- 7/2/2025
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00:00Dinosaurs ruled the planet for over 150 million years.
00:15They occupied almost every corner of the globe
00:19and came in almost every shape and size imaginable.
00:24Some were truly extraordinary.
00:30We now know that T-Rex was a powerful swimmer.
00:36Velociraptors were cunning feathered hunters.
00:41And that some dinosaurs had the most bizarre behavior.
00:48But new discoveries are being made almost every day
00:52that tell us more about life on this planet 66 million years ago.
01:00This time on Prehistoric Planet, we reveal new animals
01:08and new insight into their quest to find a partner.
01:14The challenges faced by raising a family.
01:18And their titanic battles.
01:29Journey to a time when nature put on its greatest show.
01:33This is Prehistoric Planet 2.
01:45The mouth of a river in southern Europe 66 million years ago.
01:55The mouth of a river in southern Europe 66 million years ago.
01:59The mouth of a river in southern Europe 66 million years ago.
02:11In the aftermath of a tropical storm, debris is drifting downstream.
02:18And amongst the wreckage, rafts of vegetation ripped from the land.
02:31For a weary pterosaur, this one may be a welcome place to rest.
02:36But it's far from safe.
02:48The mouth of a solar system is triggered by pressing a militarily giver,
02:50and the rooster's
02:57The middle of a river in southern Europe 76 million years later.
03:00Only Bob and his trooper he squeezed on to a nuclear ground.
03:05A huge mosasaur, a deadly underwater hunter,
03:09is looking for an easy meal.
03:11easy meal, such as this little dinosaur,
03:20Zalmoxius.
03:27Staying here is too risky.
03:31He needs a larger raft, and quickly.
03:41There's little choice but to swim for it.
04:12He is not the first here.
04:20Another castaway.
04:22A female.
04:30Their raft is drifting out to sea.
04:32Sometimes, castaways on rafts like these are washed up on the shores of distant islands.
04:52If they're very lucky, this pair could become pioneers.
05:14And may establish a new population, which eventually becomes a new species.
05:22Unlike anything seen before.
05:35The longer an island has been isolated, the more different its animal inhabitants may become.
05:41These small islands in southern Europe are home to a strange, rather shy, Hadrosaur.
06:00Feeding amongst these pine saplings, Tethys hadros.
06:05Just a quarter the size of its giant cousins on the mainland, it stands no taller than a human being.
06:24With its unique serrated bill, it can forage among the tough vegetation.
06:45It's not the same.
06:54Hunters like T-Rex have never reached this little island.
06:59So it should be a safe place for a mother to raise her brood.
07:03But not necessarily.
07:13But not necessarily.
07:16If your mother to raise her brood, let's give you aROAD TO be a little bit.
07:17BROAD TO BE A SOMEONE RINGER.
07:18They'll fly away from the very young people.
07:19The remaining province may be a big pretty too.
07:20This has been brought to you by the city.
07:21The city has been kept on out of is nothing in the same country.
07:22The city has been said before.
07:23The city has been a lot of estado 16.
07:24The city has been 22.
07:25The city has been a bit kemary.
07:26But not itself.
07:27We have to do the city in the same city.
07:28The city has been unable to be a large part of the city.
07:29They're just not always taking place.
07:30The city has been a big-upunk of the city.
07:32The city has been taken place.
07:33The city has been a big-up.
07:34And Zed-Octaryx.
07:50Giant predatory pterosaurs.
07:57The best chance of escape is beneath the canopy of the taller trees.
08:12These small calves have been left behind among the saplings.
08:25Mother and young are separated.
08:39Hatsikopteryx are very intelligent pterosaurs.
08:44Now that the element of surprise has gone, they change tactics.
08:52Spreading out across the clearing, they try to flush out any prey that might still be there.
09:06The monster's best hope is to stay competitive still.
09:16And not to run.
09:20The monster is in the distance.
09:22The monster's best hope is to stay in the distance.
