Lost Worlds: the Forgotten Creatures of Prehistory

Insects, birds, mammals... Where do they come from? Today, thanks to recent discoveries, scientists are recreating the missing pieces of evolution.

00:00 Who killed the giant insects?
49:56 The mystery of feathered dragons
01:40:27 The dawn of mammals

Directors: Emma Baus & Bertrand Loyer

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[bathory]

Just taking a moment to say that I really appreciate all of the artists, production members, paleontologists and other contributors to this project. Your work has not gone unnoticed.

[Aimu]

Thank you for uploading! Helped me forget my troubles even for a bit.

[mimimills]

Maybe some day a scientist will try to figure out why videos on YT get so many views and so few likes….it’s always disproportionate and they’re really good videos. Take a second to appreciate these videos people it’s really not that hard.

[unitorindustries]

With all the wars in the world these videos help me with my anxiety

[garmtpug]

An excellent documentary! I really enjoyed this!

[matthewjohnmoriarty]

The quality of this documentary is so high, thank you!

[LeeDee]

Even though some of these creatures are terrifying this documentary was quite soothing for some reason.

[PeterMaddison]

Nice to see a documentary on the other creatures of pre-history other than the usual dinosaurs.

[carolynallisee]

As I was watching the feathered dragons section, it struck me that the issue we have in determining if dinosaurs were cold or warm blooded, is the same issue we have with just about everything in Nature... in other words, we've been trying to fit everything in neat little boxes, nice and tidy, when nothing is meant to be treated this way.
We like to divide the animal life into two broad metabolic categories, cold blooded or warm blooded. Other designations are ectotherms (heated from the outside environment) or endotherms (heated from inside the body). I was taught at school that all invertebrates, fish, amphibians and reptiles were all cold blooded, and that birds and mammals were warm blooded. Fast forward forty or so years, and we now know things aren't as cut and dried as we thought. Great white sharks, supposedly cold blooded, keep parts of their bodies heated, albeit not quite to human body temperature. Hummingbirds, a 'warm-blooded creature' also allow their body temperatures to drop when resting, to reduce the energy they burn up, and therefore the amount of food they must eat.
Metabolic variations aren't the only natural phenomena we are learning are far more complicated than we originally thought. A totally different field of scientific study, that of plate tectonics, once portrayed as a simple, almost conveyor belt like process, has, in recent years shown it is anything but, with such processes as slab roll back and so on.
True, we are still learning things in so many different fields, some of which are still quite young subjects, relatively speaking. Yet this human impulse to have clearly defined categories in which to put things, and then to put everything into the right one, has been with us from the very beginning of our species. Until we learn to accept that nothing in Nature can really be compartmentalised the way we want, we are always going to struggle with things like the metabolism of dinosaurs!

[mbvoelker]

Really excellent!

I particularly loved the scenes where the wireframe animations would emerge from the fossils. Such a clever touch adding to the information being presented.

[MusiicRoolz]

this documentary was truly like stumbling across gold. the clear and informative explanations, and the quality animations - i especially liked the 3D figures coming to life in the present day, really brings it all into reality. thank you to all who participated in it and were part of its creation!

[deanfulford]

I wish we could find life on another planet in my lifetime

[AljhonRadaza]

Thank you for making me fall asleep. I've been suffering for insomnia.

[SpinoDragon]

You are a chad for uploading this and not the Ancient Earth version. THANK YOU!

[phoenixrising]

How did not one person not hear that baby crying EVER? That poor baby starved and suffered for days. There's no way that at minimum one person didn't know that baby was in there. I can't believe that. What I will never get over is how you have to prove you are capable of doing everything else in the world, except demonstrate basic parenting skills and how to take care of a baby. you need a license to drive, you need a certificate for this and a degree for that, but noone has to demonstrate one iota of a skill or competency to care for and rear a child. Absolutely Incredible!

[Michael-nhht]

A very informative and interesting video for anybody interested in ancient life forms. A superb video & put together in a very good way with many interesting discoveries of ancient life.

[bullesdarcenciel]

C'était hyper intéressant, j'ai pas vu le temps passer, je me suis régalée, merci beaucoup pour ce reportage de qualité qui debunk aussi pas mal de croyances que je pouvais avoir !

[chocolatefrenzieya]

I always love the animation of them coming out of the fossils. :)

[naturesmomentstv]

It's amazing to explore the creatures that once existed in the lost worlds of prehistory! 🦖🌍 These mysterious and unique beings make me wonder about the incredible diversity of life in the distant past. The stunning footage combined with fascinating information about how these species lived and vanished is truly captivating. It's like taking a mesmerizing journey back in time! ⏳🔍 Thank you, Best Documentary, for bringing a part of Earth's history that we rarely get to know! 🌟

[DownhillAllTheWay]

When birds sprang from the dinosaur, the Hoatzin didn't spring as far as most. It still has hooks on its wings to help it climb trees.
If you're interested in this stuff, and if you don't know about the Hoatzin, you should look it up. It is a modern bird, but doesn't fly particularly well, it is quite brightly coloured, but its most interesting features are its prehistoric ones that have not been evolved away.