UK readers might be interested to know there is a new 3 part follow up to the "Walking with Dinosaurs" TV series starting this Sunday (9th) on BBC1 at 7pm.

Of particular interest to TONMO readers will be Part One which depicts the seas in the Ordovician and Devonian and features stunning computer graphic reconstructions of giant orthoconic nautiloids and eurypterids.

Those not in the UK, don't worry! This mini-series will be transmitted on Discovery Channel soon. I will post the dates here when I can find them out.

Whether or not you will be able to see this programme tomorrow, the web-site is now on line here:

Swimming with Sea Monsters Website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/tv_radio/wwseamonsters/)

There is some amazing footage of Cameroceras, a giant Ordovician orthoconic nautiloid seizing a sea scorpion whilst poor Nigel Marven looks on. I'm afraid it is not for real, though. Sorry! Link here:

Giant Orthocone Nautiloid video (http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/seamonsters/factfiles/giantorthocone.shtml?movie)

The 'Seamonsters' game is rather amusing too, even if it is somewhat incomprehensible. One level seems to be using a little submarine to fire at ammonites, rather like Space Invaders! You can access the game from the main link above.

The Devonian arthrodire Dunkleosteus looks stunning in the video too. It's great to see those creatures one reads about brought to life like this!

Phil,

Well, its not "Life of Mammals" or "Walking With Dinosaurs", but it does look cool... Is this going to have some sort of sci-fi twist like "The Future is Wild"?

God, how I'm salivating.


The 'Seamonsters' game is rather amusing too, even if it is somewhat incomprehensible. One level seems to be using a little submarine to fire at ammonites, rather like Space Invaders! You can access the game from the main link above.

Phil, why do you suppose modern cephalopods lost the ability to shoot bolts of lightning? That seems like a rather useful adaptation, doesn't it? I mean, it's almost as good as sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads. And I thought photophores were cool...

:roll:

:nautiloi:

Phil,

Well, its not "Life of Mammals" or "Walking With Dinosaurs", but it does look cool... Is this going to have some sort of sci-fi twist like "The Future is Wild"?

John,

This is a new three part extension of the 'Walking with Dinosaurs' series. The difference with that series, and its sequel 'Beasts', is that we now have Nigel Marven, a BBC Natural History presenter, transported back in time and providing a commentary in a Steve Irwin style-presentation. He will certainly have to face Liopleurodon and Megalodon in parts 2 and 3. It should be good fun and quite entertaining. I'm sure it will be aimed at a family audience and be low on science, but why not? These programmes are good fun and always spark the 'How do they know that?' debate at work, down the pub, and hopefully, in the classroom. We can all look at these programmes and be cynical, but if they provoke an interest in a few children who go on to study fossils and palaeontology as a result, then they were well worth making.

In my opinion, too many people look at the 'Walking with..." type-series with the wrong attitude. I hear frequent complaints from people who watch these programmes and resent 'being told' what is allegedly fact. But these are the same people who can't be bothered to get off their backsides and look it up for themselves. If we were to have programmes purely containing 'fact' then very few people would watch them as showing rows of fossils in a museum would not pull in the viewers. Showing a diver attacked by a nautiloid will. These programmes should be regarded as an entertaining and informative springboard to learning, and not 'this is how it was'. Well done BBC, for once!

Oh, and I finally got hold of 'The Future Is Wild' on DVD and am just starting to watch it. It's quite entertaining. I had no idea Richard Fortey was attached to the project. :notworth:

If you are interested in Nautiloids, watch this space!

Phil, why do you suppose modern cephalopods lost the ability to shoot bolts of lightning? That seems like a rather useful adaptation, doesn't it? I mean, it's almost as good as sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads. And I thought photophores were cool...


Well Um..

An Early Cretaceous Ammonite from Peru called Electroceras could generate bolts of lightning in a unique organ located in the phragmocone protoconch called an Electoaptychus. It could discharge them via a specially adapted hectocotylus arm in order to stun belemnites, move in an eat them. They became extinct as they had a tendency to overheat and fry themselves.

