While most science-savvy internet denizens and your friendly neighborhood dinosaur fan might have heard of the online event, this may be the first time you’ve heard of the recent Apple TV+ series called Prehistoric Planet.
The five-part dinosaur “mockumentary,” helmed by executive producers Jon Favreau and Mike Gunton, was narrated by the famous naturalist Sir David Attenborough (who, as you may remember, even had an ancient beetle named after him).
Each episode was directed individually, with stories inside following the “what-if” lives of known dinosaurs: these dinosaurs had their entire environments brought to life using the latest in both paleontological research and computer graphics; the combination of the two presented these ancient creatures in a never-before-seen light, and made them look as if they were just recorded in video the day before.
Now, this wouldn’t be the first time Modern Sciences has brought the dinosaurs shown in this series to light. However, don’t fret if you haven’t seen them—we’re bringing them right here, all for your ease of viewing.
How Did Pterosaurs Fly With Those Heads? (And No, They’re Not Dinosaurs)
Anyone with a childhood poster showing some known dinosaurs of that time may have a pterosaur or two placed in there. Perhaps now’s a better time than any to tell you that these flying reptiles are, in fact, not dinosaurs: the group of reptiles that eventually gave rise to the planet’s first flying vertebrates branched off from the reptilian family tree long before the first dinosaurs showed up.
Of course, this also begs the question: how on earth did they manage to fly with heads that big?
Dinosaur Pack Hunts
Thinking of a pack of animals may bring up images of mammals like wolves and dogs, and that would certainly be understandable. However, scientists have reason to believe that some dinosaurs, too, followed the same group structure as they went about in their everyday lives.
This, of course, may have gone both ways: both herbivores and carnivores enjoyed the benefits of living amongst their peers, with the show presenting the advantages the proposed family structure brought to both parties in stunning detail.
Feathery (Dino) Raptors
If you’ve kept abreast of the latest dinosaur findings, your family and friends may have looked at you funny when you mentioned that those dinosaur movie raptors may have sported a feathery down of some sort. Rest assured, science is on your side with this one: several small theropod dinosaur fossils have been found with either marks of where feathers would have been attached to the bone, or of even feather impressions themselves.
Here, the show displays how a feathered dinosaur may have used its plumage to survive—and how modern dinosaurs still use them today.
Was Carnotaurus a Charmer?
Perhaps you’ve seen some clips online: a bird prepares a certain patch of jungle floor, then proceeds to wait for a female to pass by. Then, on cue, it starts to dance in what can only be described as one fo nature’s most fascinating performances: the bird starts dancing, feathers and all, in a bid to impress the female before the desired partner decides to turn the other cheek and walk away.
Experts theorize that, given the fact that modern dinosaurs perform these mating dances, ancient dinosaurs must have done the same. Here, they showcase it with perhaps a dinosaur that even the keenest of fans would not have thought of first when asked about a “dancing dinosaur”: Carnotaurus, a predator known for arms so small even T. rex’s stubby arms look long by comparison.
