Documentary, Walking with Dinosaurs Ep 3: Band of Brothers
#AncientEarth #Documentary #Dinosaurs #Prehistoric #Evolutionary
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#AncientEarth #Documentary #Dinosaurs #Prehistoric #Evolutionary
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00:00Over 66 million years ago, our world was ruled.
00:30By dinosaurs.
00:39The largest animals that have ever walked the earth.
00:50Today, dinosaur experts across the globe are uncovering the bones they left behind.
00:58Allowing us to imagine how these extraordinary creatures may have lived.
01:11So that we can tell their stories.
01:17And they can walk again.
01:24The End
01:26Utah, in the heart of
01:56the American West, home to some of the most spectacular scenery on earth.
02:22And the forces that shaped the landscape also make it a paradise for dinosaur hunters.
02:29In a remote part of the desert, paleontologists Dr. Jim Kirkland and Dr. Josh Lively have made a remarkable discovery.
02:51So we've exposed quite a bit of bone, Jim.
02:58The bones of one of the most heavily armored dinosaurs that ever lived.
03:09Oh, that's cool.
03:12A Gastonia.
03:14Yeah, you might have a leg, isn't it?
03:17Using their discoveries, we can imagine how this youngster lived and died.
03:24A hundred and thirty million years ago.
03:49In the early Cretaceous period, the land that will become Utah was warmer and wetter.
04:10And what is desert today is covered by conifer forests and rolling meadows of ferns.
04:21Plentiful food for groups of plant-eating Gastonia.
04:36Including youngster, George.
04:57Like all young Gastonia, he must stick close to his parents.
05:11Because danger...
05:16...is never far away.
05:23Utahraptor.
05:29A heavyweight cousin of Velociraptor.
05:35The size of a grizzly bear.
05:39And they hunt vulnerable young Gastonia.
05:54The ferns providing ideal cover for a surprise attack.
06:04Just yards away, George and his family are oblivious...
06:11...to the approaching danger.
06:17With the raptors within striking distance.
06:45The Gastonia get a lucky break.
06:52Like many modern herd animals, the adults form a defensive ring around their young.
07:10Weighing over a turret.
07:17Covered in thick armor.
07:21A group of adult Gastonia is virtually invulnerable.
07:29With one of their group injured, the raptors cut their losses.
07:54But George can't rely on the safety of the herd...
08:09...for much longer.
08:11He's reached adolescence.
08:14When, like all young male Gastonia, it's thought he'll be pushed out of the group.
08:20George must now grow up without his family to protect him.
08:26We'll probably do Dakota and at least one other person too.
08:44At the dig, the team is starting to uncover evidence.
08:48Is there a bone there coming up from somewhere?
08:52Try to get your fingers under that if you can reach over.
08:55That might explain how young Gastonia like George...
08:58...survived to adulthood.
09:01You got one over there?
09:03There's a big guy here.
09:04Oh, okay.
09:05Looks like a limb bone might connect to some of this bone right here.
09:09And the clues are coming thick and fast.
09:13Beautiful.
09:14That's bone.
09:15Looks like the rib might go into this one.
09:20Everywhere they dig, bone after bone emerges from the ground.
09:28Found a couple of ribs right here going over top of a vertebra...
09:33...and then several pieces of armour.
09:35A ton of bones just in this small spot.
09:38It's too many to be from just one individual.
09:43Thin rib-like sections.
09:46Right.
09:47I mean, so far, you know, right in here there's probably parts of two animals.
09:52And intriguingly, all the Gastonia found across the site appear to be of a similar age.
10:00From looking at skeletal remains, we're looking at half-grown individuals...
10:07...you know, sub-adults to full adults.
10:10Kind of analogous to teenagers, right?
10:12Yeah.
10:14All these teenagers found together suggests something unexpected.
10:30Hoo!
10:31Hoo!
10:40No!
10:41Hank!
10:43Since leaving his family group, George has been living on his own.
10:48Holla at the future.
10:51Oh!
10:52Huh!