:D

In my opinion, too many people look at the 'Walking with..." type-series with the wrong attitude. I hear frequent complaints from people who watch these programmes and resent 'being told' what is allegedly fact. But these are the same people who can't be bothered to get off their backsides and look it up for themselves.

Exactly! I've noticed that problem in a lot of people, and have had a few heated debates over many pints. Maybe they should begin every episode by stating that it's educated speculation, even though that should be obvious. I could go on at length, but there's little to be gained from preaching to the choir. [sigh]

Oh, and I finally got hold of 'The Future Is Wild' on DVD and am just starting to watch it.

I didn't realize that was on DVD already. Must get mine.

:trilobit:

They became extinct as they had a tendency to overheat and fry themselves.

:D


Oh! So they were overclocking, huh? Or they were running eMachines...

:bonk:

Phil,

Heh heh... sorry... Yeah, I do sound a bit cynical, don't I? No, I LOVED the aforementioned series (bought them all on DVD). I do know, however, that while we'll probably never know how these animals looked and acted, these programs are incredibly educated guesses.

I think animal behavior and morphology hasn't changed too much when it comes to terrestrials, let alone aquatic forms over the last 300 million years or so. Let's face it: nature favors certain designs, certain behaviors, and certain forms across the board. Think basic aquatic forms: Fish, Squid, Icthyosaurs, Sharks, and Whales all take the same basic torpedo shape for aquatic life. On land, two to four legs is good for large animals. Metabolic rates probably haven't changed too much either from dinos to us. I think we can extrapolate good ethological theories and put them into virtual presentations like "Walking With..." and have them be pretty much on the mark.

As far as "The Future is Wild", its sci-fi, with an emphasis on the "Sci". The forms are all very possible (Yes, even the Squibbon), given that directions in evolution are genetic and environmental and the selective pressures exerted on animals makes for really wild variations across species even as already diverse as the cephalopods.

If my writing is cynical, I need a vacation! :sleeping: Hee hee

Sushi and Sake,

John

P.S. Oh, and mad props to the BBC, dude... "Blue Planet: Seas of Life" and "Life of Mammals" are two of the greatest DVD sets ever! Now, if I can only find "Red Dwarf"....

Hey John,

I didn't mean you being cynical!

The Blue Planet DVD is very good, especially as Steve features in the 'State of the Oceans' extra. The first 3 years of Red Dwarf are available over here so I suspect they may be available in the USA. Might be worth checking Amazon.

Cheers,

Phil

I didn't mean you being cynical!

Are you sure? I mean, I can be pretty cynical... :mrgreen:

Hmm... WOW!! Red Dwarf IS out on R1 DVD!! I must be behind the times... Now I don't have import it and hack my dvd player!

Must... resist... buying... impulse... :shock:

Thanks again for the info!

Sushi and Sake,

John

John,

I'm afraid we are Region 2 in the UK for some reason. You can get series 1 and 2 on Region 1. Here you go:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00007JZUB/qid=1068417149/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-7948974-0583013

Got to be careful, this is turning into an off topic thread, and we can't be having that. :) :feet:

I finally got to see "Chased by Sea Monsters" last night. It was nice to see a 30' nautiloid swimming around. I wish I could find a 3' trilobite to use trolling for 30' nautiloids. While the program seemed to be short on science and more like a fishing show on the Outdoor Channel, it was still enjoyable. Phil's introduction to nautiloids left a more vivid picture in my minds eye of the ordovician seascape than Nigel did IMHO.
:nautiloi: :trilobit:

Thanks Kevin. You know I wrote that beginning about a month or so before the programme was shown on BBC over here. Pity I could not finish that article off before the programme was transmitted as the beginning is very similar. Oh well....

I enjoyed that enormous nautiloid, it was quite entertaining. With its pinhole-camera type eyes pehaps it would have been momentarily blinded with a modern flash-light torch. I would not recommend trying it on a modern Nautilus though!

BBC have the latest, and probably last, in the 'Walking With..' series showing in late October or early November. It will be a three parter called 'Walking with Monsters'. At this stage I've no idea if it will feature any cephalopods or not, but it will attempt to fill in some of the gaps left in the other series, from before the dinosaurs to the appearance of hominids.

