Listed on this page are various animals that were cut from the show, scrapped for a variety of reasons (e.g. technological restrains, time, pacing, etc), or were possibly never seriously considered for the final product, leaving only proof of their existence in the form of official concept art or the statements of those involved in the making of Prehistoric Planet.
Animal genera that had a scrapped appearance but also ended up getting featured at some point in the final product will not be shown on this page. One example is Pachyrhinosaurus; while P. canadensis apparently had a cut role from the fifth segment of Forests based on official concept art made by Jaba Jurabaev,[JJ 1] P. perotorum did make an appearance in the sixth and final segment of Ice Worlds. Hence, the scrapped appearance of P. canadensis is explained on the animal's dedicated page rather than here.
It is best not to identify animals that cannot possibly or reasonably be identified (e.g. the Western Interior Seaway pterosaurs). If unidentified animals appear in a group, they are to be put under one section. It is only once an animal can be reasonably identified that it can be given its own section.
Coasts[]
Western Interior Seaway Pterosaurs[]
In the second segment of North America, the most recent episode of the main series, the durophagous mosasaur Globidens was featured hunting dozens of egg-bearing Sphenodiscus "tiger ammonites" during daytime. However, concept art for the fifth, penultimate segment of Coasts shows that it was supposed to do something similar in the very first episode of the series, going after bioluminescent scaphitids at night while they were engaged in their mating rituals, the last step in their brief lives before they lay their eggs and finally expire. These concept arts also reveal the presence of pterosaurs flying over the glowing ammonites of the Western Interior Seaway, possibly also hoping to capitalize on the opportunity to feed.[GS 1]
On another note, the second segment of the Oceans, featuring Hesperornis and Xiphactinus feeding from a bait ball (with the predatory fish eventually going after the birds, then the weaker individuals among themselves), was originally supposed to showcase a pod of Hydrotherosaurus being responsible for forcing several schools of fish into a bait ball, with some unidentified diving pterosaurs joining the feeding frenzy.[GS 2] They are either distinct from the pterosaurs planned for the fifth segment of Coasts, or simply an alternate design of the same animal.
Most known Western Interior Seaway pterosaurs lived during the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, 86 - 83 million years ago, beyond the mostly Maastrichtian time scope of the show (72 - 66 million years ago). Given that they were shown alongside Globidens, Hesperornis, Xiphactinus, and the similarly-scrapped Hydrotherosaurus, it is likely that these pterosaurs were intended to be animals that lived during the Maastrichtian stage as well, though what species they are, exactly, remains to be identified. It is also possible that these pterosaurs are not native residents of the coastal regions of the Western Interior Seaway, simply being visitors that traveled from one or more distant areas (in the same way that the North American Quetzalcoatlus flew to South Africa in the fourth segment of Freshwater), are members of an entirely speculative species, or were never seriously considered for the scene the concept arts depict them in.
Deserts[]
Cerro Fortaleza Pterosaur[]
Concept art for the Dreadnoughtus duel in the first segment of Deserts features an unknown pterosaur flying high above the sauropods.[1]
Currently, only one known pterosaur, Aerotitan sudamericanus, a Phosphatodraco-sized azhdarchid with a 5-meter (16-foot) wingspan,[2] is known to have lived in South America during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (the last known South American pterosaur before it, Argentinadraco barrealensis, lived 91 - 88 million years ago, during the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period). Aerotitan, like Dreadnoughtus, was discovered in Argentina, specifically in the Allen Formation of the La Pampa, Neuquén, and Río Negro Provinces, just thousands of kilometers northeast of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in the Santa Cruz Province where Dreadnoughtus lived in, thus, Aerotitan could have conceivably coexisted with the titanosaur, or at least encountered it in reasonably short-distance flights south of its established habitat. However, the head of the pterosaur in the concept art does not appear to match the known length and structure of azhdarchid skulls, hence, the animal cannot be identified with more certainty. As with the Western Interior Seaway pterosaurs above, it is also possible that the species in the concept art is not native to South America, having instead arrived from another continent (in the same way that the North American Quetzalcoatlus visited South Africa in the fourth segment of Freshwater), is an entirely speculative species, or was never seriously considered for the scene the concept art portrays it in.
Islands[]
Mahajangasuchus[]
Mahajangasuchus (Mahajanga Crocodile) is a "hippo-faced" crocodylomorph that lived in the in the Maevarano Formation of the Mahajanga Province (known as "Majunga" in French) in northwest Madagascar, 70 - 66 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period. It was 4 meters (13 feet) long,[3] with a robust skull and blunt, conical teeth, as well as a palate much like modern-day eusuchians, allowing it to resist torsional (twisting) stresses during feeding, an adaptation that may indicate that the animal was capable of the "death roll" maneuver that allows crocodiles to disorient and tear large chunks from their prey.[4]
Mahajangasuchus is part of a suborder of crocodylomorphs known as notosuchians. Most members of this group were small and sleek, standing upright on slender limbs, though some, like Simosuchus, have stouter builds. Both Mahajangasuchus and its relative, Kaprosuchus (Boar Crocodile, named for its unusual, boar-like canines) of the Cenomanian Echkar Formation of Niger, look more like conventional crocodilians compared to their notosuchian cousins, hence, within the notosuchian subgroup, these two species form the Mahajangasuchidae family. Both Mahajangasuchus and Kaprosuchus appear to be semiaquatic predators, with their platyrostrine (flat-snouted) skulls, eyes set far back on the head, and nostrils that point toward the back of the head.
