): CollectA Deluxe Supreme Scale Models.

13 01, 2008

Review of First Episode of Primeval (Series Two)

By |2023-02-14T21:37:20+00:00January 13th, 2008|Main Page, TV Reviews|0 Comments

Review of the Start of Primeval Series Two

When Primeval first aired on UK television back in February 2007, it was billed as the independent networks attempt to lure away part of the Doctor Who audience and help ITV win back the key demographic of Saturday night family TV viewing.

Primeval Reviewed

Yesterday saw the first episode of series two, with ITV once again hoping that this programme would help attract something like the 7 million viewers each episode achieved during the first series.

The storyline although a little contrived, allows the CGI experts plenty of scope.  Unexplained phenomena are ripping holes in space and time permitting prehistoric creatures from the past and the Earth’s future to roam the UK.  A team of misfits (but very good looking misfits nonetheless), struggle to deal with these monsters before they are unleashed onto an unsuspecting public.

Headed by the intriguingly entitled evolutionary zoologist Professor Nick Cutter, the first episode in series two (one of seven programmes due to be shown on Saturday nights on ITV1),  kicks off with an encounter with some dinosaurs.

The first series had been criticised in some quarters because there were few dinosaurs shown.  There were pterosaurs, mammal-like reptiles, mosasaurs and even giant arthropods but the dinosaurs were relatively scarce.  This is a little surprising as one of the collaborators on the series – Impossible Pictures; were responsible for the special effects in programmes like Prehistoric Park and Walking with Dinosaurs and one of the pretences for Primeval seems to be to use up the stock footage of prehistoric animals from these earlier programmes.  Dinosaur models may also have been used in some of the close up shots.  Not sure if ITV had a stock of Deinonychus dinosaur models available, but the “raptors” in this programme did seem to be roughly the size of Deinonychus.

Lots of Dinosaurs

Dinosaur fans did not have to wait long for their favourite monsters to show up in series two.  The opening episode is set in a shopping mall, one that is visited by a family of dromaeosaurs unwittingly transported there by an anomaly presumably from the middle of the Cretaceous.  On first observing these carnivorous dinosaurs, Connor Temple (played by Andrew Lee Potts), calls them “raptors” a fairly generalised term popularised by the Jurassic Park films with the depiction of over-sized Velociraptors.  The CGI models are well created, nice to see the proto-feathers and modified scales on backs of these animals, although how quickly dromaeosaurs could make progress on the shiny, slippery floors of a shopping mall is open to question.  Professor Cutter and his team have to be congratulated for making up the correct dose of anaesthetic to dart these creatures without any knowledge of dinosaur metabolism, perhaps they have been studying dinosaur models and they do well to stand their ground against a decidedly angry parent, hell-bent on trying to tear them to pieces.  They tend to fair better than the hapless security guards who quickly end up as dinosaur fodder.

“Raptors” on the Prowl

It is not made clear what type of dinosaur the “raptors” actually represent, although reference to the makers notes on episode one indicate that these dinosaurs were based on Deinonychus (the name means terrible claw).  This dinosaur was named and described by the American scientist John Ostrom in 1969, although the fossils of this dinosaur had been known for the best part of forty years.  Ostrom caused controversy when he used Deinonychus as the basis for a theory that dinosaurs were much more bird-like and active.  At the time, the common held view was that these animals were cold-blooded and sluggish.  About a dozen specimens of Deinonychus are known, all of which come from the Western USA and date from approximately 100 million years ago.

A Model of Deinonychus

Ostrom inspired Deinonychus replica.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The picture above shows a 1:30 scale model of Deinonychus in a typically active pose.  The model is made by Bullyland of Germany and is one of their museum line of hand-painted prehistoric animals.

To view dinosaur models: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

Expect more monsters to make an impression over the next few weeks including giant worms (episode two) and a Sabre-toothed cat which will be seen roaming around the English countryside the week following.  Perhaps this could be the “Beast of Bodmin Moor”?

Go to Top