Part One sounds the most interesting as it starts in the Cambrian. I know little detail at the moment but I know it will feature:

Cambrian fauna
Pterygotus (a Silurian sea scorpion)
Hyneria (a Devonian 4m lobe-fin land-walking predatory fish)
Meganeura (Carboniferous giant dragonfly)
Arthropleura (Carboniferous giant millipede-like animal)
Dimetrodon (Permian sail-back reptile)
Lystrosaurus (Permian/Triassic pig-like mammal-like reptile)

Hopefully it won't be long before it is shown in the US. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

Hopefully we'll get some nicely animated ammonites this time. They've been woefully neglected so far, not that I'm biased of course. :)

first episode on NZ TV tonight.....got the video recorder warmed up as it comes on at 6pm and I'm not home from work yet!!!!!!

J

Crivens Jean! Are we talking about the same series here? Walking with Monsters has barely been announced by the BBC yet, I didn't know NZ was actually showing the darn thing. Well, was it any good?

Meganeura (Carboniferous giant dragonfly)
Arthropleura (Carboniferous giant millipede-like animal)


Well I'm glad to see the Carboniferous is getting a look in at last! A highly underrated period if you ask me. But what has happened to my favourite Carboniferous beastie Euproops???? I've long thought 'Creeping with Euproops' whilst perhaps lacking the dramatic impact of a T rex would still make great TV. Perhaps we'll see them scuttling out of the way of the Arthopleurid. :wink:

Andy

A highly underrated period if you ask me.

:lol:

But what has happened to my favourite Carboniferous beastie Euproops????

Lovely little fossil horseshoe crab there Andy. Is that from Mazon Creek?

I've long thought 'Creeping with Euproops' whilst perhaps lacking the dramatic impact of a T rex would still make great TV. Perhaps we'll see them scuttling out of the way of the Arthopleurid. :wink:

I think there should be a Precambrian episode called "Staring at Stromatolites". Cutting-edge TV with blockbuster ratings.

:roflmao:

Bathing with Blue Green algae? The bbc should be paying us commission for all these new ideas!

The crab is Lancashire born and bred Phil and very nice it is too.

Andy

Crivens Jean! Are we talking about the same series here? Walking with Monsters has barely been announced by the BBC yet, I didn't know NZ was actually showing the darn thing. Well, was it any good?

yup twas from the beeb, we got all 3 parts at once as a "one off special" I'll try to find the time to watch it asap and give you my :twocents: for what its worth (given the exchange rate ~ about 0.5 pence!!!)

J

OK watched last night! Not too bad (not that I'm in any way shape or form qualified to discuss pre history!!) I like the idea of hitching a ride on an orthocone! But I won't comment too much cos I know that in some places its been shown as a 3 part series........but the animations and special effects were pretty good and I WANT a research vessel like the one they had!!!!!!

J

Ah....yep that was 2003's 'Swimming with Sea Monsters', not the new 'Walking with Monsters' series.

It was good fun, naturally Nigel Marvin encountered the biggest examples of each animal he bumped into. It would have been nice to see more trilobites at work in the Ordovician segment, but you can't have it all. The pin-hole camera type eyes was a nice touch and I was impressed that the animators did not give the nautiloid suckers, that would have been an easy mistake to make. Of course we have no idea how many arms Cameroceras really had, and that bendy syphon just looked, well, odd somehow.

I think the research vessel should dematerialised with a TARDIS sound effect, but it was good fun, I'm glad you enjoyed it Jean.

AHHHHH I should've known we wouldn't get anything new THAT fast!!!!

But definitely fun..................I wonder did the family of Mosasaurs congregating on the ship at the end, get it :twisted:

J

But definitely fun..................I wonder did the family of Mosasaurs congregating on the ship at the end, get it :twisted:



Well, since then, I have seen Nigel Marven in a documentary about Piranahas, so I can assume that somehow he escaped.

Jammy devil. :wink:

Just thought i'd jump in here - the company i work for makes all the Walking withs. Walking with Monsters is in the final stages of post production at the mo, to be delivered in a few weeks. I haven't been involved with that production so i can't remember all the creatures they're doing but i'm headed over to the other office in a bit so i'll check out if they're doing any ceph related stuff. From the bits i've seen so far it looks pretty darn good... :grin:

Nik

Wow, thanks Nik! An insiders view....am really looking forward to this.

