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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.
01:41The ocean.
01:43The largest habitat on the prehistoric planet.
01:45The ocean.
01:47The largest habitat on the prehistoric planet.
01:57The largest habitat on the prehistoric planet.
02:02The largest habitat on the planet.
02:06The largest habitat on the prehistoric planet.
02:09The largest habitat on the prehistoric planet.
02:13And home to one of the biggest predators that has ever lived.
02:17that has ever lived.
02:25A giant Mosasaur.
02:47But not all Mosasaurs are ferocious, 50-foot-long monsters.
02:53Taking refuge in the reef is Phosphorosaurus.
02:58She, too, is a Mosasaur,
03:01one of the smallest at less than 10 feet long.
03:08She spends the daylight hours hiding from danger.
03:11But once or twice an hour,
03:16she has to dart to the surface to grab a breath.
03:25Like all of her kind, she is air-breathing.
03:36She's dwarfed by the biggest Mosasaurs.
03:41But she, too, is a deadly predator.
03:54And she doesn't always hide in the shadows.
04:00When the time is right, she becomes a hunter.
04:03And that time is when the sun sets.
04:05And that time is when the sun sets.
04:10When the sun sets.
04:31As darkness falls, her underwater world transforms.
04:34transforms.
04:52Now billions of creatures will begin to rise from the depths to feed near the
04:58surface.
05:04The largest mass migration on Earth occurs in almost total darkness and can only be seen
05:13with special night vision cameras.
05:22The most spectacular of these nighttime visitors are a type of lanternfish.
05:28Their faint, eerie light is produced by a chemical reaction inside their bodies.
05:37A flash of this bioluminescence can be used to confuse predators.
05:49And when seen from below, the glow enables them to blend with and hide against the ocean's moonlit surface.
06:01But they can't hide from Phosphoryosaurus.
06:10For her size, her eyes are the largest of any Mosasaur.
06:17Allowing her to see through the illusion and pick out her prey.
06:29The mind of the sky is moved to the South Valley's defenders.
06:33But the acquisition of the tiger is the most difficult part.
06:35The origin of the Earth is now entrenched in the spring.
06:38The absorbent of the sea may be destroyed over the ground.
06:41By the time dawn arrives the migrating shoal has sunk once more to the depths.
06:50The soul has sunk once more to the depths.
06:55And Phosphorosaurus too must return to her daytime hiding place.
07:07The biggest mosasaurs are back on the prowl.
07:20She will have to wait till nightfall before it's safe to hunt again.
07:41By day, the prehistoric ocean provides opportunities
07:45for a very different type of hunter.
07:50In the warm, shallow seas of North America,
07:56fish numbers can almost match the nocturnal lanternfish shoal.
08:10And they are a magnet for six-foot-long Hesperonis.
08:20Hesperonis may be unable to fly,
08:23but it's superbly adapted for ocean life.
08:30Hesperonis may be unable to fly,
08:32but it's superbly adapted for ocean life.
08:35Hesperonis may be unable to fly,
08:37but it's superbly adapted for ocean life.
08:39Hesperonis may be unable to fly, but it's very religiously
09:06fish once it's caught by this beak, full of needle-sharp teeth.
09:25The Hesperonis don't have the shoal to themselves for long.
09:29Zephactinus, known as X-fish.
09:37The feeding opportunity soon attracts them in large numbers.
09:46At over 17 feet long, they are one of the largest and fastest fish in the ocean.
09:59With its huge mouth, Zephactinus can scoop up several fish at once, and has even been known to swallow prey half its size whole.
10:17At first, there is plenty for everyone.
10:27But as fish numbers dwindle, the X-fish turn their attention elsewhere.
10:36Predator is about to become prey.
10:39The Hesperonis have only one option.
10:46To swim for their lives.
10:50The Hesperonis have only one option.
10:53To swim for their lives.
10:55The Hesperonis have only one option, to swim for their lives.
11:09Sittactinus is faster.
11:27Hesperonis is more agile.
11:39But in the eyes of an eggfish, anything is on the menu.
11:54Even their own kind.
12:05Within minutes, the banquet is all but gone.
12:11And the predators move on.
12:24Danger in the ocean doesn't only come from deadly hunters.
12:29It could come from the sea itself.
12:35Here, around the islands of prehistoric Europe, it's the power of the tide that creates challenges for life.
12:50Especially for the tiniest creatures.
12:56These are ammonite eggs.
13:00Thousands of them.
13:02They have been swept inshore.
13:06To rock pools.
13:08They have been swept inshore.