09:24The monster fought in the distance.
09:30The monster is in the distance.
09:34The monster finally blew up.
09:36The monster's best got him.
09:38These two are lucky to be back with their mother.
10:08The island-hopping pterosaurs move on to try their luck elsewhere.
10:27The hadrosaurs can return to feeding.
10:38The island of Madagascar has been separated from the African mainland for 80 million years.
10:51So long that most of its animals are now very different from any to be found elsewhere.
11:08This is Symosuchus.
11:25It's not a dinosaur, but a miniature relative of crocodiles.
11:29One that lives almost entirely on land and is strictly vegetarian.
11:38Symosuchus have tough armored bodies which protect them from attack by the island's predators.
12:00So they can risk dropping their guard.
12:03Their guard.
12:08Sometimes.
12:18Majungasaurus.
12:22Madagascar's top hunter.
12:34This particular female is blind in one eye.
12:38So she finds it hard to make a kill.
12:41And she's now very hungry.
12:43The Symosuchus have a network of escape routes that lead them to their underground burrows.
12:57The Symosuchus have a network of escape routes that lead them to their underground burrows.
13:01Once inside, they block the entrance with their heavily armored backs.
13:15This little male is unlucky.
13:39But he's not helpless.
13:40Helpless.
13:56Reverse charges, tailed swipes, and aggressive kicks.
14:00The hunter's snout is too broad to reach very far inside.
14:21The hunter's snout is too broad to reach very far inside.
14:24But just to be on the safe side, the Symosuchus digs even deeper.
14:47For the Majungasaurus, yet another hunt has ended in failure.
14:52Samuelsuchus is not the only evolutionary oddity to thrive on Madagascar.
15:14The island is also home to another group of very unusual animals.
15:19Mammals.
15:24Mammals.
15:34This is a female Adalatherian.
15:39She's less than two feet long, but even so, she's still one of the largest mammals to have yet evolved.
15:44She spends most of her waking hours searching for food.
16:03At the end of this tunnel, there are eggs.
16:07Potentially a rich source of protein.
16:08But she doesn't eat this particular clutch.
16:10These are her own eggs.
16:12And this is her burrow.
16:13And this is her burrow.
16:17At the end of this tunnel, she's still in the middle of this tunnel.
16:18She's still in the middle of this tunnel.
16:19But she doesn't eat this particular clutch.
16:28These are her own eggs.
16:31And this is her burrow.
16:48The eggs are starting to hatch.
17:01The hatchlings' eyes have not yet opened, but instinctively they head towards their mother to feed on milk.
17:24She produces it from modified sweat glands on her belly.
17:33And for now, it's all the food they need.
17:36Two months later and the cubs have more than quadrupled in size.
17:55To produce enough milk for them, their mother must herself eat a great deal.
18:01So every night, she has to leave the safety of the den in order to feed.
18:10There she is.
18:15That is not particularly severe
18:27Her eyesight, like that of many burrowing animals, is not very sensitive.
18:33She relies instead on her acute hearing, and if she hears something that might be dangerous,
18:48she stays perfectly still.
18:57Trouble avoided.
19:01She returns to searching in the earth for roots and seeds.
19:22The cubs are growing fast, and so are their appetites.
19:30The female is now having to search almost non-stop for food, so her cubs are left unguarded
19:46for hours at a time.
19:58Mashikosaurus.
19:59A hunter, and one particularly well-adapted for catching burrowing prey.
20:15With its long neck and narrow head, it can investigate any hole that might contain a meal.
20:20It can't be real.
20:21It can't be real.
20:22So, let's go.
20:24Let's do it.
20:34But hunters may themselves become the hunted.
21:04I'm not going to die.
21:11Matsoya, a snake nearly 25 feet long, squeezes its prey to death.
21:21This neighborhood has now become rather dangerous.
21:28As night falls, the mother leads her young out of the burrow for the very first time.
