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[wind whistling]
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[Morgan Freeman] 252 million years ago...
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and our planet is dying.
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[haunting music playing]
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The biggest extinction event in history
has left the world barren...
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and deathly silent.
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[music intensifies]
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But this is the story of the few...
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[snorts, panting]
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...that survived.
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[music fades]
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{\an8}[rousing music playing]
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[snarling]
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{\an8}[trilling]
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{\an8}[screeching]
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{\an8}[rousing music continues]
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[growling]
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[wind howling]
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{\an8}[rumbling]
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[rousing music intensifies]
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[music fades]
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The start of the Triassic Period...
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and the rivers of fire
are gradually subsiding.
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In their wake,
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cooling lava covers an area
half the size of the United States...
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[wind whistling]
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...in a crust up to three kilometers deep.
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[melancholic music playing]
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Volcanic gases have caused
global temperatures to soar.
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Forests and reefs
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have been annihilated.
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Hundreds of millions of years
of evolution,
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gone.
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Yet here,
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hidden in the blackened landscape...
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lies opportunity.
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For there is one particular life-form
that thrives on dead organic matter.
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Fungi.
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With the world an apocalyptic graveyard,
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fungi were in their element.
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And for a few thousand years...
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these simple organisms
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became the dominant life-form on Earth.
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But not every survivor
of the Permian extinction
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relied on death for their success.
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One lowly creature
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found itself perfectly placed
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to take over the world.
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[purring]
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[breathes gently]
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[exhales]
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Lystrosaurus...
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[yawns]
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...an ancient ancestor of the mammal.
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This curious, pig-sized creature
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was used to burrowing underground
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and seeking refuge in caves,
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a way of life that saved it
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when other animals were dying.
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[bellows]
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Once hapless underdogs,
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they are now one of the few
lucky survivors of Armageddon.
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With most vegetation destroyed
by the extinction,
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finding food is hard.
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[snuffling]
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But Lystrosaurus are resilient
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and able to forage over large areas.
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[stirring music playing]
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They're constantly on the move,
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searching for roots, tubers,
and small pockets of regrowth.
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[snuffling, grunting]
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But they weren't
the only animal survivors.
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[sniffs]
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[grunts]
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Life in many forms
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found a way.
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[bellowing]
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Lystrosaurus's simple
but adaptable lifestyle
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would reap astonishing rewards.
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Facing little competition
and no large predators,
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the volcanic eruptions turned it
from a bottom-of-the-food-chain burrower...
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[snuffling, bellowing]
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...to the animal that inherited the Earth.
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[uplifting music playing]
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In the years following
the mass extinction,
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they made up three-quarters
of all vertebrate life on land,
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something no other animal has ever done.
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[bellowing]
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But their dominance couldn't last,
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for another survivor
of the mass extinction
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was on the ascent
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thanks to huge changes
to the very structure of our planet.
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[music ends]
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For tens of millions of years,
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the Earth's continents
had been converging,
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creating a vast ocean
on one side of the world...
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and a single immense land mass
on the other,
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the supercontinent of Pangaea.
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[intriguing music playing]
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The drying that started in a previous era
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is now compounded by searing heat.
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[wind whistling]
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Temperatures spike to 60 degrees Celsius.
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Sandstorms scour the interior.
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Dunes rise over a kilometer high...
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gradually forming the largest
and most hostile desert
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the planet has ever seen.
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[music fades]
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Yet on the margins
of this barren and lifeless landscape,
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another group of survivors
was on the rise.
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And they still dominate our deserts today.
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[pensive music playing]
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This is the Atacama in South America.
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It's been a desert here
since the Triassic Period.
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Some parts have gone decades
without a drop of rain,
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yet one type of animal thrives here.
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Lizards.
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They're reptiles, supremely adapted
to this dry environment.
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They have tough, scaly skin
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so they don't shrivel in the baking sun.
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Instead, the sun fuels them...
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heating their cold blood
so they can reach racing speeds.
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But even desert reptiles
need to quench their thirst.
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Water seeping up through the ground.
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Unfortunately, these water holes
are almost as salty as the Dead Sea.
