Preguntas Frecuentes

No, it definitely isn't. The creators were likely not aiming to represent the descent of the depicted animals as it really happened, instead they only used the various species as general representatives of certain evolutionary "phases". For instance, they show the small reptile Petrolacosaurus evolving into the synapsid Edaphosaurus, even though it has been known long before the series' production that these two weren't related and belonged to separate evolutionary lineages. However, it is true that animals similar in body-built to Petrolacosaurus evolved over time into animals like Edaphosaurus.

Likewise, the development of numerous important anatomical features, such as jaws or legs, is mostly glossed over and it isn't explained why or exactly how they formed. The series is geared more towards entertainment than education.

Many prehistoric animals appear without being named or properly identified by the narrator. These are:

Episode 1:

* The trilobites scuttling along the sea-floor in the Cambrian segment are Redlichiida.

* The animal identified by the narrator as an orthocone in the Silurian part is Cameroceras.

* The shark in the Devonian segment is Stethacanthus.

Episode 2:

* The large amphibians in the Carboniferous segment are Proterogyrinus.

* The mesothelae spider was originally called Megarachne, until it turned out during production that Megarachne wasn't a spider at all. No spider similar to the one depicted in the episode is yet known.

* In the Permian segment, the amphibian trying to steal Dimetrodon's eggs is Seymouria.

Episode 3:

* The gorgonopsid most closely resembles the genus Inostrancevia, though the tie-in book identifies it as Gorgonops.

* The labyrinthodont is Rhinesuchus.

* In the Triassic segment, the crocodile-like chasmatosaurus are Proterosuchus.

* The animals identified as therocephalians are most likely Euchambersia.

* The Euparkeria is shown fast-evolving into an Allosaurus at the end of the episode. It briefly takes on the visage of the large allosaur specimen from El mundo perdido (2001) (another BBC production), which some people think is actually an Epanterias.