Cruel Sea

149 million years ago, Late Jurassic (Oxfordshire) Filming location: The Bahamas, New Caledonia

The episode begins with a Eustreptospondylus being snatched from the shore by the pliosaurLiopleurodon. Meanwhile, the ichthyosaur Ophthalmosaurus live-breeding ceremony is the main event taking place, as hundreds of Ophthalmosaurus arrive from the open ocean to give birth. In the midst of the birthing sharks and other predators, including Liopleurodon, are on the hunt, and when one mother has trouble giving birth, a pair of Hybodus sharks go after her, but are frightened off by a male Liopleurodon, which eats the front half of the Ophthalmosaurus, leaving the tail to sink down and be feasted upon by the Hybodus. Meanwhile aEustreptospondylus swims to an island and discovers a turtle carcass that it must contend for with another Eustreptospondylus. Later during the night, a group of horseshoe crabs gather at the shore to lay their eggs, which attracts a flock of Rhamphorhynchus in the morning to eat the eggs. However a few of the pterosaurs are caught and eaten by a Eustreptospondylus. While the Ophthalmosaurus juveniles are growing up, they are still hunted by Hybodus, which in turn, are prey for the Liopleurodon. At one point, while the male Liopleurodon is hunting for prey, he is encountered by a female Liopleurodon. After the male bites one of her flippers, she retires from his territory, followed by a group of Hybodus catching her trail of blood. A typhoon then strikes the islands, and kills many animals, including severalRhamphorhynchus. The Liopleurodon himself is washed ashore and lays upon the beach, eventually suffocating under his own weight. The carcass then becomes the banquet of a group of hovering Eustreptospondylus. At the end of the episode, the juvenileOphthalmosaurus that survived the storm are now large enough to swim off to live and breed in the open sea.

Animals Ophthalmosaurus · Liopleurodon · Eustreptospondylus · Cryptoclidus · Rhamphorhynchus · Hybodus (identified as shark) ·Perisphinctes (identified as ammonite) · Leptolepis · Horseshoe crab · Squid · Turtle (carcass) · Jellyfish · Fish · Coral