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[flies buzz]
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Drinking this would be a death sentence...
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so these lizards get their water
from an unexpected source,
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an animal whose ancestors
also survived Armageddon.
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Insects were hit hard
in the mass extinction,
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but some made it through.
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Today, these brine flies
are salt specialists,
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desalinating the water,
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and in the process, making themselves
into perfect little water bottles
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for lizards.
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[buzzing]
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The challenge is catching them.
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[playful music playing]
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[buzzing]
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Finally.
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[buzzing]
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But just when it thinks it's cracked it,
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trouble on the horizon.
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These prime fly-catching spots
are in high demand...
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[tense music playing]
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...and the locals do not like to share.
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[energetic music playing]
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[music ends]
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A stalemate,
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but on another lizard's territory.
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[energetic music resumes]
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- [water splashing]
- [music ends]
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[buzzing]
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[peaceful music playing]
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[flies buzzing]
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The thirsty lizard seizes the moment...
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making the most of their distraction...
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no matter how brief.
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The ultimate desert dwellers,
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lizards are tough and resilient,
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just like their ancient ancestors.
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But back in the Triassic,
it was much larger reptiles
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{\an8}who would change the course of history.
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{\an8}In the four million years
since the Permian extinction...
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{\an8}[grunts]
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{\an8}...Lystrosaurus have dominated.
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They emerged into an almost empty world
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and have been reaping the rewards.
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[mewling]
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Life is good.
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[carefree music playing]
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- [adult purrs]
- [juvenile grunts]
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[playful calling]
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But these mammal ancestors
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have had little competition or predators,
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until now.
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[growling]
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[sinister music playing]
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[growls]
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With the planet recovering,
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some reptiles have grown
to epic proportions.
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This is an Erythrosuchid.
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[snarling]
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Nearly three meters long,
it's the biggest predator of its time.
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[purring]
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Herds of Lystrosaurus are an easy target.
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[mewling]
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[grunting, snarling]
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[tense music playing]
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They have no defense
against this new type of reptile...
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or even awareness of the threat it poses.
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[snarls]
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[snorts]
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[mewls]
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[squeals]
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[snarls]
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00:20:45,244 --> 00:20:47,287
Like a fox in a chicken coop,
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an Erythrosuchid
can kill more than it needs.
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- [faint cry]
- [snarling]
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Lystrosaurus was the unwitting dodo...
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- [snarls]
- [squeals]
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...of its age.
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00:21:17,192 --> 00:21:20,529
A combination
of predators and competition
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saw Lystrosaurus go
from total domination of the planet
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00:21:27,577 --> 00:21:28,787
to extinction.
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00:21:28,870 --> 00:21:30,872
[mournful music playing]
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00:21:31,915 --> 00:21:35,168
The mammals had lost their crown.
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00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:39,923
This...
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[snarling]
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00:21:42,801 --> 00:21:46,013
...was the age of reptiles.
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00:22:06,742 --> 00:22:12,748
Today, there are more
than 10,000 species of reptile...
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00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,296
although they are not all as terrifying
as their ancestors.
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00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:28,889
As the Earth has changed...
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00:22:28,972 --> 00:22:30,766
[uplifting music playing]
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00:22:30,849 --> 00:22:35,437
...reptiles have had to adapt
to an ever more crowded world.
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00:22:39,232 --> 00:22:41,109
And the tough, scaly skin
217
00:22:41,777 --> 00:22:44,613
that allowed them to conquer
the deserts of Pangaea,
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00:22:46,073 --> 00:22:49,910
continues to be the secret
of their success.
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00:22:52,204 --> 00:22:58,126
For some, their skin has allowed them
to become masters of disguise.
220
00:22:59,336 --> 00:23:01,630
[uplifting music continues]
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00:23:13,725 --> 00:23:18,855
But skin can also be used
to scare off an attacker.
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00:23:18,939 --> 00:23:20,690
[hisses]
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00:23:23,235 --> 00:23:28,407
Even then, there are times
when more drastic measures are called for.
