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The series begins in The Birth of Earth, with a Mars-sized asteroid hitting Earth's primordial oceans, and we trace the progression of lipidlike molecules to DNA, blue-green algae, and amoebas. From the simplest microorganism to the complex species that is humankind, the evolutionary development of every living creature has been marked by life and death struggles. Now this epic story is chronicled in Planet of Life. Explore the primordial planet and find out how life emerged from a sea of toxins in the Birth of Earth.
Imagine a five-eyed lobsterlike creature hovering above the ocean floor, bringing food to its mouth through a long, wormlike trunk tipped with spines. Is this on Mars? No, it's an Opabinia regalis, an ancient creature whose discovery originally caused paleobiologists to laugh, and just one of dozens of 3-D computer-animation and life-size models in the series. This episode examines the history of oceans, which are thought to be the cradle of life on earth. Descend into the deep of Earth's Ancient Oceans to witness the explosion of life preserved today in the British Columbia's Burgess Shale as bizarre Cambrian fossils and their fascinating reconstructions , and how life may have moved from water to land.
Ancient creatures from sea and river blaze a new evolutionary trail with their first pioneering steps on land in this exciting chapter in the story of life. Plants lure tetrapods onto land and herbivorous dinosaurs like berosaurus and triceratops evolve. Travel to a time zone millions of years old-the era when the largest creatures to walk the planet dominated the landscape-in When Dinosaurs Ruled.
This episode looks at the first reptiles to discover and make use of flight. Creatures of the Skies traces the angiosperm revolution and flight adaptations from pterosaurs to archeopteryx to modern birds and butterflies. Soar through the atmosphere with pterosaurs, the first flying vertebrates, and unravel the mysterious origins of birds. We look how these creatures eventually evolved into birds in Creatures of the Skies.
The Insect World looks at special adaptations, such as the compound eye, and bee language is explained. Why do some life forms thrive on planet Earth while others vanish to extinction? Discover the survival strategies and unique adaptations developed by one of Earth's most successful species in The Insect World.
This episode examines the evolution of humans using computer animation. One group of primates moved onto the plains where they evolved the ability to stand upright, in order to survive. These anthropoids may be modern humans' direct ancestors. Climb our family tree in Apes to Man to find out how the unpredictable forces of evolution shaped our primate ancestors and Earth's first hominids.
In little more than a few generations, humankind has altered the balance of of Earth's fragile ecosystems-polluting waters, ransacking natural resources, and overpopulating the landscape. Can the human species survive on Earth? If not, where do we go from here? In Evolution's Next Step scientists study a man-made biosphere to explore alternatives for the distant future-perhaps even making other planets habitable for human life.