Mahajangasuchus insignis was originally planned to show up in Islands, viciously attacking the female Majungasaurus, being responsible for the animal's injuries and blind left eye (with the experience likely playing a factor in why the bluffs of the Simosuchus, a significantly smaller and less-threatening crocodyliform, successfully held the predator at bay in the third segment of the episode). A prop was made for it, and the scene was already well into development before ultimately being abandoned due to constraints like time and manpower limitations.[DN 1]
Oceans[]
Dolichorhynchops[]
Dolichorhynchops (Long-nosed Face) is a polycotylid plesiosaur that was planned to be featured alongside Hesperornis according to concept art made by Gabriel Ugueto for the second segment of the Oceans.[GU 1] Polycotylids have previously been planned for Prehistoric Planet, as Dr. Darren Naish, the show's lead consultant, once revealed that there was a conceptualized scene for the first season involving polycotylids threatened by an underwater earthquake.[DN 2]
Polycotylids are plesiosaurs closely related to elasmosaurs, though, with their short necks and large heads, they more closely resemble the pliosaurs, a group of plesiosaurs that lived 228 - 89 million years ago, from the Rhaetian stage of the Late Triassic Period to the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period. Among the most notable is Dolichorhynchops, which lived in the Western Interior Seaway around 93.9 - 72.1 million years ago, from the Turonian to the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period. While recognized for its earlier, smaller species (which grew to an average of 3 meters, or 10 feet, in length), the one meant to be featured in the second segment of the Oceans is likely the last and largest species, Dolichorhynchops bonneri of the Pierre Shale of Wyoming, which, based on its skull (around a meter, or 3 feet and 4 inches, in length), could grow up to 5.1 meters (16 feet, 9 inches) in length, being around the size of the durophagous mosasaur Globidens.
In 2016, a Hesperornis leg bone discovered in the Pierre Shale in the 1960s was examined. It bore bite marks left by a polycotylid, possibly a young Dolichorhynchops. Despite suffering grievous injuries, the bird, a juvenile by the time of the attack, managed to escape from its hunter's grip, endure the resulting infection to its condyle, and continue growing until it reached skeletal maturity. This proved to be an exceptional discovery, for not only does it preserve a predator-prey relationship, but it also showcases the unexpected survival of Hesperornis into adulthood, a rare, unlikely outcome for supposedly-frail organisms like birds.[5] Given that Dolichorhynchops appears to have originally been planned to appear alongside Hesperornis in the second segment of Oceans, it is possible that Prehistoric Planet had, at one point, intended to reference the evidence that polycotylids preyed on Hesperornis.
Hydrotherosaurus[]
Hydrotherosaurus (Water Beast Lizard) is a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur that lived in the Morena Formation of Fresno County, California, USA, 70 - 66 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period. It was a moderately-sized elasmosaur, around 8 meters (26 feet) long and 1.1 metric tons (2.2 short tons) in weight. It had a 33-centimeter (13-inch) head and a 4-meter (13-foot) neck with 60 vertebrae, almost half as long as the longest neck of any plesiosaur, Albertonectes, which has an 8-meter (26-foot) neck with 76 vertebrae.
The second segment of the Oceans, featuring Hesperornis and Xiphactinus feeding from a bait ball (with the predatory fish eventually going after the birds, then the weaker individuals among themselves), was originally supposed to showcase a pod of Hydrotherosaurus alexandrae being responsible for forcing several schools of fish into a bait ball, with some unidentified diving pterosaurs joining the feeding frenzy.[GS 2]
References[]
General[]
- ↑ Prehistoric Planet concept art made by Jellyfish Pictures
- ↑ A New Large Pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia
- ↑ Late Cretaceous Terrestrial Vertebrates from Madagascar: Implications for Latin American Biogeography
- ↑ Mahajangasuchus insignis (Crocodyliformes: Mesoeucrocodylia) cranial anatomy and new data on the origin of the eusuchian-style palate
- ↑ Hesperornis escapes plesiosaur attack
Dr. Darren Naish[]
- ↑ There was a prop made for Mahajangasuchus, which was originally planned to be shown attacking the Majungasaurus seen in Islands, being responsible for its injuries, though this plan was abandoned due to limitations like time and manpower constraints.
- ↑ There was an unmade scene involving polycotylids threatened by seismic activity in the deep sea.
Gaëlle Seguillon[]
Gabriel Ugueto[]
Jama Jurabaev[]
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| Season 1 | |
| Coasts | |
| Deserts | |
| Freshwater | |
| Ice Worlds |
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| Forests | |
| Season 2 | |
| Islands | |
| Badlands | |
| Swamps | |
| Oceans | |
| North America |
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| Miscellaneous | |
| Uncovered Only |
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| Scrapped | |