00:11125 million years ago, winter rages across the north.
00:26Entire species have been pushed to the brink.
00:40Even the largest dinosaurs are unable to endure this cold.
00:52Like these sauropods migrating south.
01:04Weta came early this year and caught them off guard.
01:19With hundreds of kilometers ahead of them, this time it will be an especially harsh journey.
01:33But the bitter cold is not the only danger in this frozen land.
01:42There is a much greater threat here in these woods.
02:06Euteranus, the snow king.
02:13An early relative of T-Rex.
02:20With a thick, insulating coat of feathers, he's perfectly adapted for life in a world this cold.
02:36But his feathers also serve a more sinister purpose.
02:47Camouflage.
02:48Camouflage.
02:49The ultimate weapon for an ambush hunter.
02:53Camouflage.
03:04Camouflage.
03:05Valor erm!
03:16With silent precision, he picks out the smallest member of the herd.
03:52In a savage, ever-changing world, some will rise, and some will fall.
04:06But through it all, the dinosaurs will expand their empire and advance relentlessly to seize Earth's final frontiers.
04:46In a savage, ever-changing world, some will rise, and some will rise, and some will rise, and some will
04:57rise.
05:09To be continued...
05:47It's a new age for life on Earth.
05:52An age of extremes.
05:56New worlds are forming that will give rise to the most famous dinosaurs of all time.
06:10The North is still gripped by cold.
06:23Earth's most violent forces are staring once again.
06:33Volcanoes seethe and fume, warming the planet.
06:52But some will pay a price for this warmer world.
06:57What?
07:45As global temperatures continue to rise, the snow and ice all but disappear.
08:00Huge meltwater rivers tear through the land.
08:11This thawing of the north is expanding the dinosaur's empire even further.
08:20And in surprising new ways.
08:30In this fresh, fertile landscape, sauropods no longer need to migrate.
08:39But it's also a new world for one of the dinosaur's oldest rivals.
08:48The pterosaurs.
08:52They are now bigger and badder than ever.
09:01Including Gwydrako, the ghost dragon.
09:13But he's an intruder here.
09:21Because these trees are the home of Longipteryx.
09:28A new kind of dinosaur.
09:31Less than 20 centimeters tall.
09:35But highly territorial.
09:38Especially during nesting season.
09:56They're also equipped to take on the pterosaurs.
10:03Now they, too, can fly.
10:16In a previous era, flying dinosaurs like Ancyonis could only glide.
10:25Now they're able to flap their wings and maneuver with precision to strike at their enemies.
10:43They're fast and fearless.
10:58It only gets worse for the tiring pterosaur.
11:04Because Longipteryx are distant cousins of Eutyranus, the Snow King.
11:12They're armed with the teeth.
11:23After ruling the skies since the Triassic, pterosaurs are now being matched by the dinosaurs.
11:41But as the dinosaurs fight to expand their empire into the air, an even greater revolution lies ahead.
12:01Not in the mountains.
12:04Not in the mountains, or the skies, or the oceans.
12:08Not in the mountains.
12:09The biggest twist in Earth's tail is unfolding quietly.
12:16Almost in secret.
12:18Not in secret.
12:19Not in secret.
12:22Not in secret.
12:23Not in secret.
12:26Not in secret.
12:28Not in secret.
12:40Not in secret.
12:41Not in secret.
12:41Not in secret.
12:42Not in secret.
12:44Not in secret.
12:45Not in secret.
12:46Not in secret.
12:47Not in secret.
12:49and a vast and diverse new generation of plants.
12:57And they will become a phenomenon with the help of a close ally.
13:11Beetles.
13:14They carry pollen from one flower to the next.
13:25Nature's most reliable delivery service.
13:35Helping these new plants spread far and wide across the globe.
13:46Transforming the dinosaur's empire.
14:02But this new generation of plants has a dark side.
14:15While they need to attract pollinators,
14:19many are also evolved to repel herbivores.
14:27With spines, thorns, and poisons.
14:40Nature's defensive weapons.
14:48This green revolution changes everything for the plant-eating dinosaurs.
14:58Including the great stegosaurs.
15:11They are herd animals by nature.
15:15But this young stegosaur, barely two years old, is all alone.
15:29She is the last of her herd.
15:42She is the last of her herd.
15:44To eat these tougher new plants requires a mouth that can chew food.
15:50in a way her primitive jaw cannot.
16:01She's starving.
16:14She's starving.
16:17She's starving.
16:18These once great herbivores are unable to adapt to this new world.
16:31It's one reason why their 50 million year existence will come to an end, extinction.
16:49But in the wake of the stegosaur's demise, a new era will emerge.
17:01Over the next 15 million years, these new plants evolve and diversify, spreading across the
17:12planet and ever further into the dinosaur's empire.
17:26The Green Revolution now covers the globe.
17:32And not just the land, but the water as well.
17:42Even providing cover and food for underwater explorers.
17:54Like ankylosaurs.
18:17This bathing beauty is a different kind of dinosaur.
18:29He's a plant eater, like the stegosaurs, but a fancier one, much fancier.
18:44Because unlike the stegosaurs, his advanced jaw can crush food in a way that makes eating
18:54any kind of plant easy.
