Life on Earth
Life on Earth: A Natural History by David Attenborough is a BBC nature documentary series about a study of the evolution of life on the planet. The series consists of thirteen episodes and begins with David Attenborough's opening narration: "There are some four million different kinds of animals and plants in the world.
Four million different solutions to the problems of staying alive. This is the story of how a few of them came to be as they are." The first episode is devoted to illustrating the diversity and origins of life on Earth. And then through the next 12 episodes the series looks at the evolution of living creatures including
the sea-living creatures, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, primates and humans.
Episode 05 - The Conquest of the Waters. This episode looks at the evolution of fish. They have developed a multitude of shapes, sizes and methods of propulsion and navigation. The sea squirt,
the lancelet and the lamprey are given as examples of the earliest, simplest types. Then, about 400 million years ago, the first back-boned fish appeared. The Kimberley Ranges of Western Australia are,
in fact, the remnants of a coral reef and the ancient seabed. There, Attenborough discovers fossils of the earliest fish to have developed jaws.
(from wikipedia.org)
| Episode 05 - The Conquest of the Waters |
Go to Life on Earth Home or watch other episodes: