BBC Life On Earth Disc 1: Building Bodies (1979)

Index
Larger creatures began to appear in the oceans. Some developed segmented bodies, evolved an external armour and gave rise to crabs and lobsters. Others - such as clams and scallops - protected themselves with heavy stony shells. But a few, related to the nautilus, acquired bigger brains, abandoned their shells and relied on their survival on their great intelligence. They became the octopus and squids.
Peter's DVD rating: 3.5 stars
David Attenborough continues exploring the aquatic invertebrates. He sometimes does not identify an animal while describing it. For example, he neglects to identify the shrimp-like Morocco fossil as a Trilobite, but later refers back to the Trilobite. And what is the "round worm" burrowing in the sand? Looks like an Annelid (segmented worm) rather than a Nematode, but we are not told. He also makes some questionable assertions such as implying that molluscs developed shells from flatworm ancestors. There are other annoying omissions. For example, he does not tell us that the British Columbia Rocky Mountain site is the famed Burgess Shale; this is like a Louvre tour guide failing to mention that the painting everyone is looking at is called Mona Lisa. Then, the only fossil specimen he identifies at Burgess Shale is an obscure creature called Peripatus (he should have told us it is really Aysheaia), omitting to identify the Hallucigenia and Opabinia. Overall, he makes strong arguments for the relationships among the invertebrates, especially the crustaceans, especially emphasizing the adaptability of a segmented body. The highlight of this episode is the electron microscope view of a fossil Trilobite eye.
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5:10 Brachiopod shelled fossil (Morocco limestone) 5:55 Flatworm juvenile 7:30A burrowing worm
7:50 Brachiopods with their front ends sticking out, ringed by tentacles 9:00Brachiopod Shamisen-gai harvested for food (Japan) 10:50 Limpet
12:40 Cowry secretes shell at the top 13:05 Spider Shell has ribbon tongue on a stalk and also stalked eye 14:05 Scallop has eyes.
14:30 Giant Clam 14:55 Nudibranch has no shell but nasty-tasting slime 17:20 Glaucus hunts Jellyfish
17:00 Purple Sea Snail ? hunts Portuguese Man-of-War 19:35 Nautilus 21:35 Ammonites fossil (Lyme Regis, England)
23:25 Argonaut laying eggs in shell )New Zealand) 24:45 Squid 26:15Crinoid Sea Lily fossils
26:45Crinoid Feather Star 27:10 Seastar 27:40 Brittle Star
28:00 Sea Urchin 29:20 Sea Cucumber 30:05 Crown-of-Thorns Starfish
30:35 Echinoderm larva 32:35 Soft-bodied fossil (Australia)33:00 Aysheaia fossil very similar to Peripatus Trilobite fossil and Trilobite compound eyes (Burgess Shale - Rocky Mountains, British Columbia)
40:40 Horseshoe Crabs mating on beach (Delaware Bay) 44:20 Copepod with simple eye 45:00 Shrimp molting
46:50 Japanese Spider Crab (Japan) 48:50Shrimp (Great Barrier Reef) 50:30 Robber Crab feeds on young coconuts, can live on land.
BRACHIOPOD-FOSSIL.JPG
5:10 Brachiopod shelled fossil
Platyhelminthes.jpg
5:55 Flatworm
ANNELID.JPG
7:30 burrowing worm
Brachiopoda.jpg
7:50 Brachiopods
SHAMISEN.JPG
9:00 Shamisen-gai
Patellogastropoda.jpg
10:50 Limpet
Cypraecea.jpg
12:40 Cowry
Lambis.jpg
13:05 Spider Shell
Pectinidae.jpg
14:05 Scallop
Tridacna_gigas.jpg
14:30 Giant Clam
Nudibranchia.jpg
14:55 Nudibranch
Glaucus.jpg
17:20 Glaucus hunts Jellyfish
Janthinidae.jpg
17:00 Purple Sea Snail ?
Physalia_physalis.jpg
17:00 Portuguese Man-of-War
Nautilus.jpg
19:35 Nautilus
Ammonoidea.jpg
21:35 Ammonites fossil
Argonauta.jpg
23:25 Argonaut
Teuthida.jpg
24:45 Squid
CRINOIDEA-FOSSIL.JPG
26:15 Sea Lily fossils
Crinoidea.jpg
26:45 Feather Star
Asteroidea.jpg
27:10 Seastar
Ophiuroidea.jpg
27:40 Brittle Star
Echinoidea.jpg
28:00 Sea Urchin
Holothuroidea.jpg
29:20 Sea Cucumber
Acanthaster_planci.jpg
30:05 Crown-of-Thorns Starfish
ECHINODERM-LARVA.JPG
30:35 Echinoderm larva
SOFT-FOSSIL.JPG
32:35 Soft-bodied fossil
Aysheaia.jpg
33:00 Aysheaia fossil
Peripatus.jpg
33:00 Peripatus
Trilobite.jpg
33:00 Trilobite fossil
Trilobite-eyes.jpg
33:00 Trilobite compound eyes
Limulus_polyphemus.jpg
40:40 Horseshoe Crabs
Copepoda.jpg
44:20 Copepod with simple eye
Decapoda.jpg
45:00 Shrimp molting
Macrocheira_kaempferi.jpg
46:50 Japanese Spider Crab
Birgus_latro.jpg
50:30 Robber Crab
Index Jan 07, 2006 copyleft Peter Chen