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00:23:29,324 --> 00:23:30,659
[music ends]
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00:23:35,539 --> 00:23:37,874
It may have escaped the bird,
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00:23:38,458 --> 00:23:41,878
but lizards aren't known
for their swimming prowess.
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00:23:46,258 --> 00:23:52,264
Yet the anole lizard of Costa Rica
has an extraordinary survival technique.
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00:23:54,558 --> 00:24:00,605
As it exhales, it creates a bubble
that sticks to its water-repellent skin...
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00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:06,862
forming its very own diving bell...
230
00:24:09,322 --> 00:24:12,242
and allowing it to stay hidden underwater
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00:24:13,535 --> 00:24:16,246
for up to 15 minutes.
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00:24:23,003 --> 00:24:27,799
Today's reptiles are such experts
at living in the margins,
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00:24:28,592 --> 00:24:32,012
it's hard to imagine
they once dominated our planet.
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00:24:34,598 --> 00:24:36,600
[birds tweeting]
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00:24:36,683 --> 00:24:38,685
[tense ambient music playing]
236
00:24:41,605 --> 00:24:44,816
But there's a series of islands
in Indonesia
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00:24:46,651 --> 00:24:50,739
that offer a glimpse
into that very distant past.
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00:24:57,746 --> 00:25:01,500
For here, lizards still rule.
239
00:25:13,053 --> 00:25:16,973
Recently hatched and already curious...
240
00:25:23,939 --> 00:25:28,193
this youngster is starting life
in a lizard paradise.
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00:25:34,533 --> 00:25:36,618
The only issue she has...
242
00:25:36,701 --> 00:25:38,703
[ominous music playing]
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00:25:39,538 --> 00:25:40,872
...is her relatives.
244
00:25:46,878 --> 00:25:50,257
For this is a baby Komodo dragon...
245
00:25:53,635 --> 00:25:56,763
and Komodos are cannibals...
246
00:26:00,100 --> 00:26:04,062
smelling the air with their forked tongue
to find their prey.
247
00:26:08,900 --> 00:26:10,026
[grunts]
248
00:26:13,154 --> 00:26:15,198
For the world's largest lizards...
249
00:26:17,367 --> 00:26:21,121
baby dragons make perfect snacks.
250
00:26:31,548 --> 00:26:33,550
[grunting]
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00:26:35,594 --> 00:26:39,389
Luckily for her,
a nest of buried Komodo eggs
252
00:26:41,141 --> 00:26:43,351
offers an easier meal.
253
00:26:58,450 --> 00:27:03,079
But it won't satisfy this monster
for long.
254
00:27:08,084 --> 00:27:10,086
[hisses]
255
00:27:19,471 --> 00:27:23,058
It'll be seven or eight years
of hiding in trees
256
00:27:24,768 --> 00:27:27,979
before she's big enough
to stand up for herself.
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00:27:38,698 --> 00:27:40,116
Too heavy to climb,
258
00:27:40,784 --> 00:27:45,830
the adult goes in search
of something more accessible.
259
00:27:52,087 --> 00:27:53,088
[hisses]
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00:27:53,171 --> 00:27:54,506
[fly buzzes]
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00:27:57,425 --> 00:28:02,389
A thick layer of mud
can't disguise this animal's scent.
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00:28:03,014 --> 00:28:05,016
[snorts, grunts]
263
00:28:07,435 --> 00:28:09,437
[hissing]
264
00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:15,568
[snorts]
265
00:28:24,619 --> 00:28:27,122
Water buffalo are ever vigilant...
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00:28:31,334 --> 00:28:34,045
wary of their reptilian overlords.
267
00:28:40,969 --> 00:28:43,138
[bleating]
268
00:28:46,516 --> 00:28:50,603
But buffalo calves
are not as savvy as their parents.
269
00:28:50,687 --> 00:28:52,689
[suspenseful music playing]
270
00:29:01,364 --> 00:29:02,949
[hisses]
271
00:29:09,038 --> 00:29:10,749
[growling]
272
00:29:12,459 --> 00:29:13,752
[calf bleats]
273
00:29:13,835 --> 00:29:15,503
[buffalo grunting]
274
00:29:15,587 --> 00:29:18,465
[snorting, grunting]
275
00:29:20,341 --> 00:29:22,385
[dramatic music playing]
276
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:27,474
- [snorting]
- [grunting]
277
00:29:28,767 --> 00:29:31,060
The dragon has lost its kill,
278
00:29:32,061 --> 00:29:33,938
but only temporarily.
