In a scene set in “Forests,” the show’s fifth episode, the short-armed, bullhorn predator Carnotaurus performs for a mate. “There's this whole system of specific postures that indicate particular things,” Naish says, such as fear, submission during combat, or the fact that an animal is hunting. When figuring out their dinosaurs’ postures, Prehistoric Planet ’s team looked to the oldest living bird lineages-flightless birds, waterfowl, and wildfowl-which often share body language with crocodiles. Various episodes present behaviors modeled from avians: the parrot-like use of clay-eating to neutralize toxins in food the penguin-like thievery of materials in communal nests and even the habit- famously reported in some Australian raptors-of intentionally spreading fires to smoke out prey. “If we found behaviors in living birds that were also seen in living crocodilians, we applied them to extinct dinosaurs.” _ The show didn’t limit itself to fossil evidence, either-modern dinosaur relatives provided inspiration as well. The show didn’t limit itself to fossil evidence, either-modern dinosaur relatives provided inspiration as well. “Every decision we've made is backed up in some way by the actual evidence that exists,” says Darren Naish, a paleontologist with the University of Southampton who served as lead scientific consultant for the series. All are presented according to the latest scientific research and showcased exhibiting their own interesting bits of behavior: finding mates, migrating, searching out food and water, or dealing with the age-old scourge of mosquitoes. The series is also notable for the range of creatures it covers. Each episode stars a blend of familiar and obscure dinosaurs, sea lizards, and pterosaurs (flying reptiles), as designed by a small army of paleoartists. Even the mostly scaly Tyrannosaurus rex has a subtle dusting of fine, elephant-like fuzz, visible only in closeup its young, like the chicks of modern ground birds, are fully fluffed. Immense, shaggy behemoths like the hump-backed Deinocheirus graze in inland swamps. In Prehistoric Planet, small, down-toed dromaeosaurs sweep through snowy forests like ground-running falcons. Today, researchers have shown that many predatory dinosaur species were likely feathered, and that plumes of one sort or another may have been widespread across the family tree. A c oncerted reassessment of dinosaurs in the late 20th century, complete with the discovery of new, well-preserved fossils from across the world, basically confirmed the theory. The relationship was initially proposed back in the 1800s, based on the discovery of feathered dinosaurs like the famous “dawn bird” Archaeopteryx. The past few decades have solidified scientists’ understanding that modern birds are essentially dinosaurs, descended from a single branch of the predatory dinosaur family tree. The Tyrannosaurus scene, rendered in remarkably crisp and convincing CGI, serves as a deliberate statement of purpose: The earth’s largest land predator is presented not as a roaring, malevolent monster or vehicle for blockbuster nostalgia, but as a living, breathing-and very birdy-animal. Hosted by David Attenborough and filmed by members of the acclaimed BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the show offers a wide-ranging tour of the earth's landscape 66 million years ago, crossing the lush forests and polar crags of western North America, the baking deserts of Central Asia and South America, and the flooded islands of Europe. This is the image that opens Prehistoric Planet, an astonishing new five-part documentary miniseries airing this week on Apple TV+. Some months previously, the bull courted a female who wandered into his territory, arching his chin in a coy welcome now he’s got babies to care for as he leads them across dangerous waters in search of new opportunities. His great chest labors with powerful snorting breaths, his chin wavering with the effort of keeping his head above water. A bull Tyrannosaurus sculls across the shallow warm waters of an inland sea, a gang of fluffy chicks in tow.
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