10:53Keeping deep in the forest,
10:56where it's easier to hide from predators but it's not long before he comes face to face
11:21with another young male
11:26and it looks like he means business
11:56castania's skulls and necks especially adapted to act like shock absorbers
12:11but this isn't a fight
12:20this is how gastonia make friends
12:33of all the armored dinosaurs
12:41they're one of the only known social species
12:47George has just joined a group
12:54it's a huge step forward
13:04dramatically increasing his chances of making it to adulthood
13:09this gang of teenage boys will stay together until they're tough enough to fend for themselves
13:24because until their armor is fully developed
13:34they're vulnerable
13:36just working our way around these elements
13:49trying to get around this big femur here
13:51at the dig amongst the gastonia bones
13:56hey josh check this out what is that
13:59the team makes an unexpected discovery
14:02oh wow
14:03that's really neat
14:05it's definitely not gastonia
14:08probably somewhat lovely
14:12hey jim
14:14yeah
14:15heather found something interesting and uh
14:19i'm wondering if uh you could tell me whether or not it is what i think it is
14:24that's a nice curve
14:26yeah that's a small theropod metacarpal and bone
14:33could be a juvenile utahraptor
14:36utahraptor bones
14:43found alongside the young gastonia
14:46all right i was right it's a theropod metacarpal
14:49they have confirmed suggest that throughout the gastonia's adolescence
14:57utahraptor was an ever-present threat
15:03and josh and jim
15:10have evidence that shows just how deadly they could be
15:15a cast of a utahraptor toe claw
15:23you know you put the claw itself you know this is the bone underlying it
15:27just to be conservative we could say it comes out to about there
15:31you know in length
15:33thirty centimeters long
15:35these killing claws
15:38were utahraptor's primary weapon
15:41this thing might be kicking through inch thick hide
15:44so fast you can barely see it
15:46wham wham wham wham wham
15:48this thing's just punching lots of holes which would do a lot of damage
15:52these claws are the perfect tool
15:55for puncturing the weak armor of young gastonia
16:00maybe you have to think of it more as a can opener
16:02yeah if you can flip it over
16:04use that to slice open the belly
16:08you know these things are one of the most formidable predators that ever lived
16:24holding their toe claws off the ground
16:26to keep them razor sharp
16:34utahraptor
16:37is a finely tuned killing machine
16:48and this adult male
16:53and the group he leads
16:56have just entered the forest
17:01following the trail
17:02of george
17:04and the gastonia gang
17:14of george
17:16but hidden beneath the thick undergrowth
17:22finding them
17:23won't be easy
17:25so the young raptors
17:35streak ahead
17:36to try and flush them out
17:40while the adults
17:49follow behind
17:50ready to make the kill
17:52with utahraptor's eyesight
18:09as sharp as modern birds of prey
18:11even the slightest movement could be fatal
18:27so when they hear the raptors coming
18:30the gastonia freeze
18:42the juveniles have missed them
18:54the juveniles have missed them
19:03but george must hold his nerve
19:08because the deadliest threat is still to come
19:22the group leader
19:24the group leader
19:24the group leader
19:26of george
19:27the some lane
19:29the
19:29the
19:31the
19:36the
19:37the
19:37the
19:38It's a close call.
20:08But every day George and the gang survive is a day closer to the safety of adulthood.
20:37And emerging from the ground, clues that reveal even young Gastonia would have been no pushover.
20:47Well, you should be getting close I think.
20:52Hey Josh, look at my section, tell me what you think.
20:57So, there's so much here.
21:03There are plenty of osteoderms.
21:05And they're coming out pretty solid then?
21:07Yeah.
21:08Osteoderms are the bones that made up the Gastonia's armour.
21:14That's a real nice one.
21:16Oh yeah.
21:17So, you can kind of see on this one, that kind of ridge right there, that keel, that would point up.
21:24Makes for a spiky dinosaur.
21:26It really does, yeah.
21:28In life, each osteoderm was covered by a thick scale.
21:35Now this is one of the nicest ones we've had so far.
21:39This would have been on the back of the animal.
21:41Which would have created an armoured plate.
21:44We see the hollow base that these have.
21:49They're for blood vessels bringing nutrients up into this bone to grow that big scale that was on top.
21:56There's a lot of armour on these animals.
22:00It's a discovery that reveals the Gastonia's armour was nearly fully formed.
22:26The team has evidence Utahraptor was one step ahead.
22:38Revealed by an astonishing fossil found near the site.
22:43And taken to the lab for analysis.
22:47It's a gold mine.
22:48It really is.
22:52Entombed in this nine ton block of sandstone.
22:56The team has discovered the remains of an entire group of Utahraptors.
23:03And over here we've got the big string of articulated vertebra.
23:08Yeah, and that's just beautiful.
23:11And hidden amongst the hundreds of perfectly preserved teeth and claws and bones.
23:17Yeah, that's the great thing about this block. We'll have so much material.
23:20Curator Don DeBloom has found something that could be Utahraptor's deadliest weapon.
23:26We've got this beautiful little top of a skull.
23:31And then we flipped it over.
23:32Right here is the impression of the brain.
23:37For a dinosaur, this young Utahraptor brain is very large.
23:45Yeah, certainly remarkable given the size.
23:48That would be a very intelligent animal.
23:51It would have been the most intelligent animal of its time.
23:55Oh, certainly.
23:56Utahraptor would have been capable of some pretty complex behaviors.
24:00Spring has turned to summer.
24:28As the dry season sets in, George and the Gastonia gang leave the forest to find water.
24:46They're still unruly teenagers.
24:53But now in near-adult bodies.