13:12To rock pools.
13:24Here, they have the chance to develop free from danger.
13:40The eggs are tiny.
13:41Only a fraction of an inch each.
13:55Now, it's time for the young within to break free.
14:01They move by jet propulsion.
14:16But mastering new swimming skills is not easy.
14:20Until now, these pools have provided a nursery.
14:35But as the tide retreats, they become isolated.
14:39Others can make their escape.
14:54But for the helpless ammonites, their nursery can quickly become a deadly trap.
15:00Under the midday sun, the water in the pool starts to evaporate.
15:15If it dries out completely, they will all die.
15:21But everything is not lost.
15:26Baby ammonites can do something remarkable.
15:30Each makes its own bid for freedom.
15:34Forcing them together.
15:36The combined effort means they effectively move as one.
15:43Each is carried along on this tiny living tide.
15:50Pushed over the bare rock by those behind.
16:00Eventually, escaping to deeper water.
16:09Now, they wait for the rising tide.
16:20With their heart, there's no longer.
16:30I'm not worried about the tide where they'll be broken.
16:31I don't know, do you have any more?
16:32If it's a ship.
16:33I'm not worried about the radiation.
16:35I'm ready for the end.
16:37You're going to be so angry.
16:38You're going to be so angry, right?
16:39You're going to be so angry.
16:41I'm going to be so angry.
16:42But not everyone escapes.
16:43But not everyone escapes.
16:44Theê³ ìš” of the Millennium were dying.
16:45The End of the Day.
16:49Countless are left stranded.
16:57Food for scavengers, like these baby pyroraptors.
17:13The rest are carried by powerful currents many miles from land.
17:20Even as far as this, the very heart of the Pacific Ocean.
17:31These enormous atolls and the lagoons at their center
17:35provide the only shelter for thousands of miles.
17:38In this rare place, Tyrannosaurus, a kind of elasmosaur, finds safety.
17:52But outside these shallows, it's a different story.
18:07Each day, the elasmosaurs must venture into deeper water.
18:17Canions in the atoll walls lead from the shallows to rich feeding grounds.
18:30This deep water attracts not just the hungry elasmosaurs,
18:39but the predators that hunt them.
18:41That hunt them.
18:49The biggest in the ocean.
18:5650 foot long mosasaurus.
18:58Nutrients driven up from the ocean floor ensure a plentiful supply of fish.
19:16Streamlined bodies and four powerful flippers give elasmosaurs great maneuverability.
19:32But their daily feeding forays make their movements predictable for an intelligent and patient hunter.
19:47Mostosaurus is an ambush predator.
20:03This enormous animal uses its huge tail to accelerate with astonishing speed.
20:28This time, unlucky.
20:33In fact, most hunts fail.
20:47But with so many elasmosaurs living here, it's not long before there is another opportunity.
21:03I don't know.
21:04I don't know.
21:05I don't know.
21:06I don't know.
21:11Camouflaged against the dark canyon floor, the Mosasaur can approach unseen.
21:17Waiting for a young, inexperienced individual, the ideal victim.
21:29The Mosasaur can strike their prey with such force that the impact alone can kill.
21:43It's an attack so swift, the Elasmosaur almost certainly never saw it coming.
21:56Life in the ocean can be dangerous, not only because of giants.
22:10Of the baby ammonites that escaped the rock pools, less than one in a hundred has survived several months at sea.
22:26But these few have been particularly lucky.
22:32Ocean currents have carried them to an ideal place to live.
22:38Seagrass beds off the coast of Europe.
22:53Here, shoals of ammonites occur in a surprising variety of sizes and shapes.
23:01This strange six-foot-long giant is Baculites, which feeds near the sea floor.
23:31And almost matching it in size, Diplomoculus, shaped like a giant paperclip.
23:54They all flourish here thanks to an abundance of food.
24:02Plankton, small crustaceans, some even eat fish.
24:08These hatchlings are beginning to acquire the extraordinary shape they will have when they are mature.
24:26The protruding spiral identifies them as young Nostoceros.
24:40These are adult Nostoceros.
24:44They favor the sea floor in deeper waters.
24:47Ammonites have been thriving in these prehistoric oceans for almost 400 million years.
25:08Ammonites have been thriving in these prehistoric oceans for almost 400 million years.
25:17There are thousands of species.
25:22They are one of the most successful groups of animals to have ever lived.
25:37They are one of the most successful groups of animals to have ever lived.
25:44Flourishing in the warm, temperate seas and even the coldest waters at the poles.
25:51Like here, in the frozen sea around the Antarctic.