Here's a few pre-dinosaur episode suggestions for you you might like to pass on up the line:

Staring at Stromatolites
Filtering with Brachiopods
Grappling with Graptolites
Talking to Trilobites
Ambulating with Ammonites
Crawling through Crinoids

....er... that's quite enough of that..... :wink:

could try "Sipping Primordial Soup" with Gordon Ramsey ?

Keef

Perhaps a cross over with one of these home makeover shows -

Decorating with Dactylioceras :razz:

Seriously though, I'm really looking forward to the new Walking with Monsters and the current "Truth about Killer Dinosaurs" showing on the BBC has been good aswell. More please.

Andy

HEADS UP! Anyone interested on the UK may like to know that Walking with Monsters is on BBC3 this Saturday 5th at 8:20pm. The full 90 minutes is being shown together.

Walking with Monsters
Sat 5 Nov, 8:20 pm - 9:50 pm 90mins

This is the extraordinary story of evolution as it has never been seen before. From the creation of our earth 4.4 billion years ago, we see life evolving in the oceans, meeting our bizarre earliest ancestors who battle against terrifying three metre long sea scorpions and giant carnivorous fish. We travel with our amphibian ancestors who finally struggle onto land facing monsters more deadly than ever before. We visit the eerie Carboniferous swamps - the insects and arthropods here have taken over and grown into giants, from the Mesothelae, a spider as big as a human head, to three-metre millipede-like monsters. As the swamps dry up, the world becomes dominated by the first ever giant reptiles - the huge, sail-backed Edaphosaurus and the vicious super-predator, Dimetrodon. Finally we observe the biggest extinction in Earth's history when a world full of giant sabre tooth reptiles and huge armoured herbivores was obliterated when global temperatures soared and vast deserts blanket the land. As the environment recovered populations of one tough reptile exploded until it alone dominated the planet, but its reign was short lived because dinosaurs were on the way.

COOL ! see you there
Keef

That's a shame, we're only getting BBC 1 and 2 around here :roll:

I take it it's a collage of previous programs?

Any chance of a DVD release?

That's a shame, we're only getting BBC 1 and 2 around here :roll:

I take it it's a collage of previous programs?

Any chance of a DVD release?

Ob,

It's a brand new programme, not a re-hash, and is 90 minutes long. I think it covers the earliest rise of life up to the Permian extinction. The intention of the whole series was to make a CGI story of earths prehistoric life in 3 parts, before, during, and after the dinosaurs. The dinosaurs were covered in Walking with Dinosaurs, and rise of the mammals in Walking with Beasts. After five years or so part 1 has finally been done.

After the success of WwD, the BBC commisioned the same production company (Impossible Pictures) to make a few other bits and pieces, i.e The Ballad of Big Al, Walking with Cavemen and the Nigel Marven time-travelling zoologist episodes.

It's out on DVD (R2) on 21/11 in the UK, but will be released in the US by Warners in January or February. You should be able to pick up a copy quite easily; I've got mine on pre-order from Play.com.

Cheers!

Ta! I'll pick up a copy at amazon, so I can watch it, accompanied by an appropriate beverage of sorts :beer:

Hooray! Better clear the diary, cancel the fireworks and settle down in front of the telly on Saturday night! I'm intrigued to know what a Mesothelae is - here's me, a particular fan of the Carboniferous, and I've never heard of it - a quick web search didn't turn up anything either other than it being a group of arachnids.......:confused:

Andy

Mesothelae? Aren't we talking about Megarachne?

That's a considerable spider along those size lines, although the Reader Emeritus in Palaeontology of Manchester University Dr. Paul Seldon now has a different theory (http://www.radio.cbc.ca/programs/asithappens/STEAM/2005/spieder_20050216.html)....

Argh! so its released at last! I've been waiting for this for almost a year - i saw the book in WHSmiths aaggeees ago and have since spent a fair amount of time searching for the DVD but alas to no completion... Next step is get a TV i think... hmm... Cash Converters here we come....

Matt :o)

Hmm..Matt. A DVD is indeed a useless item without a television. I suppose one could always sew fifty of them to an old jacket and pretend it's the seventies again....

These programmes get better and better technically and I'm looking forward to it too even though the fiends at work have dumped me on a night shift Saturday. I don't think it'll feature any cephalopods, but at last we'll see a fully rendered Anomalocaris snacking on trilobites! All good fun. I wonder if Nik can contribute any tit-bits to the thread?

Nice to see you back Matt, please come back more often.

Nah, sewing takes way to long but sticking them to the ceiling is always cool although it doesn't beat the glow in the dark jellyfish on my walls :oD

True, the technology is way cool and amazing but im not sure i'd want it to get too realistic - it'd be like star wars ep. 3 being so much more graphically advanced and with much better choreography than episode 4, the next in the series.

I'd post more if i had more to say - right now i'm going to be up all night making final touches to my overseas essay (the whole reason i was in seattle) :hmm:

And for those cradled in the arms of America:

http://discoverychannel.ca/on_tv/releases/walking_with_monsters/

Nice spoilers

Crikey, nice preview, thanks ob. Seems you chaps in the US will see it on Sunday; I'd thought you'd have to wait much longer.

Edit: Just found out it will be released in the US on 17th Jan.

PS: I myself am actually in the Netherlands, that bit of my profile is not a joke :hmm:

Hard to explain this. It killed 30 minutes, and it's pouring with rain outside.

Made my day!!! :lol: :notworth: :notworth: :notworth:

Fantastic!:roflmao:

RE: Walking with Monsters.

I'm stuck at work on a night shift and missed it. Hopefully I managed to tape it and will catch up tomorrow.

Well, was it any good?

Ta!

Just seen it - excellent stuff as usual from the 'Walking with' series. Covers the Cambrian through to the Triassic and Cephs do get a (brief) appearance with a Orthocone swimming past in the distance at one point. No Euproops (sigh...) but lots of other interesting beasties. The Mesothelae did have quite a resemblance to the reconstructions I've seen of Megarachne which is now thought to be a form of Eurypterid rather than spider as Ob has pointed out - I'll have to see what I can find.

Hope they do another one at some point - there's loads more spectacular dead things out there still to cover!

Andy

Thanks Andy, now you've REALLY whet my appetite! I've just posted an individual thread about this programme to remind people to try and catch it, as they might not find it buried in this thread.

I'll let you know what I think tomorrow, providing my video has worked. The darn thing's old and temperamental these days (aren't we all!).

the bugs & beasties were trés cool but got bit bogged down with our arch enemies the vertebrates for my liking but hey, can't have it all. Good luck with the steam video Phil.

Keef

5 seconds showing a 20' orthocone, then skip to the early chordates:cry:

How come I got to see this last night?

5 seconds showing a 20' orthocone, then skip to the early chordates:cry:

Yep, wasn't that scene set in the Silurian? I thought the true nautiloid giants were Ordovician in date. I suppose it was difficult to assess scale in that brief scene.

How come I got to see this last night?

I found out today that Discovery had a special Paleo-day yesterday and showed both 'Walking with Dinosaurs' and 'Beasts'. 'Monsters' was a premiere.

I've just watched it, and I thought it was excellent, especially the Dimetrodon scenes. I'm not sure if there is really any evidence for newly-hatched juvenile Dimetrodon scaling vegetation to evade predators, must try and research that one.

It was somewhat jumpy, straight from the Cambrian to the Silurian, by-passing the Ordovician. I suppose the production staff reasoned that the main Ordovician creatures they could focus on, i.e nautiloids, sea scorpions and trilobites had already been covered in 'Sea Monsters', so they saw little point in repetition.

Agreed, it would have been nice to have seen Opabinia, Hallucigenia and some of the other weirdies in the Cambrian scenes, but Anomalocaris has never looked so well realised and dynamic.

I expect it'll be chopped into three parts for showing on BBC1 later in the year, but wasn't it excellent with no presenter in distress? I wish they had all been made like this. As now the history of life have been carefully skimmed over and selected, I doubt if we'll see any more 'Walking with..." series ever again. They were good fun while they lasted.