279
00:29:36,065 --> 00:29:38,777
Venom from a gland in its jaw
280
00:29:40,361 --> 00:29:43,031
prevents the blood of its prey
from clotting,
281
00:29:44,032 --> 00:29:46,993
leading to a dangerous drop
in blood pressure.
282
00:29:47,076 --> 00:29:49,078
[somber music playing]
283
00:29:51,873 --> 00:29:53,124
The result
284
00:29:54,542 --> 00:29:55,794
is inevitable.
285
00:30:01,925 --> 00:30:05,345
This is an echo of what life was like
286
00:30:06,513 --> 00:30:08,223
back in the Triassic.
287
00:30:12,393 --> 00:30:14,938
Mammals must fight for their lives,
288
00:30:15,647 --> 00:30:19,818
while reptiles dominate
with a confident swagger.
289
00:30:23,488 --> 00:30:28,827
But perhaps the most remarkable chapter
of that early era of reptile supremacy...
290
00:30:30,995 --> 00:30:34,833
was when some of them
turned their back on the land
291
00:30:36,417 --> 00:30:38,878
and returned to the ocean.
292
00:30:38,962 --> 00:30:40,964
[music fades]
293
00:30:43,341 --> 00:30:45,343
[peaceful music playing]
294
00:30:49,514 --> 00:30:50,723
Turtles.
295
00:30:54,519 --> 00:30:56,855
Whether pushed here through competition
296
00:30:58,273 --> 00:31:00,942
or enticed by opportunity...
297
00:31:03,736 --> 00:31:07,031
turtles went back
to the seas their ancestors left,
298
00:31:07,907 --> 00:31:12,328
and today inhabit
all but the coldest oceans.
299
00:31:16,499 --> 00:31:21,838
Yet once a year, adult females
must still return to dry land
300
00:31:21,921 --> 00:31:23,715
to lay their eggs.
301
00:31:27,552 --> 00:31:30,805
Here, on the edge
of the Great Barrier Reef...
302
00:31:33,099 --> 00:31:35,643
they come together in their thousands.
303
00:31:44,694 --> 00:31:46,446
Aggregations like this
304
00:31:46,529 --> 00:31:49,949
have been one
of nature's greatest spectacles
305
00:31:50,033 --> 00:31:51,701
for millions of years.
306
00:31:51,784 --> 00:31:53,786
[music swells]
307
00:32:07,258 --> 00:32:09,928
There's a good reason for this gathering.
308
00:32:11,304 --> 00:32:12,764
Safety in numbers.
309
00:32:16,059 --> 00:32:18,061
[music fades]
310
00:32:18,144 --> 00:32:21,272
Turtles first evolved
back in the Triassic.
311
00:32:23,650 --> 00:32:30,156
{\an8}But by the time they'd conquered the seas,
the ocean was home to deadly predators.
312
00:32:33,368 --> 00:32:38,581
At eight meters long,
this is a plesiosaur.
313
00:32:38,665 --> 00:32:40,667
[tense music playing]
314
00:32:49,092 --> 00:32:51,135
It, too, is a reptile,
315
00:32:52,595 --> 00:32:56,891
but one that spends
its entire life at sea.
316
00:33:10,363 --> 00:33:12,365
[tense music builds]
317
00:33:40,727 --> 00:33:42,729
[music fades]
318
00:33:43,604 --> 00:33:44,772
[crunching]
319
00:33:46,149 --> 00:33:49,944
As the plesiosaur can only eat so much,
320
00:33:50,028 --> 00:33:53,031
gathering in huge numbers like this
321
00:33:54,073 --> 00:33:56,909
allows many more turtles to survive.
322
00:34:00,413 --> 00:34:01,914
All that remains
323
00:34:03,124 --> 00:34:06,836
is to haul themselves up onto the beach
where they were born
324
00:34:08,379 --> 00:34:12,341
and find the perfect spot
to lay their eggs.