21:56For now, at least, they must stay close together.
22:03In the far south of the planet, on the islands of the Antarctic Peninsula, winter brings months of freezing temperatures.
22:12Here, too, being part of a family brings benefits.
22:27A thermal camera reveals a huddle of glowing bodies.
22:34Improbata hunters.
22:41Like most dinosaurs, they are warm-blooded.
22:48But to stay warm, they need a lot of food.
23:03So they must make a kill every few days if they can.
23:18Fresh snow muffles the sound of their footsteps, enabling them to move undetected through the forest in search of prey.
23:37A morosaurus.
23:44A plant-eater for whom winter is inevitably a very hard time.
23:52Improbata hunters specializes in hunting such prey.
24:10The morosaurus is faster than its pursuers.
24:32But it's outnumbered by the pack.
24:34The improbata's long-feathered tails give them remarkable maneuverability.
24:53The chase has reached the very edge of the forest.
25:08Beyond lies a frozen lake half a mile wide.
25:14The clear, open space could give the faster morosaurus an advantage.
25:21But the frozen surface is treacherous.
25:24But the frozen surface is treacherous.
25:36With the Improbata closing in, it isn't much of a choice.
25:39With the Improbata closing in, it isn't much of a choice.
25:51A misplaced step.
25:54A chance for the morosaurus to die.
25:56to sprint beyond the predator's reach.
26:01A misplaced step.
26:19A chance for the Morosaurus to sprint beyond the predator's reach.
26:24But this is an island, so hunters and hunted will almost certainly meet again.
26:33Some islands are so small that they have no large land-living residents, but they
26:53may, none the less, get visitors.
27:03Hatsygopteryx.
27:05This male has arrived carrying a 40-pound Tethyshadros carcass.
27:19A surprise from a recent hunt.
27:29He is 15 feet tall with a wingspan of over 30 feet.
27:36Hatsygopteryx are Europe's top predators.
27:42But this male has come here to reveal another side to his character.
28:12He has constructed a display to make it clear to any females passing overhead that he is
28:28looking for a mate.
28:30But he might have a very long wait before he gets a response.
28:57A female.
29:04She seems interested, but a little more persuasion might be necessary.
29:11And he needs to be careful.
29:14One well-aimed peck from her beak could quickly bring his whole mating season to an end.
29:21His display must demonstrate that he has the good genes that a young would do well to inherit.
29:35The dead dinosaur suggests that he's a good hunter, and carrying it here has proved that
29:41he's a strong flyer.
29:46But if she is impressed, she isn't showing it... yet.
29:56Time to produce some new evidence of his eligibility.
30:04Head lifts.
30:05Invite her to come closer.
30:11Now, she gives him a little encouragement.
30:27A synchronized dance creates trust between them.
30:52A synchronized dance creates trust between them.
31:19Another male.
31:20Another male.
31:21He's much younger, but he could still be a rival.
31:26Another male.
31:36Dr. Boltzor.
31:43That's him dealt with.
31:49What's him dealt with?
31:56Disaster. The female has left.
32:07He may have lost his chance.
32:19She's back.
32:28Seeing off a potential rival might even be another point in his favor.
32:42He continues from where he left off.
32:49One last reminder of his strength.
33:01And this is his only contribution to fatherhood.
33:14It's all over in just a few seconds.
33:20But it's the start of the next generation of these giant flying hunters.
33:32Islands like this may only be small.
33:34But like countless others around the world.
33:39They bear witness to crucial moments in the lives of some of the most unusual creatures.
33:46On the prehistoric planet.
33:48During the time of the dinosaurs, the skies were dominated by flying reptiles called pterosaurs.
34:04There were over 250 species.
34:05And some of them were enormous.
34:06And some of them were enormous.
34:07One of the most interesting, because they're the most bizarre.
34:09are the Ashdarkia pterosaurs.
34:10are the Ashdarkia pterosaurs.