Oh, and if I may add, I think that it dovetailed nicely into 'WwD', especially with the bombastic theme crashing in at the end.

Good stuff.

I found out today that Discovery had a special Paleo-day yesterday and showed both 'Walking with Dinosaurs' and 'Beasts'. 'Monsters' was a premiere.

Actually I was watching "Dinosaur Face Off: Velociraptor vs Ankylosaur" then to my surprise "Before the Dinosaurs" came on (2 hours with commercials). Both very interesting and entertaining. :grin: Except in one, I dont remember which, they called gastroliths gastropods :lol:

Before the dinosaurs will be shown again next sunday 3:00 pm et/pt

The Mesothelae did have quite a resemblance to the reconstructions I've seen of Megarachne which is now thought to be a form of Eurypterid rather than spider as Ob has pointed out - I'll have to see what I can find.

Andy, Ob,

Please check out this fascinating article available in full online by Paul Seddon entitled:

The true identity of the supposed giant fossil spider Megarachne (http://homepage.mac.com/paulselden/Home/files/Megarachne.pdf)

This was published on 11th October this year. It's a pity for Impossible Pictures that their lavishly depicted giant spider was depicted as such; it now seems that it was indeed a eurypterid, albeit a peculiar one.

Hi,

Yes, the Monsters team got that research about Megarachne, but i think the modelling had already happened by that time we read it - occupational hazzard!

No new Walking withs in production at the moment (although we're always looking into what comes next) but we've got something even better coming up next spring which I know you're going to like 8-) . It may even feature a special appearance by someone not entirely a stranger to these parts :wink:

Biting tongue....i've said too much...better stop writing now.

Nik

Great news Nik, can't wait.

Thanks for the reference Phil - I met up with Paul Seldon a couple of times at the start of the year when we took him and Fred Broadhurst round a carboniferous site here. He's very into his fossil arachnids though we didn't find any on that trip giant or otherwise. Never mind, theres always tomorrow....

Andy

It may even feature a special appearance by someone not entirely a stranger to these parts :wink:

Biting tongue....i've said too much...better stop writing now.

Nik

AHA you've been to the O'Shea school of hint dropping...........haven't you? Drop a tantalising bit of info then run away!

J

A reminder for UK readers, 'Walking with Monsters' is repeated on BBC1 at 20:30 this Thursday the 8th. I presume parts two and three are being shown on the following weeks.

Good egg!

I watched the programme last night on BBC1, thanks for the reminder Phil.

How do the BBC manage to take such interesting information, such exciting cool graphics, such a new concept in showing ancient natural history... and make an arse of it in 30 mins?

Before there is a, 'but its for public consumption' reply. I often teach The Classification of Living Things to kids between the ages of 5 - 14 which fits in with our national curriculum for science and the programme fell well short of the mark for even what 7 year olds learn regarding invertebrates and vertebrates etc in the classroom.

It was lovely to watch. The skin textures and movements of the animals have really came on so much. The footage of individual animals is truly spectacular and a pleasure to watch. But why does it make me cringe to listen and want to mute the TV?

I think that one of the series, (was it the mammals one?) had a choice of 2 narrators, one with the daft stories and one with bits of useful information? That would be nice to have again.

Sorry for the rant and negativity but it really doesn't make me want to see the other parts and its another case of 'looks nice' but has no direction and the script certainly doesn't add anything to the programme

Oh, last moan...

Why do we asume that giant caudate amphibians roar?

It's terrible, I got dragged down to the local watering hole by one of my best friends and forgot all about getting back before 21:30, which was our local time of airing.... Me and King Ethanol are now pretty much at odds with each other.

This afternoon I popped up to the Natural History Museum in London as I heard that there was to be a special talk on the 'Walking with..." series. When I arrived I was quite pleasantly surprised to find it was Tim Haines, the producer and mastermind of the trilogy. The 30 minute talk was recorded for a web-broadcast.

Following the talk I privately asked Mr Haines about Megarachne and it's reclassification as an eurypterid. He admitted that the staff were somewhat disappointed to discover this following Paul Seldon's paper given the work they'd put in, and that's why the name Megarachne was dropped from the broadcast version in favour of the family name. He stated that there were other giant spiders knocking around in the Carboniferous that fitted the bill of the spider in the show...(not that it's easy to find out about them).