25:10And at the edge of the water hole, clay-rich soil provides the gang with essential minerals.
25:17Vital for strengthening their armor.
25:22And now the Gastonia are tougher.
25:32They're no longer an easy kill.
25:41So the raptors change tactics.
25:47The group leader attracts their attention.
25:58And uses his brightly colored wing feathers.
26:06To create a diversion.
26:30Like a fox in a hen house.
26:34The kill triggers the leader's predatory instinct.
26:50Trapped at the water's edge.
26:51It looks like George's luck has run out.
26:57But at the dig, Josh and the team have made a discovery.
27:18They've come to retrieve a fossil that may shed light on events that happened here 130 million years ago.
27:30So Don, I was originally thinking it was down this drainage.
27:35But looking at it now, I actually think it's further over that way.
27:38Yeah, I think you're right.
27:40But collecting it from the steep cliff face.
27:45Damn, this is going to be tough.
27:47Won't be easy.
27:52It might be farther that way.
27:57Oh, there it is.
28:00Yeah, that's totally it.
28:03So Don, I think if you want to bring the backboard over here.
28:08And then we can go ahead and start strapping it down.
28:12With your legs.
28:13Keep that.
28:14Do it.
28:15This is a fossilized foot cast.
28:18Oh man, on campus.
28:19Yeah.
28:20Alright.
28:21Alright, you got it, Marcello.
28:22Got it.
28:24It formed when a dinosaur footprint filled with silt and dust, that over millions of years
28:34was compressed into solid rock.
28:37Like that?
28:38Okay.
28:39Just like that.
28:40Luckily it's not super fragile.
28:45Creating a cast of the foot that made it.
28:49One, two, three.
28:54It definitely gets easier up here.
28:56Okay.
28:57Okay.
28:58But which dinosaur does it belong to?
29:11Wow.
29:12That's really cool.
29:13We've got three big wide toes on this footprint.
29:16So that eliminates a couple of dinosaurs right off the bat.
29:20Yeah.
29:21If it was Gastonia, it'd have four toes.
29:26And it's unlikely to be a predator, because there are no claws.
29:31Most likely a plant eater.
29:33Yeah, I think a good candidate could be some sort of bipedal, plant-eating dinosaur, kind
29:38of like Planicoxa.
29:39Right.
29:40We're at the right level for those guys.
29:41We're close.
29:42Absolutely.
29:43Planicoxa were beaked, stocky dinosaurs that lived in herds.
29:50You can imagine them travelling together and moving long distances.
29:54For sure.
29:55Maybe Gastonia was year-round and these dinosaurs were more seasonal.
29:58All right.
30:00You guide us, Steph.
30:02Finding Planicoxa footprints here is an important discovery.
30:15Because it suggests they migrated through this landscape.
30:19There we go.
30:20You guide us, Steph.
30:22Let's go.
30:23You guide us, Steph.
30:24Take it away and see you all.
30:25People will find us.
30:26You're right.
30:27You're right.
30:28You're right.
30:29You are right.
30:30You're right.
30:32You're right.
30:34You're right.
30:35I'm happy to be back with the ship.
30:37as the group leader closes in on George
30:50a herd of planicoxa
30:56pass close by
30:58and without
31:06they're a much easier kill
31:10handing George
31:25a very lucky escape
31:36but as the dry season intensifies
31:43the planicoxa herds will move on
31:50so as George and the Gastonia gang returned to the forest
31:54they know it won't be long until the raptors are hunting them down once more
32:01but coming out of the ground
32:16further evidence the Gastonia buried here
32:21looking at about
32:23thirty one and a half centimeters long
32:25were more than capable of defending themselves
32:28the proximal width where it attaches to the tail
32:32looks like about seventeen and a half centimeters wide
32:36yeah
32:37so yeah this is one of these specialized bikes along the tail
32:42like sticking out
32:44yeah yeah so it'll be sticking out from the sides of the tail
32:48you can imagine this with a big scale over top of it
32:52a big piece of keratin
32:53so this would have come to a very sharp point
32:56and these we think were used as a weapon
33:03these blade like spikes
33:06were positioned along the entire length of the Gastonia's tails
33:15and Jim and Don have uncovered something
33:19that shows just how these weapons were used
33:23and then as I was trying to work on that
33:26I hit something over here
33:28so this is a femur
33:30the upper leg bone
33:32and that's a pretty sizable femur
33:34and then as I dug around I see we have a complete tibia
33:37lower leg bone
33:38yeah
33:39you can see how short the lower leg is
33:42rather than the upper leg
33:44about half the length right there
33:46which is you know the exact opposite
33:49than what you see in a running animal
33:51Gastonia had a top speed of around five miles per hour
33:57because their hind legs weren't built for running
34:02they were adapted for a very different purpose
34:07certainly these things are not just simple bones
34:12they have huge muscle attachment points
34:15so they have developed powerful legs
34:17for serious strong maneuverability
34:20stocky guys just standing their ground
