• 1989
  • 2h 36m
Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives

Summary David Attenborough's comprehensive study of fossils, which give many clues to how life existed on pre-historic Earth. View more details

  • 1989
  • 2h 36m

Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives

Directed : Unknown

Written : Unknown

Stars : David Attenborough

All cast & crew

8.4

Details

Genres : Documentary

Release date : Apr 22, 1989

Countries of origin : United Kingdom

Official sites : BBC Two BBC Two United Kingdom

Language : English

Production companies : Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) BBC Bristol

Summary David Attenborough's comprehensive study of fossils, which give many clues to how life existed on pre-historic Earth. View more details

Details

Genres : Documentary

Release date : Apr 22, 1989

Countries of origin : United Kingdom

Official sites : BBC Two BBC Two United Kingdom

Language : English

Production companies : Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) BBC Bristol

Photos

Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives (1989) Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives (1989) Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives (1989) Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives (1989) Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives (1989) Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives (1989) Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives (1989)

Episodes

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Episode 1 • Apr 22, 1989
Magic in the Rocks
In the first of this four-part BBC series, David Attenborough shows us how ancient creatures have come to be preserved as fossils and how those fossils can shed light on characteristics of these creatures' lives, and even their death. He further demonstrates how scientists use a variety of ingenious methods to extract once living creatures and plants from their rocky tombs.
Episode 2 • Apr 29, 1989
Putting Flesh on Bone
Using modern day creatures for comparison, scientists theorize what prehistoric animal traits seen within fossilized remains might have been used for during their period. Teaming together with aeronautical engineers, the Smithsonian Institution commissions a scale replica of a pterosaur to determine its flight capabilities.
Episode 3 • May 06, 1989
Dinosaur
Attenborough visits several museums of natural history. With the aid of dinosaur skeletons, he demonstrates how they existed in real life, and speculates about the reasons for their sudden demise.
Episode 4 • May 13, 1989
The Rare Glimpses
In this final installment to the series, David Attenborough travels to four unique locations about the globe where an abundance of fossilized plant and animal remains have given us a detailed picture of what life could have been like in prehistoric times. Each of the sites experienced its own set of circumstances which enabled it to preserve many perfect specimens for extraction and analysis. Piecing together the collected evidence, paleontologists have been able to determine early animal hierarchies, their diets and their evolutionary paths.

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