A nice day, and Mr Haines is a nice chap too!

As soon as a link goes up to the chat on the BBC site I'll post a link. Gawd, I hope you can't see me in the audience though; I must have been only 3m from the chap!

hello i'm new here. i've been trying to get hold of a dvd of the sea monsters series but i can't find it anywhere. i hear that it was not even released on dvd, is this correct?

i could realy use it for a project i'm working on. so if there's anyone that can help me please let me know thx :hmm:

Hi Larry,

:welcome: Where do you live? "Swimming with Sea Monsters" has only been released on Region 1 DVD as far as I know; this means that you should be able to get it fairly easily in the US, but not elsewhere. It was released under the title "Chased by Dinosaurs" along with two extra land based episodes featuring Nigel Marven. If you live in the UK, NZ or outside the Region 1 zone you will need a multi-region DVD player to watch it.

I obtained my copy via eBay, but it is available via most online retailers including Amazon. There should be a link on this page to that retailer should you wish to track it down.

Best of luck, and please tell us about your project!

Phil

hello Phil Thank you very much for your help.

I'm in the uk in Kent. thankyou for the other title I did a search on Amazon and found it :smile:

sorry I can't mention anything about the project. at the moment i'm waiting to see if it will go ahead.

if it goes a head I'll send you a private message about it in about a weeks time.

thx again :grin:

Sounds most intriguing Larry. Look forward to hearing from you.

Whereabouts in Kent do you live? I think we must be the only two people from Kent on this site. So, here's to us!

:party:

I live in tunbridge wells at the moment, have also lived in ramsgate.

i see your in dover, a place i have visited many times, mostly to visit dover castle and the war time tunnels, a great place to visit on a nice day :grin:

Hi Folks

Can't see that this has been mentioned before but there is a new computer generated prehistoric beasties series starting on ITV in the UK soon (I think the first one is Saturday evening). Called "Prehistoric Park" it has 6 episodes featuring Nigel Marven going back in time and retrieving long dead beasties. Haven't seen much info - missed most of the interview on GMTV this morning. Don't know if cephs will feature at all - from the clips I've seen there is the inevitable T rex, mammoths and another trip to the Carboniferous was mentioned (yay! - maybe Euproops will get its long awaited 15 minutes of fame afterall!)

Andy

(yay! - maybe Euproops will get its long awaited 15 minutes of fame afterall!)


I'm rather hoping for Tullimonstrum myself. :wink:

A Tully would also be acceptable. I recently acquired a rather nice composite of the real thing! Not Lancashire this time - Mazon Creek in the US. Weird creature.

I still have a big bag full of Mazon Creek concretions somewhere. I should find them and freeze-thaw them open.

Dan

That's great Andy, what a fantastic specimen. What is the latest thought as to the nature of the animal? Still unclassified?

Good luck Dan. Fingers crossed that you find something unusual.

I always tied Tullimonstrum in with Opabinia, although there is only the slightest hint of resemblance. Convergent evolution at work with a 100 million year interval :smile:

Still unidentified as far as I know although my sources of info are limited to web searches. It does resemble Opabinia in some ways though has a lesser number of eyes (if that be what the 'eye stalks' are - I think the jury is still out on that aswell). I tilt towards the heteropod gastropod id but thats only because of a superficial physical similarity (the Tully, not me), not expert knowledge. Its one of natures little mysteries!

How do you rate the freeze thaw method of splitting Dan? I know thats the recommended technique for Mazon nods but I've never had much success with it over here - partly because giving them a whack with the estwing usually does the trick if there's something in there but also 'cos I'd have a yard full of dud nodules if I tried to do it with all the ones I find.

Andy

I haven't done any freeze/thaw yet, but its my understanding there's less chance for damage. There's always the chance there's a tully monster--or god forbid an octopus!

I was actually considering an "accelerated" process using alternating baths of boiling water and liquid nitrogen. Something tells me my freezer will do, though :)

Dan

Achtung!!

No trolling allowed, otherwise a hearty :welcome: :wink: