| Walking with Monsters Program 3 | ||||||||||||
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| Previous episode Walking with Monsters Program 2 |
Following episode Trilogy of Life | |||||||||||
Walking with Monsters Program 3 is the 3rd episode of Walking with Monsters. This episode is directed by Tim Haines.
Synopsis[]
Late Permian (250 MYA)[]
It's the Late Permian on the supercontinent Pangaea, which is covered by a vast and inhospitable desert. In this arid climate, early therapsids, which are described as more "mammal-like" than reptile, are shown fighting to survive. An old Scutosaurus, an ancestor of the turtle, is killed by a female Gorgonops. She then joins other members of her kind at a small waterhole but scares them off at first. Other inhabitants include Diictodon, a small burrowing dicynodont (a type of synapsid). In the pool itself is a large amphibian Rhinesuchus, which attacks the female Gorgonops in desperation, latching onto her jaw but lets go and returns to the waterhole after being intimidated by the strength of the Gorgonops. A herd of Scutosaurus arrive and eventually drink the waterhole dry. The female Gorgonops tries to nab some Diictodon but is unsuccessful. She returns to the waterhole and un-earths the Rhinesuchus wrapped in a "cocoon" which it utilized to live through the drought. Because it is in a torpid state, it is helpless and is eaten by the Gorgonops. The Gorgonops is eventually killed by a sandstorm which is a foreshadowing of the oncoming Permian-Triassic extinction event. The scene ends with a description of the evolution of the tuber-eating Diictodon into the later and much larger Lystrosaurus.
Early Triassic (248 MYA)[]
Lystrosaurus live in the early Triassic. The world's number of Lystrosaurus is high, and the animals must migrate constantly to find plants to eat. As the Lystrosaurus herd cross a ravine, several Euchambersia attack. The program claims they may have powerful poison in its bite, helping to eventually kill the bitten Lystrosaurus. As the Lystrosaurus cross a lake, they are attacked and eaten by several starving Proterosuchus, crocodile-like reptiles. Meanwhile, dragonflies are the prey of choice of a small reptile called Euparkeria that can run and hop on its hind legs due to evolved hip structure. Euparkeria will, according to the film, evolve into dinosaurs, which will dominate the Earth, leaving the mammals trapped under the shadows of dinosaurs for the next many million years.
Creatures[]
250 Million Years Ago (Siberia, Pangaea)[]
- Scutosaurus
- Gorgonops (identified as gorgonopsid, revealed in encyclopedia)
- Diictodon
- Rhinesuchus (identified as giant amphibian labyrinthodont, revealed in encyclopedia)
248 Million Years ago (Antarctica, Pangaea)[]
- Lystrosaurus
- Euparkeria
- Dragonfly
- Euchambersia (identified as therocephalian, portrayed as the cynodont from Walking with Dinosaurs)
- Proterosuchus (identified as Chasmatosaur, revealed in encyclopedia)
152 Million Years Ago (Colorado, USA)[]
Gallery[]
Broadcast[]
Original airdate[]
- 5 November 2005 21.20 BBC Three
Repeats[]
- 19 December 2005 20.30 BBC One
- 7 January 2006 20.40 BBC Three
- 17 April 2006 20.00 BBC Three