18:59It's the perfect adaptation for this diverse new world.
19:12He wants to take full advantage of all this great kingdom has to offer.
19:20And he has a plan.
19:31It's a long trek, but the journey is worth it.
19:57This is the one place where he can truly be himself.
20:13His passion is singing.
20:23He even has special olives in his snout that amplify his song.
20:34So it can be heard far and wide.
20:38It's his own time.
21:01It's just a very good day.
21:07But I think I think you've lost a lot of years on the schedule.
21:21a female has answered his call it's time to charm her with his deep sultry humming
21:39then he shows her his stylish armor
21:54it's all very persuasive
22:17their fancy attire does have some drawbacks mind you
22:26on the whole of the loan heavy armor and an improved jaw are setting them up for success
22:40but what no dinosaur could possibly know is that their empire has been gradually shrinking
22:54hidden below the waves
22:58this world once ruled by dinosaurs
23:05is now completely out of their reach
23:16and there's a reason
23:22at the very bottom of the ocean
23:26a slow imperceptible shift
23:33reshaping the planet
23:42the seabed is fracturing
23:46from an endless progression of eruptions
23:54the
24:15herds tectonic plates
24:18shifting
24:20breaking apart the ocean floor
24:24lifting it higher
24:26over millions of years
24:32the water above has nowhere else to go
24:36but up
24:40by the middle of the cretaceous sea levels reach their highest point in history
24:47over 200 meters higher than they are today
25:08the rising oceans repaint the map of the world
25:13the rising entire land masses
25:20the continent of europe is reduced to a giant archipelago
25:27that includes the isle of hatzig
25:35where isolation and evolution have created a kind of
25:41neverland for the dinosaurs
25:45a world where normal rules don't apply
25:54this is the home of magyarosaurus
26:00a sauropod
26:05and like other sauropods
26:08he uses his long neck
26:10to reach the highest vegetation
26:23thing is
26:26this vegetation is only two meters tall
26:31which makes magyarosaurus about the size
26:36of a pony
26:37and like other
26:38and like other
26:52on hatzig where there's limited space and food
26:58sometimes smaller is better
27:17But unlike Megiarosaurus, for predators, bigger is still better.
27:39As tall as a giraffe, one of the largest pterosaurs to ever live, the nightmare Hatsygopteryx.
27:59She's flown to this island to feed on dinosaurs.
28:15The youngest member of the herd gets separated.
28:26But it won't be an easy catch.
28:31Unlike his giant cousins, he's white on his feet.
29:02But being this small, he can't see the others.
29:14They found a safe hiding spot, perfect for their size.
29:20No.
29:22No.
29:30No.
29:33No.
29:38No.
29:42No.
29:51I don't know.
30:13I don't know.
30:46I don't know.
31:02The tiny dinosaurs trapped on an island.
31:07There's nowhere else to go.
31:09I don't know.
31:39Ninety-six million years ago, sea levels are close to the highest they've ever been, creating a water world that
31:59no dinosaur has dared to enter.
32:09But that's about to change.
32:25Lurking in this mangrove swamp...
32:28Is a carnivore that has specially evolved to take on the final frontier.
32:46A dinosaur pioneer.
33:02Spinosaurus.
33:10The largest predator to ever walk the earth.
33:19At 15 meters long, she's bigger than a school bus.
33:31The forest provides plenty of prey.
33:38But another reason she's gotten this big is because of where she goes to escape the gloom of the swamp.
34:04Here, the high sea levels have turned the oceans into a new hunting ground for the dinosaurs.
34:13Where bigger is definitely better.
34:44Spinosaurus is adapted to a planet that is now molecular.
34:47Spinosaurus is adapted to the sea.
34:48And the most likely ocean.
34:51And in this age, some of the largest prey is here in the water.
35:19In a flat-out chase between a shark and a giant dog-paddling dinosaur,
35:25the shark will always win.
35:32But there's more to Spinosaurus than meets the eye.
35:44Dinosaurs aren't just becoming bigger.
35:48Some are cunning, too.
35:51She's going to make the sharks come to her.
36:06Her snout is wired with sensors that can detect the slightest movement.
36:16Now, all she needs to do is keep completely still.
36:38The best hunters are the patient ones.
36:45And her patience is starting to pay off.
36:56The blood in the water is drawing the sharks closer.
37:00well, it's not enough.
37:44She doesn't move.
37:50She knows how this game is played.
38:13Brains and brawn, a killer combination that is finally letting the dinosaurs get a foothold
38:25in the ocean.
38:36Their reach is now global and extends to the very ends of the earth, to what will one day
38:50be Antarctica.
39:01While Spinosaurus is stalking the shallow seas and the tropics, the world's southernmost landmass
39:11is not the frozen wilderness we know today.
39:16It's a green, flourishing Eden, where even in the dark, evolution is lighting the way.
39:41And thriving in the darkness are the dinosaurs.
39:59By this stage in the late Cretaceous, their empire is so vast that they now dominate every continent
40:09on earth.
40:19And yet, while their reign is global, and their rule almost unchallenged, their story will take
40:35a dark turn.
41:05There is the place of escape in the dark at night.
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