Mesozoic Mind's Walking with Dinosaurs fan remake: 2nd Anniversary Special

Two years. Two years at Mesozoic Mind, through ups and downs and bringing you the best I could give you, and expanded my horizons in life, to go where I could only dream of. To celebrate, here's what I made for all of you readers as a gift: remaking Walking with Dinosaurs for the 21st century as I'd do it.

Yeah, I know, people stopped doing this kind of thing years ago, but what the heck, I wanted to do it myself, and I only really do the big ones for special occasions like these.

The episodes would be quite different from the origials in setting, but would stil have enough rocognisable creature archtypes and plot beats to show which corresponds to which. Although I still see fit to tell you which is which.

Also, please forgive any anachronisms in the lineups I have created. I tried my best to avoid them.

Also also, the pictures used here serve to get an idea of what things would feel or look like, not be direct representations.

Episode One - Archosauria

Art by Olmagon

Set in the Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina 228 million years ago, Archosauria covers the general formation and its fauna, from the perspective of a gravid Panphagia as looks for place to raise its eggs and chicks and doing so once it does find one.

• Panphagia protos, a little dinosaur of the saurischian subclade, with a taste for just about anything it can swallow and get its claws on., and dwells in flocks. 
• Panphagia would be the partial equivalent to the Coelophysis in the episode, being the fleet-footed early dinosaur we follow, living in a world the dinosaurs do not dominate. True to its name, diet would play a major part in its depiction, seen eating both plants and animals.
• Saurosuchus galilei, a large crocodilian and top predator of the region. 
• Equivalent to the Postosuchus, only not as portrayed as negatively and as a more active and capable hunter, not to mention less “antagonistic” to the dinosaurs, we even see one that’s a mother tending it’s own hatchlings.
• Jachaleria colorata, a grazing dicynodont.
• Equivalent to the Placerias, but treated as a succesful creature among others rathen then big dumb and on their way out.
• Sillosuchus longicervix, a long-necked poposaur. Inspired by the specimen PVL 2472, its depicted as a 9.6 metre giant that dwarfs even Saurosuchus, an example of how even the crocodilians could be just as spectacular as the dinosaurs would be.
• Rough equivelent to the Plateosaurus, being a big long-necked herbivore that towers over everything else.
• Aetosauroides scagliai, an aetosaur (obviously/s) and a herbivore. The creature would be seen browsing alongside the Jachaleria, Pisanosaurus, and Sillosuchus, as well as defending itself when the Saurosuchus tries to ambush a stray from the mixed herd.
• Chiniquodon sanjuanensis and Hyperodapedon sanjuanensis, a cynodont and a rhynchosaur respectively. Both can create latge burrows, even sharing them.
• Equivalent to the Chinle cynodont, right down to it being antagonised by one of the dinosaurs and one of them getting eaten by it.
• Pisanosaurus mertii, a relative of the dinosaurs known as a silesaur. Occasionally seen throughout the episode browsing and being prey to the Saurosuchus.
• Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis, a bigger carnivore and very distant relative of Panphagia. It’s only alluded to and would not be seen until the “climax” to hunt the Panphagia, revealing that not all dinosaurs were that small at the very start of the mesozoic.
• It's also sharing the slot for Coelophysis in being the early carnivore.

Unlike New Blood, Archosauria will not push a dinosaur supremacy viewpoint in it's story, but present dinosaurs as just another group in the greater ecosystem of the Triassic of bizarre basal archosaurs and synapsids, and so the other archosaurs and synapsids aren’t treated as primitive and on their way to extinction.

Episode Two - Dawn of the Giants

Art by Olmagon

A clutch of Ledumahadi hatch, and a male is tracked as they grow up and try to survive to adulthood in the harsh Elliot Formation of southern Africa 200 million years ago, having to dodge predators and harsh conditions alike to grow to adulthood and become the largest creatures around.

• Ledumahadi mafube, a very large sauropodomorph for the time and place (15 metres long), that all but one theropods in the Karoo can take down as adults.
• Heterodontosaurus tucki, an early cerapod dinosaur. Seen throughout the episode, with its teeth as a highlight, whether chewing or using it for fighting other members of its species of biting in self-defense against predators.
• Much like Othnelia in role, only expanded beyond mere cameos.
• Massospondylus carinatus, another, smaller sauropodomorph (4-5 m long) that walks on two legs rather then on all fours.
• They serve as the bipedal representative for sauropodomorphs in the episode.
• Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis, a small theropod that can and will hunt baby sauropodomorphs or anything it can swallow.
• Equivalent to the Ornitholestes in the role.
• Kayentapus ambrokholohali, AKA "the Elliot Tyrant", a neotheropod dinosaur and the largest theropod in the ecosystem, the only creature that can fell a Ledumahadi. 
• Although only an ichnotaxon and thus only known from trackways, if Prehistoric Planet get away with featuring one, why not me? It was even worth replacing the smaller Dracovenator, sibce it will serve as more of a threat to the Ledumahadi. It's the equivalent to the Allosaurus, being the large theropod that eats the sauropodomorphs.
• Megazostrodon rudnerae, a tiny mammaliaform seen sporadically throughout the episode, generally being the observer or observee of dinosaurs and being eaten by the Megapnosaurus, but there is a scene where its chewing jaws come into play.

The Early Jurassic was left under represented by both the Trilogy of Life and in other documentaries, so I decided to change that. Plotwise it is a version of Time of the Titans, on focusing on the growth of a sauropod (or an -omorph in this case) from birth to adulthood, just on a smaller scale.

Episode Three - In the Shadow of the Giant

Art by Bob Nicholls.

An episode set in mid-Jurassic China. We follow what lives in the territory of a Mamenchisaurus bull, in particular a mated couple of Guanlong tending their chicks and hunting for them. It culminates in a devastating volcanic eruption everyone has to escape. Set in the Shishugou Formation, with a few members from the Tiaojishan in there too.

• Guanlong wucaii, a little coelurosaur theropod with a crest, notable in the long run for giving rise to a certain group, but for now is beneath the allosauroids as small ones. A male and female are the focus for the episode, nesting in the skeleton of a deceased sauropod.
• Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum, a very big sauropod. While not the main focus of the episode, it certainly plays a big part in it, as we see how it impacts the ecosystem around themselves.
• Equivalent to both sauropods from Time of the Titans.
• Yinlong downsi, a little beaked dinosaur that like Guanlong, that's evolutionarily significant as one of the first of its kind.
• Limusaurus inextricabilis, a small beaked ceratosauroid theropod that’s a common small herbivore and prey item in the region. 
• Both it and the Yinlong are equivalent to the “Othnelia”, the small ornithischians of the ecosystem that spread seeds and vegetation but also get chased by predators.
• Yi qi and Caihong juji, two theropods that have both dabbled in flight in different ways: the former has membranes between its fingers, latter has feathers for flight. Both are the rough equivalent to the Anurognathus, the little flying creatures in the ecosystem that are exploiting the bugs and other creatures disturbed or attracted around the sauropods.
• Fushanosaurus qitaiensis, a relatively smaller sauropod. Mostly just exists to make the Mamenchi look bigger and for variety, and appears in only three scenes.
• Tuojiangosaurus multispinus, a stegosaur with huge spike-like plates for defense. Equivalent to the Stegosaurus for reasons I don't need to explain.
• Sinraptor dongi, a theropod and top predator of Jurassic China. Equivalent to the Allosaurus.

While ostensibly taking the role of Time of the Titans just transplanted to China, this episode focuses more on the small creatures of the formation and the origin of both birds and certain other groups of dinosaurs (tyrannosaurs, ceratopsians, ceratosaurs) in the Jurassic, ironically meaning its more from the perspective of the Ornitholestes analogue. The title also refers to the volcano of the region, bigger then even the biggest sauropod and the threat it can pose, from the volcanic ash forming death traps to a climactic eruption.

As you may have figured out, the first three episodes form a cohesive arc centred on sauropodomorphs, from tiny omnivores at the beginning of the Late Triassic, diversifying in the Early Jurassic, to giants of their domain in the Late Jurassic who shape their environment with ease.

Episode Four - The Cold Sea

Art by Olmagon

Set in the Toolebuc and Eumeralla Formations of Australia in the Late Albian. It follows the creatures living on the shores of the inland Eromanga sea in the southern hemisphere fall as winter approaches, a solitary male Kronosaurus and the matriarch of a Leaellynasaura flock that lives on the coast.

• Kronosaurus queenslandicus, a giant pliosaur and the top predator of the Eromanga sea.
• Obviously the equivalent to liopleurodon, right down to getting beached at the end and dying.
• Eromangasaurus australis, a long-necked proper plesiosaur.
• Equivelent to Cryptocleidus.
• Platypterygius australis, ichthyosaurs. It exists in between the fairly small prey-hunting Eromangasaurus and giant Kronosaurus in niche and temperament, in particular being a tad more aggressive, as seen in one sequence where they mob the Kronosaurus.
• Equivelent to the Opthalmosaurus.
• Leaellynasaura amicagraphica, a small and fuzzy ornithopod dinosaur that lives in the cold temperate forests of the south in large flocks. One flock in particular lives on an offshore island and beachcombs for plants and even certain animals every time tide goes down. 
• Partial equivalent to Eustroptospondylus, in being the dinosaur living by the seaside that beachcombs and swims in the sea. Now yes, while Leaellynasaura doesn't seem to have much in the way of swimming capabilities, lots of animals that can swim well don't have obvious adaptations for it, but even then they won't swim too deep.
• Thapunngaka shawi, a very big pterosaur. It usually eats fish and cephalopods in the Eromanga (what doesn’t?), but its not averse to taking on the occasionalf land-dweller dead or alive.
• Equivalent to Ornithocheirus, but also the Eustroptospondylus in being the local big predator not in the water. Yes, there’d be an opening scene where it gets snatched out of the air by the Kronosaurus.
• Nanantius eos, a basal toothed bird seen on occasion with a dedicated scene to how its different from pterosaurs or its non-avian ancestors when some drive a young Thapunngaka off.
• Equivalent to Iberomesornis from the original series, but it's scenes won't have the implucation birds will slowly but surely oucompete pterosaurs.
• Nothochelone costata, a sea turtle.
• Beudanticeras flindersi, an ammonite.
• Trachyteuthis - A squid that is depicted as prey. Nothing more, nothing less.
• Generic Fish -There would be 4 of them seen through the episode. One similar to Enchodus would be involved fed in a feeding ball sequence.

This episode is a mix of both Cruel Sea, Giants of the Skies, and Spirits of the Ice Forest, mixing the rough setting of the third, a few segments and themes from the second, and the general plot of the first, although scenes and plot wouldn’t be mashed up and make a mess entirely. The episode will also contrast the solitary life of the Kono with the social one of the Leaellynasaura. It’s also one of the “Look what else is going on alongside the dinosaurs” episodes, with a specific focus on marine life.

Episode Five - Swamp Pharaoh

Art by Davide Bonadonnia

Bahariya Formation, Egypt, 100 mya at the Albian-Cenomanian border. Main species is naturally a Spinosaurus, a male during the bountiful wet season catching prey that comes in the form of the giant freshwater fish and defending his territory from other Spinosaurus. Wholly original.

• Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, the namesake genus of the fish-eating Spinosaurid family, and top predator of the Bahariya's wetlands.
• One scene I intend for is for the spinosaurus to hunt fish by swinging their bodies to trap them, like what certain monitor lizards have been observed to do.
• Mawsonia libyca, a very large coelacanth, and a common prey item for Spinosaurus.
• Onchopristis numidus, a sawfish-like fish (but emphasis on not being a sawfish) that can be quite risky to hunt thanks to its sharp barbed rostrum, so the male spinosaurus has to be careful when hunting them, in particular a Moby Dick-like one he tries to all episode, but (spoilers) even then it fails at the climax.
• Unnamed abelisaurid (based off MUVP 477), which represents the more typical dinosaurs living inland.
• Deltadromeus agilis, a larger noasaur ceratosaur. Ditto for what it represents.
• Yes, the dinosaur would reuse the Limusaurus model upscaled.
• Stomatosuchus inermis, a large crocodilian uniquely adapted for filter feeding.
• Squalicorax baharijensis, a shark. Only serves as fodder for the Spinosaurus in the intro, to establish that the Bahariya ecosystem is so bizarre, sharks are eaten by dinosaurs, beyond a few background scenes.

Episode Six - Of Crests and Claws

Art by Vlad Konstantinov

The episode is set in the Dinosaur Park Formation 76 mya, in western Canada. It follows a bachelor herd of Corythosaurus on their way to courtship mates, a la Giants of the Skies, and run into other creatures of the era also going through their own mating tribulations, from courtship to fights. Also a wholly original episode.

• Corythosaurus casuarius, a crested hadrosaur
• Lambeosaurus lambei, another crested hadrosaur, only much latrger.
• Styracosaurus albertensis, a ceratopsian.
• Gorgosaurus libratus, a tyrannosaur dinosaur.
• Struthiomimus altus, an ornithomimid.
• Euoplocephalus tutus, an ankylosaur.
• Dromaeosaurus albertensis, a dromaeosaur.
• Stegoceras validum, a pachycephalosaur.
• Deinosuchus hatcheri, a giant crocodilian, ocassionally seen throughout the episode.

As a Canadian, I had to include my home nation in somehow, and it seems that the Dinosaur Park Formation hadn’t been represented properly in most documentaries. A huge focus would be on sexual selection and the role it plays in shaping ornithischian dinosaurs and theropods and their ornamentation.

I will be honest and admit my heart wasn’t in this idea, hence why compared to the rest of the entries its not as developed.