34:11And to try and describe what an Ashdarkia pterosaurs.
34:12One of the most interesting, because they're the most bizarre.
34:13are the Ashdarkia pterosaurs.
34:14And to try and describe what an Ashdarkia pterosaur is like is very difficult.
34:16They stand as tall as giraffes.
34:17One of the most interesting, because they're the most bizarre, are the Ashdarkia pterosaurs.
34:22and one of the most difficult or sufficient to describe, was the Ashdarkia pterosaurs.
34:27They stand as tall as giraffes.
34:29They've got heads that may have been two meters long.
34:32Wings spans of ten meters.
34:33They only have an Ashdarkia pterosaurs in the world.
34:36And yet they've got the Ashdarkia pterosaurs.
34:39One of the most interesting, because they're the most bizarre, are the Ashdarkia pterosaurs.
34:41And to try and describe what an Ashdarkia pterosaur is like is very difficult.
34:45They've got heads that may have been two metres long,
34:48wingspans of ten metres.
34:51They're just some of the most bizarre things
34:53who have ever evolved on Earth.
34:57Despite their size, these giants were well adapted for flight.
35:04So why do we think they hunted on the ground?
35:09The Asdarkid's wing is a skin membrane
35:12supported entirely by a super enlarged fourth finger.
35:19This skin membrane extended from the tip of that giant fourth finger
35:22all the way to the top of the hind leg.
35:28Asdarkid's were supremely adapted for the cover in great distance,
35:31but they weren't the kind of animals that were twisting and turning
35:34and making agile movements actually in flight.
35:38This would have made it hard for Asdarkids to catch other flying animals.
35:45They must have had a different way to hunt.
35:50One of the most prevalent ideas about how Asdarkid pterosaurs may have fed
35:54is by using this bizarre mechanism of foraging known as skim feeding.
35:58Today, birds like black skimmers feed in this way.
36:05It's the most ridiculous way of getting your food you can imagine.
36:08It is literally pushing your lower jaw through the water
36:11and crashing into your food.
36:13A skimmer's neck is built to absorb sudden impacts.
36:18But fossils reveal Asdarkids had none of these adaptations.
36:26In fact, they would almost certainly break their necks
36:29from just the strain of trying to push their lower jaws through the water.
36:32And Asdarkid had no option.
36:39It must have landed to find food.
36:45But could it really walk fast enough to hunt?
36:49Scientists needed evidence to persuade them
36:53that it could do anything more than just waddle.
36:59That evidence comes from 66-million-year-old footprints.
37:06The biggest pterosaur track in the world
37:08was made by a walking giant Asdarkid.
37:11That's not only a cool thing to have,
37:13it tells us an awful lot about how efficient they were at walking.
37:17These tracks show they held their limbs directly under their body,
37:23giving them an upright stance.
37:28Their feet were padded.
37:32And unlike the small pterosaurs,
37:35their long legs gave them an enormous stride.
37:40Although Asdarkids are peculiar-looking animals,
37:43they're moving very efficiently.
37:44Asdarkids combine this very competent terrestrial walking ability
37:49with this massive, long, stork-like face.
37:54They almost certainly were predators that walked around,
38:00reaching down to grab animals.
38:07We have to remember that the throat size of this thing
38:09is half a meter wide.
38:11That's about the width of my shoulders.
38:14We would be on the menu for these things
38:16if they were alive today.
38:22Terrestrial would have been an awe-inspiring sight in the sky.
38:31But these giants were even more impressive and terrifying
38:35on the ground.
38:36where asdarkids are in the sky,
38:38they're using wolves.
38:39In the sky,
38:40we will be on the edge of the night.
38:42We have to walk the outside.
38:44And we have to walk the outside.
38:46In the sky, we have to walk the outside.
38:48We have to walk the outside.
38:49We have to walk the outside.
38:51There's something here.
38:53They have a dog and they're walking the outside.
38:55It's on the ground.
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