Monsters Resurrected

Monsters Resurrected is an American documentary television series that premiered on September 13, 2009, on the Discovery Channel. The program reconstructs extinct animals. It is also called Mega Beasts.

Featured animals

• Acrocanthosaurus
• Amphicyon
• Canis edwardii
• Carcharodontosaurus
• Cretoxyrhina
• Daeodon
• Deinonychus
• Diprotodon
• Dolichorhynchops
• Elasmosaurus
• Epicyon
• Megalania
• Merychippus
• Moropus
• Paluxysaurus
• Paralititan
• Procoptodon
• Ramoceros
• Rugops
• Sarcosuchus
• Sauropelta
• Smilodon gracilis
• Spinosaurus
• Tenontosaurus
• Thylacoleo
• Titanis
• Tylosaurus
• Xiphactinus

Episode 1: The Terror Birds

The terror bird Titanis was depicted as a mortal predator that competed with the smaller but equally aggressive Smilodon and Canis edwardii. The force and power of the neck muscles is shown by it hunting a horse in the beginning of the episode. To kill it, it drives its beak into the vertebral column, severing the spinal cord. Another example of this power is when the creature also killed a ground sloth, using the same method. At the end of the episode the crew was discussing extinction in the terror bird, two million years ago, and their conclusion was it was not well adapted.

Episode 2: T-rex of The Deep

In this episode, the mosasaurs are depicted as the main predators of the Cretaceous seas, competing with the giant sharks and plesiosaurs. It's also shown competing with and killing other mosasaurs.

Episode 3: Biggest Killer Dino

Spinosaurus was depicted as the apex predator at the time, killing Rugops, Carcharodontosaurus and Sarcosuchus. It fought with a Carcharodontosaurus and emerged victorious by smacking its face with a swipe of its paw. The Spinosaurus was shown being attacked by a Sarcosuchus. It quickly paralyzed the crocodile with a bite to the neck before disemboweling apart the dead crocodilian. During the heat, the Spinosaurus attempts to steal a dead titnosaur from a pack of Rugops, but their numbers are too great: one Rugops bites the Spino's paw, while another one clamps its jaws on his massive tail. Afterwards, the Spino slams to the ground, breaking his fin and dying. The pack then devours him.

Episode 4: Great American Predator

In this episode, the Acrocanthosaurus is depicted as an apex predator, strong enough to kill prey ten times its size. Afterward, a young Acrocanthosaurus is shown being scared off by a pack of Deinonychus and being forced to hunt harder prey, like the ankylosaur Sauropelta.

Episode 5: Bear dog

This episode features the Amphicyon ingens as the new top predator of North America, able to defeat the Daeodon using its intelligence and smaller size to out compete it. After five million years of dominating the landscape, the bear dog grew bigger, but then the Epicyon appeared and competed with Amphicyon. They began to attack and kill the offspring in their borrows, and at the end they go extinct.

Episode 6: Great Ripper

In this episode they recreate the Varanus, the top predator of Australia for hundreds of thousands of years. Hunting the largest marsupials ever to evolve using its senses and venom to kill its prey, and it had almost no competition, until humans arrive. The episode also discusses the cryptozoological side about Megalania, ruling out if it could have survived until recent times. This is the last episode of the series.

Criticism

The show has been critisized for displaying Spinosaurus as an apex predator. The episode "Biggest Killer Dino" showed the 30 ft. Rugops being the size of Spinosaurus head, even though they said Spinosaurus was 60 feet. It also showed Spinosaurus skull as depicted from Suchomimus. Many paleontologists agree that Spinosaurus was mostly a fish eater, taking the role of a Heron or Grizzly Bear.

DVD release

The Complete 2 disc DVD was released on May 4, 2010. Amazon.