Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Predators of the Deep - Hardcover

Marven, Nigel; James, Jasper

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0563488980 ISBN 13: 9780563488989

Publisher: BBC Books, 2003

Synopsis

In prehistoric times there existed creatures bigger and often fiercer than dinosaurs, whose exploits have inspired more terrifying legends than any other group of animals. Their watery home has kept them hidden from view - until now. Following on from "Walking with Dinosaurs" and "Walking with Beasts", "Sea Monsters" once again recreates the prehistoric world, giving us an insight into the underwater environment of that time and the strange and fascinating creatures that dwelt there. The leading wildlife television presenter, Nigel Marven, explores their world through a series of "encounters", where he dives deep into the past and swims with these extraordinary reptiles and mammals. From the fearsome hunter, Liopleurodon, one of the biggest predators that ever existed, to Megalograptus, the most vicious of the spiny sea scorpions, the deadly prehistoric seas are vividly brought to life as we see these creatures through Nigel's eyes. Some of the ancestors of these predators exist today, but even the great white shark and blue whale cannot come close in threat and size to these prehistoric species. Illustrated boxes describe the latest scientific evidence that led to the reconstruction of these creatures, with details of the modern sites, from New York to Egypt, where water once covered the land.

About this title

Review

Sea Monsters is the book version of the latest offering from the BBC TV "Walking With" series, except that this one is really "Diving with Sea Monsters". It has all the ingredients we have come to expect, especially the superb computer graphics that really bring these extinct beasts to life and the numerous gobsmacking colour plates. The sleek bodies of these sea creatures lend themselves particularly well to the technique. They look extraordinarily convincing as they have a go at presenter Nigel Marven in his armoured diving suit and metal cage.

Written by the well-known TV presenter Nigel Marven and producer/director Jasper James, Sea Monsters tells the story of a huge range of extinct beasts from Ordovician times, through some 450 million years of geological time and the evolution of marine life. Although the first life on Earth was aquatic, for the first four billion and more years it was all microscopic. About 600 million years ago sea creatures began to get bigger but none of them was anything much more than a metre in length until Ordovician and Silurian times when the marine arms race began with both predators and prey increasing significantly in size. Things got really interesting in Devonian times when some bizarre fish evolved as active predators including the spectacularly ferocious nine-metre long Dunkleosteus. This magnificent creature had tough bony armoured plates all over its head and blades of bone instead of teeth.

Life in the seas has been dangerous ever since, as successions of large predatory sharks, bony fish, marine reptiles and mammals have evolved and replaced one another. Today's great white shark might have notoriety as an awesome predator but it is small beer compared with Liopleurodon, the 20-metre or so marine reptile of Jurassic times or the more recent shark Megalodon whose teeth were palm sized and whose jaws opened to around 2.5 metres wide. It's all spendidly bloodthirsty stuff for children of any age from 9 to 99. --Douglas Palmer

About the Author

Nigel Marven is one of the UK’s leading wildlife television producers and presenters. Following a degree in botany and zoology at Bristol University, he joined the BBC TV Natural History Unit in 1984, where he worked on a wide range of programmes, including the highly praised Supersense series. He has produced and directed many wildlife films, including part of David Attenborough’s acclaimed Life of Birds series, as well as Incredible Journeys and Giants, for which he also wrote the accompanying books. Nigel began to appear in front of the camera in 1998 and, most recently, presented the Walking with Dinosaurs specials, The Giant Claw and Land of giants.

After working on series as diverse as Food and Drink and The World, Jasper James joined BBC TV Science in 1993, as a director on BBC 1’s flagship topical science programme, Tomorrow’s World, and went on to produce the weekly show. Jasper joined the Walking with Dinosaurs team in 1997. Collaborating with Tim Haines, the creator, he produced and directed the accompanying documentary, Walking with Dinosaurs – The Making of, and was series producer for Walking with Beasts. In December 2001, Jasper and Tim set up their own production company, Impossible Pictures, and are now concentrating on producing Walking with Dinosaurs specials, including the Sea Monsters series.

Edition details

• Publisher: BBC Books
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0563488980
• ISBN 13: 9780563488989
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 168