Australia: Monsters
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on April 23rd, 2013
Some 250 million years ago, some of the largest, most dangerous reptiles ruled this land. Airing April 24, 2013 at 9 pm on PBS
Perhaps some remain to this day… Megalania?
Watch Australia: Monsters Preview on PBS. See more from NOVA.
“Monsters” begins Down Under at the dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs. Host Richard Smith comes face-to-face with the previously unknown reptilian rulers of prehistoric Australia. NOVA resurrects the giants that stalked the Great Southern Land and discovers that some of these animals were among the largest ever to have walked the Earth. Others were some of the most dangerous. In the dry desert heart, scientists unearth an ancient inland ocean full of sea monsters. Opal fossils of some of these beasts paint a colorful picture of the exotic seascape, where long-necked plesiosaurs snacked on shelled creatures that grew as large as truck tires. The most fearsome was Kronosaurus, with a skull twice as long as T. rex. But reptiles didn’t have the world all to themselves. Mammals like the enigmatic platypus lived alongside them, ready for their moment in the sun.
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
I caught the pre-dinosaur episode last week, it was really engaging and just plain cool.
I don’t think anyone would describe Kronosaurus as a “long-necked plesiosaur.” Not to mention which I don’t think any one of the “long-necked plesiosaurs” had the equipment to “snack” on anything, much less anything with a shell, “as large as truck tires.”