26:03After a winter of near-total darkness, the low sun is beginning to melt the ice.
26:19mai n musical sh também is back.
26:21Making it accessible once more for a giant seasonal visitor.
26:30Naturnaria.
26:31A strange type of Elasmosaur.
26:34They are warm-blooded, with a thick layer of blubber which conserves the heat in their body.
26:47They are one of the world's most secretive and elusive animals.
26:55This pod has migrated nearly 2,000 miles from South America.
27:01To arrive here in time for spring.
27:09It's the first time this year's calves will have encountered sea ice.
27:18It can be dangerous for an air-breathing reptile.
27:26They can only grab a breath of air where there are gaps in the ice.
27:32Adults must navigate carefully to find them.
27:37And the youngsters must stay close.
27:39These cold waters are an excellent habitat for this giant's favorite food.
27:45Polar mud.
27:47Full of small creatures.
27:48There can be hundreds of tiny animals in every square of the sea.
27:54These cold waters are an excellent habitat for this giant's favorite food.
28:03Polar mud.
28:06Full of small creatures.
28:08There can be hundreds of tiny animals in every square foot of sea floor.
28:27Separating what's edible from the sticky mud is a challenge.
28:31But they have a neat solution.
28:37Scooping up a mouthful, they partially close their jaws.
28:43Creating a giant sieve to filter out the food.
28:48To filter out the food.
28:54These are the only animals to have evolved teeth to feed in this way.
28:59This is truly an animal of the sea.
29:09All the animals to make them live.
29:12We've seen this many animals and animals and animals.
29:13The animals they want to eat in this way.
29:15I'm with the animals and animals.
29:16The Morturnaria will feed here all summer
29:34until the water ices over again in the polar winter.
29:46In warmer waters, they will face other challenges.
29:54But the most resourceful animals will always find opportunities
30:02in the vast oceans of the prehistoric planet.
30:16The lands of the prehistoric planet were ruled by the dinosaurs,
30:33but the seas were dominated by a very different group of reptiles,
30:38the mosasaurs, and this is the skull of one of them.
30:46Mosasaurs were seagoing lizards.
30:52Think of a giant, swimming, whale-sized Komodo dragon.
30:59Tapered snout, rough skin, four fins instead of normal limbs,
31:05and a long tail that would look a lot like a shark tail,
31:09but upside down.
31:11That's basically a mosasaur.
31:14The largest was Mosasaurus hoffmanii.
31:21It was an ambush predator.
31:25But what was the secret of its success?
31:29They can move from just still not moving at all
31:33to incredible speeds right before your eyes.
31:40In the modern world, we see this ability in reptiles like crocodiles.
31:44Their muscles can deliver short bursts of tremendous power.
31:48Mosasaurs, given that they're reptiles, given that they're lizards,
32:04probably had similar capabilities in their muscles.
32:10They also had another adaptation that could increase the element of surprise.
32:19One of the tricky things about swimming is you need a special kind of dynamic to get out of the gate quickly,
32:25to do the equivalent of a sprinter start from the blocks.
32:28And one of the best ways of doing that is to bend yourself into a C shape,
32:34and then push off of the wall of the side of your body.
32:37Fish today use this technique.
32:41Known as a C start,
32:43It allows them to accelerate from a standstill to full speed in an instant.
32:50Mosasaurs likely were able to do something very similar,
32:54but of course at a much grander scale.
33:02So, exactly how fast could a giant like Mosasaurus hoffmanii actually swim?
33:09To find out, the prehistoric planet team commissioned a unique scientific study.
33:19Until recently, no one had really attempted to estimate these kinds of performance values in detail.
33:25Our work is one of the first attempts to really put numbers to the abilities of these animals.
33:31And the results we got from that are really pretty stunning.
33:35The team ran the calculations four times to ensure they were correct.
33:43All four of the different trials came to the same overall conclusion.
33:49These animals were able to generate massive accelerations.
33:54This Mosasaur could probably clear 75% of its body length in one single second.
34:17That means if that Mosasaur is 17 meters away from you,
34:22in one second it will be 75% closer.
34:26And in the second second it would have surpassed you and probably eaten you along the way.
34:30Being hit by a Mosasaurus would be a bit like being hit by a full-size semi-truck.
34:38Just the impact of the animal alone, much less the bite that would follow,
34:44would kill a lot of its prey instantly.
34:51Mosasaurs could reach 30 miles an hour in as little as one second.
34:56This is what makes them arguably the ultimate marine predator of all time.
35:10.
35:23See you then!
35:25.
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