Cruel Sea is the third episode in the Walking with Dinosaurs series.
This episode was mainly advised by the British Palaeontologist Dr. David Martill of Portsmouth university.
The filming locations are New Caledonia and The Bahamas.
Plot[]
149,000,000 BC - Late Jurassic - Oxfordshire
The Ophthalmosaurus breeding cycle is the main story of the episode, but sharks such as Hybodus and other predators, including Liopleurodon are seen, patrolling as threats to the Ichthyosaurs. The opening portrays a Liopleurodon snatching a Eustreptospondylus from the land, but there is no evidence of this ever occurring (according to the producers, they were influenced by similar attacks by killer whales on land creatures). A pod of Ophthalmosaurus arrive from the open ocean to birth. Many of the babies slip out successfully. But when one mother has trouble giving birth, a pair of Hybodus go after her, but are frightened off by a male Liopleurodon, which eats the front half of the Ophthalmosaurus, leaving the tail to sink down. Meanwhile a Eustreptospondylus swims to an island. It discovers a carcass and must fight another Eustreptospondylus for it, though the fight really consists of them roaring at each other. Later during the night, a group of horseshoe crabs gather at the shore to lay their eggs - each laying as many as 18,000 eggs - which attracts a flock of Rhamphorhynchus during the morning, however a small amount are caught and eaten by a Eustreptospondylus. While the Ophthalmosaurus juveniles are growing up, they are still hunted by the Hybodus, which in turn, are prey for the Liopleurodon. While a male Liopleurodon is hunting for prey, he is
A European island of the Late Jurassic seas.
encountered by a female Liopleurodon, and after biting one of her flippers, she retires to escape. In the end of the episode, a typhoon kills many Rhamphorhynchus. The episode however ends on a more positive note (mostly), as the male Liopleurodon still lives (actually, he died and was eaten by scavengers) it shows that the juvenile Ophthalmosaurus have survived the storm, and are now off to live and breed in the open sea. In the credits, the Narrator states that marine reptiles had been dominating the oceans in the age of Dinosaurs but, they disappear along with the Dinosaurs, 90 Million Years later. Today the only living marine reptiles are the sea turtles and found recently a young Hybodus.
Dinosaurs and sea creatures[]
- Liopleurodon
- Eustreptospondylus
- Hybodus
- Perisphinctes
- Cryptoclidus
- Ophthalmosaurus
- Rhamphorhynchus
- Horseshoe Crabs
Trivia[]
- This is the episode with the least dinosaurs. The only dinosaur depicted is Eustreptospondylus. All other creatures are either pterosaurs or sea creatures.
- A liopleurodon-like creature is depicted in the pilot of the Walking with Dinosaurs pilot. A Eustreptospondylus is also depicted in the pilot.
See Also[]
Cruel Sea Media