325
00:34:12,425 --> 00:34:14,427
[poignant music playing]
326
00:34:31,194 --> 00:34:36,657
Almost two months later,
and the females' efforts are rewarded.
327
00:34:39,452 --> 00:34:40,495
Hatchlings.
328
00:34:44,415 --> 00:34:48,461
But each one
now has its own gauntlet to run...
329
00:34:52,590 --> 00:34:56,010
as they instinctively head
towards the ocean.
330
00:35:08,856 --> 00:35:10,858
[ominous music playing]
331
00:35:16,906 --> 00:35:18,616
[dramatic music playing]
332
00:35:18,699 --> 00:35:20,034
Pterosaurs.
333
00:35:22,245 --> 00:35:25,081
Long before the existence of birds,
334
00:35:25,665 --> 00:35:30,545
this group of ancient reptiles
made a huge evolutionary step.
335
00:35:39,011 --> 00:35:40,596
They took to the wing...
336
00:35:46,394 --> 00:35:47,770
[squawking]
337
00:35:48,396 --> 00:35:51,649
...and became masters of the air.
338
00:36:01,159 --> 00:36:02,535
Totally defenseless...
339
00:36:05,079 --> 00:36:07,039
this hatchling's only chance...
340
00:36:09,083 --> 00:36:10,418
is to carry on...
341
00:36:14,172 --> 00:36:16,382
ignoring the near misses,
342
00:36:17,633 --> 00:36:22,638
and hoping that the pterosaurs
will be spoiled for choice.
343
00:36:24,098 --> 00:36:25,641
[squawks]
344
00:36:27,602 --> 00:36:28,936
Every lucky escape...
345
00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:30,646
[squawks]
346
00:36:31,772 --> 00:36:34,108
...brings it closer to the water's edge.
347
00:36:45,036 --> 00:36:49,290
Yet even those that reach the oceans
aren't safe.
348
00:36:57,590 --> 00:36:59,759
[squawking]
349
00:37:03,471 --> 00:37:05,598
Only by getting to deeper water
350
00:37:07,516 --> 00:37:09,769
can it avoid the pterosaurs...
351
00:37:14,190 --> 00:37:16,776
and escape into the blue.
352
00:37:27,745 --> 00:37:30,248
[stirring music playing]
353
00:37:36,128 --> 00:37:40,800
Reptiles once ruled the skies
and the waves.
354
00:37:42,468 --> 00:37:44,345
{\an8}But despite their supremacy,
355
00:37:45,304 --> 00:37:51,394
{\an8}Pterosaurs and plesiosaurs
would both go extinct in time.
356
00:37:51,477 --> 00:37:53,479
{\an8}[stirring music continues]
357
00:38:09,578 --> 00:38:11,580
[music fades]
358
00:38:11,664 --> 00:38:17,837
Yet one of the ruling reptiles
from this era has survived.
359
00:38:23,467 --> 00:38:26,595
They're such perfect stealth hunters
360
00:38:26,679 --> 00:38:30,016
that even after 200 million years...
361
00:38:32,351 --> 00:38:34,562
little has bettered them.
362
00:38:37,773 --> 00:38:38,858
[snorts]
363
00:38:38,941 --> 00:38:40,860
Oblivious to the danger...
364
00:38:40,943 --> 00:38:42,194
[snorts]
365
00:38:42,278 --> 00:38:45,072
...wildebeest come to quench their thirst.
366
00:38:54,540 --> 00:38:56,542
[tense ambient music playing]
367
00:39:01,839 --> 00:39:03,632
[crocodile snarls]
368
00:39:04,759 --> 00:39:06,761
[buffalo bellowing]
369
00:39:30,117 --> 00:39:31,786
[snarls]
370
00:39:36,457 --> 00:39:37,750
Almost.
371
00:39:40,628 --> 00:39:41,962
But it doesn't matter.
372
00:39:44,465 --> 00:39:48,344
The Nile crocodile knows
the wildebeest will return...
