Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
40 minutes, G rated
January 5, 2009 - October 1, 2009
The Cretaceous world was very different from the Earth we know today. Eighty million years ago, the Midwest was at the bottom of a great inland sea that divided North America in two. A warmer climate meant more of the globe was submerged — Europe was just a smattering of islands, much of Asia was underwater and a shallow ocean engulfed nearly all of Australia. On this sodden sphere, cold-blooded seagoing reptiles flourished, and as these ocean giants died, their skeletons were left in locations that are now high and dry.
Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure weaves together spectacular photorealistic animation with standout finds from paleontological digs around the world — treasures that shed light on the film's incredible cast of characters.
The film follows a family of Dolichorhynchops, also known informally as "Dollies," as they traverse ancient waters populated with saber-toothed fish, prehistoric sharks and giant squid. On their journey the Dollies encounter other extraordinary sea creatures: lizard-like reptiles called Platecarpus that swallowed their prey whole like snakes; Styxosaurus with necks nearly 20 feet long and paddle-like fins as large as an adult human; and at the top of the food chain, the monstrous Tylosaurus, a predator with no enemies.
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Media Images
Photo credit must be given as specified per individual image.
A group of Dolichorhychops explores the "Western Inland Sea" that divided North America in half during the Late Cretaceous period 80 million years ago.
(© 2007 NGHT Inc.)
A Tylosaurus, the 40-foot super predator often called the "T-Rex of the ocean," blasts through the surface of the water, having narrowly missed its prey.
(© 2007 NGHT Inc.)
A group of Xiphactinus, the largest bony fish of the Late Cretaceous era, peruses the ocean in search of food. Xiphactinus were able to swallow prey up to half their length.
(© 2007 NGHT Inc.)
The 1918 discovery in Kansas of a Tylosaurus fossil by Charles Steinberg and his sons is recreated for Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure.
(Mark Thiessen © National Geographic Giant Screen Films)
