Hi all,

From the makers of Walking with Dinosaurs and Walking with Prehistoric
Beasts comes the latest in the "Walking with..." series: Walking with
Monsters. This show explores life before the dinosaurs, including
life reconstructions of giant sea scorpions (eurypterids), giant
dragonflies, giant spiders, and giant millipedes (Arthropleura). I
encourage members to enjoy the show for its entertainment value and
special effects, but I also caution members to be very skeptical about
the so-called "facts" presented in this program. I read a program
summary from the Discovery Channel website
(http://discoverychannel.ca/on_tv/releases/walking_with_monsters/) and
it has many factual errors and exaggerations.

For example,

1. Arthropleura was a giant millipede from the Carboniferous Period,
but it probably did not move or hunt like an anaconda. Scientists are
not even sure that it ate meat. Fossil plant remains have been found
in the gut area of one specimen. Instead, Arthropleura may have had a
large body size in order to process plant food (like a large cow) and
discourage predators.

2. The Earth of the Carboniferous Period had many coal forests, but
they were centered around the equator--not everywhere on the planet.
Like today, the Carboniferous Earth had areas with deserts, temperate
forests, beaches, mountainous areas, and large glacial fields.

3. An ice age did not wipe out swamps and giant insects in the
Carboniferous or Permian. In fact, it was during the ice ages of the
Carboniferous (and there were many ice ages!) that the coal swamps and
giant insects existed! If anything, it was because the ice ages ended
that many plants and animals went extinct during this time interval.

4. Scientists are not sure if 95% of all life went extinct at the end
of the Permian. In fact, 95% is the maximum estimate for marine
species that may have gone extinct during this time. The actual
percentage of marine species is probably less--80%, 85%, 90%??? The
number of species that go extinct on land appears to be closer to 75%
or so. The end-Permian mass extinction is the largest we know about,
but scientists don't know the actual percentages for sure.

5. Lystrosaurus (that survived the end-Permian mass extinction) was
not a precursor to dinosaurs. In fact, it was more closely related to
mammals than dinosaurs. It definately wasn't the earliest ancestor of
all mammals. Mammal-like vertebrates go back to the Carboniferous.
Dimetrodon was a mammal-like vertebrate in the early Permian. The
earliest known chordates (the group which includes mammals) go back to
the Cambrian.

There is much more than could be said, but I must go now. If you
watch Walking with Monsters, please let us know what you think about it.

Best Regards,
Cary R. Easterday
University of Illinois at Chicago
xenoblatta[AT]hotmail.com