373
00:39:52,223 --> 00:39:54,183
just as they always have.
374
00:39:56,185 --> 00:39:57,269
[snorts]
375
00:40:02,691 --> 00:40:07,780
To avoid detection,
the crocodile silently submerges...
376
00:40:09,907 --> 00:40:11,200
holding its breath
377
00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:14,787
for up to an hour.
378
00:40:22,169 --> 00:40:23,462
[snorts]
379
00:40:24,964 --> 00:40:29,510
Crocodiles can slow their heart rate
to just two beats a minute...
380
00:40:34,140 --> 00:40:36,725
almost completely shutting down...
381
00:40:40,312 --> 00:40:44,358
in a way the reptiles perfected
millions of years ago.
382
00:40:44,442 --> 00:40:46,444
[tense music playing]
383
00:41:02,835 --> 00:41:06,172
Yet in the moment it launches its attack...
384
00:41:11,844 --> 00:41:13,429
it goes from inertia...
385
00:41:16,974 --> 00:41:18,601
to explosive energy
386
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:21,770
in just a fraction of a second...
387
00:41:28,068 --> 00:41:30,446
generating enough speed and power...
388
00:41:37,203 --> 00:41:39,788
to launch its five-meter-long body...
389
00:41:41,999 --> 00:41:44,460
out of the water...
390
00:41:52,051 --> 00:41:53,719
all on an empty stomach...
391
00:41:56,180 --> 00:41:57,556
and a single breath.
392
00:42:08,192 --> 00:42:12,279
It's a technique
as successful for crocodiles now
393
00:42:14,156 --> 00:42:17,368
as it was for their prehistoric ancestors.
394
00:42:26,377 --> 00:42:31,131
Today's crocodiles
dominate the waters they live in...
395
00:42:33,759 --> 00:42:37,263
but they are not
the widespread predators they once were.
396
00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:41,308
For back in the Triassic,
397
00:42:41,892 --> 00:42:44,562
the forces of nature
would send the story of life
398
00:42:45,771 --> 00:42:48,857
{\an8}in a completely new direction.
399
00:42:48,941 --> 00:42:50,943
{\an8}[rumbling]
400
00:42:55,823 --> 00:43:01,120
Sustained volcanic eruptions
caused another period of global warming.
401
00:43:03,289 --> 00:43:05,124
[wind whistling]
402
00:43:05,207 --> 00:43:10,504
As sea temperatures rose,
they supercharged oceanic evaporation.
403
00:43:10,588 --> 00:43:12,590
[thunder cracking]
404
00:43:14,592 --> 00:43:21,432
In northern Pangaea, moisture-laden winds
hit a 3,000-meter-high ridge...
405
00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:30,274
creating megamonsoonal weather systems.
406
00:43:41,118 --> 00:43:43,370
And it started to rain...
407
00:43:46,999 --> 00:43:48,834
on a biblical scale.
408
00:43:52,504 --> 00:43:54,506
[epic music playing]
409
00:44:06,185 --> 00:44:08,187
[thunder cracking]
410
00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:15,277
Across the planet, storms raged.
411
00:44:29,249 --> 00:44:33,754
The downpours lasted
more than a million years...
412
00:44:37,424 --> 00:44:42,846
turning the dry deserts of early Pangaea
into a distant memory.
413
00:44:52,940 --> 00:44:57,778
In the far north, torrents flowed
from high in the mountains.
414
00:45:05,869 --> 00:45:07,871
[epic music intensifies]
415
00:45:38,527 --> 00:45:40,070
[music fades]
416
00:45:40,154 --> 00:45:43,991
Surface water rewrote the landscape...
417
00:45:46,410 --> 00:45:49,705
carrying with it nutrient-rich silt.
418
00:45:53,459 --> 00:45:59,506
The waterways soon covered
more than 1.6 million square kilometers...
419
00:46:06,305 --> 00:46:09,391
an area the size of Alaska,
420
00:46:10,768 --> 00:46:14,521
creating the largest delta
in Earth's history.
421
00:46:18,901 --> 00:46:24,573
These fertile waterways
became the lifeblood of a new world...