34:22you just see these things just holding on the ground
34:25and swinging their tail with those big blades
34:29like the ones over there they already pulled out
34:32yeah that big boy
34:33slashing across and probably reach head high easily
34:37and literally slap a Utahraptor right in the face
34:44Gastonia's powerful hind legs and spiked tails
34:50mean George and the gang are now formidable adversaries
34:57but with the dry season now at its height
35:11and the planicox are gone
35:13the raptors are starving
35:18desperate for food
35:27they must take any opportunity
35:32to make a kill
35:37to make a kill
35:49but now nearly fully grown
35:51the Gastonia gang will stand and fight
35:55and this time
36:13they've got the weapons to defend themselves
36:16the Gastonia
36:18the Gastonia now have the upper hand
36:35but driven by hunger
36:40the raptors have no choice
36:43up to attack
37:08with the group leader fatally wounded
37:10the remaining raptors back down
37:17but George's moment of triumph
37:29will be short-lived
37:31the hot summer months
37:41bring a new danger
37:43something revealed
37:52by a completely different type of evidence
37:54found alongside the Gastonia bones
38:01paleo botanist Dr. Carol Hotton
38:07is an expert in ancient pollen
38:13Hey Jim, take a look
38:24there's some interesting grains
38:26right in the center
38:27so if you see those little round grains
38:31that look like flat tires
38:33that's pollen from an extinct conifer
38:37and there's another grain
38:46that's a member of the Cypress family
38:49that was well adapted to dry conditions
38:52all the pollen Carol has identified
38:58belongs to trees that lived in a parched arid environment
39:05130 million years ago
39:11the forest that covered the dig site
39:13was a tinderbox
39:15you can see all through the field
39:22black pieces
39:23you can see all through the field
39:25black pieces
39:26little shards
39:27twiggy looking things
39:28that are pretty small for twigs
39:30right
39:31in all probability
39:32they represent charcoal
39:34it's unlikely to be anything else
39:36and I see that in all my pollen samples
39:43there's only one thing
39:44that could have produced
39:46so much charcoal
39:59the long dry summer months
40:01have created
40:03a time bomb
40:05as wildfire rages through the parched forest
40:15it threatens the Gastonia
40:21and the surviving raptors
40:24but George is slow to react to the danger
40:49with a top speed around 20 miles per hour
41:06the raptors soon reach a clearing in the forest
41:07the raptors soon reach a clearing in the forest
41:19but they're trapped
41:32between the flames
41:34and a treacherous marshy swamp
41:36and George and the Gastonia gang
41:46aren't far behind
41:48the flames driving the two mortal enemies together
41:53the flames driving the two mortal enemies together
42:00for one final showdown
42:08showdown
42:09but back at the land
42:25you see
42:26the sandstone block filled with raptor bones
42:29and this one here
42:33has one last secret
42:34to reveal
42:35to reveal
42:36nice little jaw right there
42:39I see the teeth on that
42:42amazing thing is that all these delicate little teeth
42:45are all still in place in their sockets
42:47it's really remarkable to have it so well preserved
42:51such high levels of preservation
42:54so
42:55and certainly this
42:56you know still has the teeth included
42:58tell the team
42:59the bones have not been disturbed
43:01the block captures the very moment
43:05the raptors died
43:08and it's interesting that all the best preserved bones
43:12all seem to be in this sand
43:14yeah I suggest
43:16that sand is part of why they died
43:19why they're so well preserved
43:21although the sand is solid today
43:26Jim believes that when the raptors died
43:29it was liquid
43:32you know what killed them is what buried them
43:35given the geology of the setting
43:37most likely we're looking at mass mortality
43:40tied to quicksand
43:51not only the
44:00the
44:02the
44:03the
44:04the
44:05the
44:06the
44:12the
44:13the
44:14the
44:16Panicked, the raptors run into trouble.
44:46With the raptors out of the way, George has the chance to escape.
45:11But they're struggling.
45:31The very things that protected them from the raptors.
45:37Heavy armour and short, stocky legs mean George and the gang are too slow to escape the fire.
45:59One by one, the smoke takes its toll.
46:18Buried where they fell, the landscape is transformed around them.
46:37Layer upon layer of rock builds up as the aeons pass and the continents silently drift across
46:44the face of the earth until George and the gang are finally found.
46:51130 million years later.
46:58So, George and the gang are finally found, 130 million years later.
47:14Next time, T-Rex's lethal, faster cousin.
47:21A young hunter fighting for her place in the most ferocious pack on earth.
47:34A young hunter fighting for her place in the most ferocious pack on earth.
47:49A young hunter fighting for her place in the most ferocious pack on earth.
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