Episode Seven - Isle of Wonder

Art by Mark Witton

In Madagascar 70 million years ago, a burrow is dug on the shores of a lake, which plays host to a wide variety of bizarre insular wildlife living amongst a handful of dinosaurs as the harsh dry season goes on and heat spreads, all with their own purposes.

• Beelzebufo ampinga, a very large frog. One is followed as the focal species it takes care of its spawn throughout the episode, in the lake.
• Falcatakely forsterae, a bird with a pretty big beak, useful for it's diet of anything hard-shelled.
• Simosuchus clarki, a tiny herbivorous crocodilian with a short snout.
• Mahajangasuchus insignis, a carnivorous and more typical, semiaquatic crocodilian. It’s the one that digs the burrow central to the episode.
• Vintana sertichi, a Gondwanathere mammal, that's pretty big for the time.
• Madtsoia madagascariensis, a big basal snake.
• Majungasaurus crenatissimus, an abelisaurid and top predator of Madagascar. It resembles a sausage on legs in build, but its not even one of the stranger creatures of the island.
• Rapetosaurus krausei, the resident sauropod of the island… but it wouldn’t be in too much focus in the episode, as there are already enough focus on them in the series as there is; it only appears in establishing shots and as carcasses the Majungasaurus felled and the other creatures scavenge.

I have to admit, this was a lot harder to write then I thought. I couldn’t decide between Maevarano or Hateg, as while former had a lot weirder and unique fauna then just “Dinos but small!” and “Big apex pterosaur”, but latter had a location (Europe/Western Eurasia) otherwise lacking in representation and didn’t mean there would be a big fraction taken up by African episodes. But in the end I didn’t want to make part of the next episode feel redundant for many of the species, so I bit the bullet. I also wanted to avoid being to similar to other doc sequences that featured the Maevarano (Prehistoric Planet’s comes to mind, hence Masiakasaurus’s exclusion).

Episode Eight - Edge of the Extinction

Art of Sergey Krasovskiy

The last week before the impact of the asteroid is followed relatively close to the impact site, from the perspective of an old female Alamosaurus and other denizens of southern Laramidia 66.5 million years. There's also an epilogue set in the Paleocene after the K-Pg extinction showing life has recovered for a new saga and new lineags, like the mammals and birds (WDGHK did the idea first though, so credit to him for inspiration).

• Alamosaurus sanjuanensis, a very large titanosaur sauropod. As a book ends to the series that started with a little sauropodomorph, a giant sauropod is the lead.
• Tyrannosaurus sp., who needs no introduction save that its not quite the rex, but a separate species from the south.
• Retained from the original, just not in the lead role.
• Dineobellator notohesperus, a dromaeosaur. 
• Equivalent to the generic raptor in DOAD.
• Ojoraptorsaurus boerei, an omnivorous, foraging oviraptorosaur. 
• Rough equivalent to the thescelosaur in DOAD, in being the beaked dinosaur the raptor ambushes…. Though its less like that and more like Dinosaur Planet’s Citipati, and are more then capable of defending itself.
• Torosaurus utahensis, a big-frilled ceratopsid. 
• Retained from the original, but here there is a fight with the rex we never got in the original.
• Quetzalcoatlus northropi, a giant stalking azhdarchid.
• Retained from the original, but is accurately the ground stalker it was rather then a skimming fisher.
• Borealosuchus sternbergii, a crocodilian common in the coastal marshlands. 
• Rough equivalent to the crocodilian in DOAD, but has an expanded role ever so slightly beyond a head cameo. In particular it's in the epilogue as one of the survivors.
• Tsidiiyazhi abini - A little bird, seen in the epilogue. It's there to show dinosaurs live on through to our time.
• I admit I wanted to use Diatryma (or is it Gastornis?), but that's from the Eocene as opposed to right after the extinction, so I chose not to even if Tsidiiyazhi isn't as impressive.
• Danian Mammals - Not sure which they'd be (beyond at least one being a Pantodont), as I wasn't interested in rearching them, but there will be two of them.

Of course I had to conclude the series with a Laramidian K-Pg episode, but I changed it up to the less-represented and (personally) more interesting south of it rather then Death of a Dynasty's Hell Creek, using the Ojo Alamo Formation in New Mexico and Javelina Formation in Texas. And being closer to the impact site, it’ll make the near-instant destruction all the bigger and heart rending.

I hope you liked my commemorative creation. See you next time, and please share it wherever you can.

Sources/See Also

• Sciscio L, Bordy EM, Abrahams M, Knoll F, McPhee BW (2017). The first megatheropod tracks from the Lower Jurassic upper Elliot Formation, Karoo Basin, Lesotho. PLOS ONE 12(10): e0185941. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185941

(All art used under fair use. All rights belomng to them)