When Dinosaurs Roamed America

"When Dinosaurs Roamed America" is a two-hour American television program (produced in the style of a traditional nature documentary) that first aired on Discovery Channel in 2001. It was directed by Pierre de Lespinois and narrated by actor John Goodman. The dinosaurs were designed by Paleo-artist and art director Mark Dubeau, who is also noted for creating dinosaurs on a myriad of other discovery Channel and National Geographic specials. The dinosaur animation was directed by noted animator Don Waller ("RoboCop", "King Kong") at Meteor Studios, in Montreal, Canada.

ynopsis

Late Triassic segment (220 million years ago)

Animals featured:
*"Coelophysis"
*"Rutiodon"
*"Desmatosuchus" [Repeatedly mispronounced in the narration as "Demastosuchus".]
*"Icarosaurus"
*"Traversodon"
*Unidentified small mammal (live-acted by an Eastern Quoll)
*locust (animated)The program starts in the Late Triassic, near modern-day New York City. The narrator explains how the "Permian mass extinction" led to new forms of life, including, eventually, the most extraordinary creatures ever to walk the planet, the dinosaurs. The camera tracks a "Coelophysis" through the woods. The program decipts "Coelophysis" as preying mainly on small animals, such as insects and "Icarosaurus". It encounters other, larger non-dinosaurian archosaurs such as "Rutiodon" and "Desmatosuchus" (incorrectly stated as "Demastosuchus".) The quick "Coelophysis" is portrayed as a very successful inhabitant of this world.

Early Jurassic segment (200 million years ago)

Animals featured:
*"Syntarsus ["Syntarsus" is correctly known as "Megapnosaurus" today.]
*"Anchisaurus" [The "Anchisaurus" was shown as being much larger than real life, looking more like a "Massospondylus".]
*"Dilophosaurus"The program moves on to the Early Jurassic of Pennsylvania, showing a pack of "Syntarsus".These dinosaurs, closely related to "Coelophysis," are hunting for the primitive herbivorous dinosaur "Anchisaurus", only to be driven away by a "Dilophosaurus", which kills the "Anchisaurus" to feed it's young. The narrator then explains Dilophosaurus and Syntarsus will become the gigantic carnivores such as Allosaurus and T-rex, while Anchisaurus will become the sauropods.

Late Jurassic segment (150 million years ago)

Animals featured:
*"Ceratosaurus"
*"Allosaurus"
*"Apatosaurus"
*"Dryosaurus"
*"Stegosaurus"
*"Camarasaurus"
*Unidentified rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurThe show skips to the Late Jurassic, where a pterosaur soars while a "Ceratosaurus" chases a "Dryosaurus" and its two young. The "Ceratosaurus" catches one of the juveniles, while the other "Dryosaurus" escape to the cover of a herd of "Camarasaurus", feeding on the sauropods' conifer tree scraps that fall to the ground. The "Ceratosaurus" disturbs a "Stegosaurus" and gets whipped by its tail. Two "Stegosaurus" eventually mate. As the rainy season comes, a herd of "Apatosaurus" arrive, followed by a hungry "Allosaurus". The "Allosaurus" cannot get past the "Apatosaurus"'s whipping tails, but it manages to catch and eat the "Ceratosaurus", still pursuing the "Dryosaurus". Later, as the "Apatosaurus" leave the area, one "Apatosaurus" stumbles. Disabled, it is an easy meal for a small group of "Allosaurus".

Middle Cretaceous segment (90 million years ago)

*Unidentified dromaeosaurids
*"Nothronychus"
*"Zuniceratops"
*Un-named coelurosaurs [These animals are based on an as yet undescribed basal coelurosaur from the Moreno Hill Formation. [http://www.arizonamuseumofnaturalhistory.org/exhibits/dinohall/theropods.aspx] ] The program then shows a New Mexico forest of the Middle Cretaceous. Small predatory coelurosaurs scamper through the forest among larger herbivorous dinosaurs. One lone dromaeosaur [referred to as "raptors" by the narrator, a non-scientific term for that family popularized by "Jurassic Park"] tries to attack a "Nothronychus", only to be slashed by its long claws. An old male "Zuniceratops" is attacked by the pack of dromaeosaurs and is fatally wounded. Just as it is time to finish off the old "Zuniceratops", a forest fire springs up, and most of the dinosaurs escape in all directions. However, the feasting dromaeosaurs are too distracted and become trapped in the fire.

Late Cretaceous segment (65 million years ago)

*"Tyrannosaurus"
*"Triceratops"
*"Anatotitan" [Repeatedly mispronounced in the narration as "Anatatotitan".]
*"Quetzalcoatlus"
*"Ornithomimus" (not identified, revealed on website)
*"Purgatorius" (live-acted by opossums)
*spider (live-acted)The program explains that dinosaurs similar to "Zuniceratops" evolved into the famous "Triceratops". In the Late Cretaceous, "Anatotitan" and "Triceratops" graze, while "Ornithomimus" peck at small animals in the grasses. "Quetzalcoatlus" soar overhead, looking for carcasses. A young "Tyrannosaurus" arrives on the scene, and the "Triceratops" form a defensive circle. Unable to get past the horns of the "Triceratops", the "Tyrannosaurus" attacks a "Quetzalcoatlus", which flies away from the potential danger. The next day, the young "Tyrannosaurus" and its siblings are taught by their mother to hunt. They target an "Anatotitan", with the young scaring it into the mother's trap. The T-rex kills the Anatotitan. Before they can eat, an asteroid smashes into the Gulf of Mexico, engulfing the family of T-rex in a wall of swirling wood, soil, ash, water, and other debris. Soon, the T-rex family dies and becomes a fossil.Despite the depressing and traumatic event, life is described as being resilient, and a turtle is shown emerging from the ground and bird flies overhead, explained by the narrator as the "only" dinosaurs left. Out of the ashes, several small possumlike mammals emerge, and the narrator explains that small mammals such as these will eventually evolve into humans and wonder about a time when "dinosaurs roamed america".

Close-up shots

The show has a number of close-up examinations of the dinosaur body structure. They include:
*"Coelophysis" general skeletal features
*"Anchisaurus" and "Syntarsus" general skeletal features and mutual differences
*"Camarasaurus" digestive system and neck structure
*"Apatosaurus" backbone structure
*"The Raptors" body features - talons, claws, skull, tail, etc.
*"Quetzalcoatlus" wing structure
*"Tyrannosaurus" body features - skull, legs, ribs, forelegs, etc.
*"Anatotitan" jaws and teeth structure

Notes