422
00:46:27,701 --> 00:46:29,870
the fuel for evolution.
423
00:46:35,167 --> 00:46:37,503
Conifers rose to the fore.
424
00:46:42,382 --> 00:46:45,552
And for the first time
since the Permian extinction...
425
00:46:49,056 --> 00:46:54,061
our planet returned
to a forested land of giants.
426
00:46:55,562 --> 00:46:57,564
{\an8}[rousing music playing]
427
00:47:15,332 --> 00:47:20,379
Many ancient reptiles
failed to adapt to this new landscape.
428
00:47:25,050 --> 00:47:29,388
But one group embraced
this change in plant life...
429
00:47:32,266 --> 00:47:35,727
and would soon rise
to take over the world.
430
00:47:35,811 --> 00:47:38,146
[tranquil music playing]
431
00:47:46,822 --> 00:47:51,285
The youngsters start life
much like other reptiles.
432
00:48:01,086 --> 00:48:02,921
They hatch from eggs...
433
00:48:09,136 --> 00:48:10,679
they have scaly skin...
434
00:48:17,519 --> 00:48:20,022
and they are left to fend for themselves...
435
00:48:20,105 --> 00:48:22,190
[mewling]
436
00:48:23,108 --> 00:48:25,360
...from the moment they enter the world.
437
00:48:27,404 --> 00:48:29,406
[intriguing music playing]
438
00:48:35,162 --> 00:48:36,914
But there are differences.
439
00:48:42,586 --> 00:48:45,797
They have a much more efficient
breathing system
440
00:48:45,881 --> 00:48:49,885
that continuously pumps blood
across their lungs...
441
00:48:54,640 --> 00:48:56,141
allowing them to run
442
00:48:56,224 --> 00:48:58,852
without having to stop
to catch their breath.
443
00:49:10,614 --> 00:49:12,991
[purrs, chirps]
444
00:49:15,994 --> 00:49:21,750
Their legs extend beneath their body
rather than to the side
445
00:49:21,833 --> 00:49:24,836
so they can walk upright.
446
00:49:43,313 --> 00:49:47,442
This allows tiny hatchlings
to grow into adults
447
00:49:47,526 --> 00:49:50,737
that are 50 times their size.
448
00:49:53,949 --> 00:49:55,200
[soft thud]
449
00:49:59,287 --> 00:50:02,499
They're part of the reptile family tree,
450
00:50:03,166 --> 00:50:06,294
but are their own unique branch.
451
00:50:07,295 --> 00:50:09,297
[majestic music playing]
452
00:50:21,476 --> 00:50:24,521
Early giants, like Plateosaurus,
453
00:50:24,604 --> 00:50:27,357
can reach the new taller food sources.
454
00:50:27,441 --> 00:50:28,608
[bellows]
455
00:50:30,110 --> 00:50:33,947
Their stomachs can digest
the tough conifer needles...
456
00:50:36,700 --> 00:50:38,243
and their sheer volume
457
00:50:38,326 --> 00:50:41,830
helps them maintain
a higher body temperature
458
00:50:41,913 --> 00:50:43,707
day and night.
459
00:50:59,514 --> 00:51:04,061
It's a winning formula
that will herald a new age.
460
00:51:04,144 --> 00:51:06,396
[music intensifies, then ends]
461
00:51:14,154 --> 00:51:15,322
{\an8}The Jurassic.
462
00:51:18,867 --> 00:51:20,869
[stirring music playing]
463
00:51:33,131 --> 00:51:35,592
This new dynasty would rule
464
00:51:36,343 --> 00:51:40,180
for more than 150 million years.
465
00:51:40,806 --> 00:51:42,808
[stirring music continues]
466
00:51:49,773 --> 00:51:55,737
A reign that would see the rise
of some of the most iconic creatures
467
00:51:55,821 --> 00:51:57,781
to ever walk the Earth.
468
00:52:04,371 --> 00:52:08,792
Welcome to the age of dinosaurs.
469
00:52:08,875 --> 00:52:10,877
[bellowing]
470
00:52:16,675 --> 00:52:18,635
[epic instrumental music playing]