Watch Rediscovering the Age of Dinosaurs

2023
1 Season

In this course, you'll learn about the diversity of dinosaur species; the fossils that reveal the dinosaurs' world; dinosaurs' remarkable lifestyles; cutting-edge methods in paleontology; and the other amazing animals that lived alongside the dinosaurs. These lectures offer you a breathtaking view of the panorama of life on our planet.

Rediscovering the Age of Dinosaurs is a series that ran for 1 seasons (24 episodes) between June 22, 2023 and on The Great Courses

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24. Dinosaur Resurrection

June 22, 2023

Conclude with a look at current work on the genetics of dinosaurs. Learn about chemical analysis of dinosaur fossils indicating traces of proteins and DNA, and studies investigating whether or not these are original soft tissues of dinosaurs. See how scientists are examining extinct DNA, found in modern bird genomes, to unravel the evolutionary transitions that led from dinosaurs to birds.

23. The Extinction That Ended the Dinosaurs

June 22, 2023

Trace the history of extinction events across geological time, episodes of major climate change that wiped out vast numbers of animal and plant species. Then, investigate the extinction of the dinosaurs and other organisms in the late Cretaceous Period, and the environmental disturbances that caused it. Visualize the extent of the devastation and how surviving life forms were able to begin anew.

22. How Dinosaurs Conquered the Cold

June 22, 2023

Learn about climatic conditions at the poles during the Mesozoic Era, a relatively warmer period during which many dinosaur species lived in both the Arctic and the Antarctic. Look at evidence indicating that these dinosaurs are unlikely to have migrated during winter months. Take account of a variety of physical specializations that may have aided dinosaurs in adapting to cold and darkness.

21. Dinosaur Eggs and Babies

June 22, 2023

Study the eggs of living animals, and grasp what dinosaur egg structure, porosity, and pigments can tell us about nesting conditions and where they laid their eggs. Examine dinosaur nesting behavior and how they tended unhatched eggs and cared for their young. Review Professor Curry Roger

20. Reimagining Everything about Dinosaurs

June 22, 2023

Uncover the behavioral uses of dinosaurs

19. The Tough Lives of Allosaurus and T. rex

June 22, 2023

Throughout life, dinosaurs were vulnerable to many kinds of injury and disease, from combat injuries and predation to parasites and bacterial infections. Examine evidence from a large find of skeletons of the predator Allosaurus, showing traumatic injuries and infections, all of which also indicate healing. In T. rex, note pathologies that would have made breathing, eating, and walking painful.

18. The Eaters and the Eaten in the Dinosaur Age

June 22, 2023

The fossil record reveals fascinating details about dinosaurs

17. Were Dinosaurs Warm-Blooded?

June 22, 2023

Paleontologists now debate the traditional assumption that dinosaurs were cold-blooded. Learn the basics of thermoregulation in vertebrates. Then, consider the range of evidence, relating to body type and size, heart function, locomotion, brain capacity, and body temperature, that points to the possibility that dinosaurs were metabolically closer to birds and mammals than to modern reptiles.

16. How Did Dinosaurs Get So Big?

June 22, 2023

Dig deeply into dinosaur bones, and what they reveal about the immense size of some species. Look at how early paleontologists made sense of giant sauropods, and how they must have moved. Investigate the physiology of bone growth and how bone histology aids in pinpointing dinosaur growth rates, showing that huge sauropods grew 50 times faster than modern reptiles, a pattern similar to whales.

15. Dissecting a T. rex

June 22, 2023

Explore exciting new methods in dinosaur paleontology, as used to study the famous T. rex. Among these, see how CT scans are used to reconstruct dinosaurs

14. The Non-Dinosaurs in the Age of Dinosaurs

June 22, 2023

The ecosystems in which the dinosaurs flourished were populated by many other astonishing creatures. Meet Professor Curry Rogers in Madagascar to uncover fascinating examples, such as a terrestrial, armored, plant-eating crocodile. Continue with giant, carnivorous frogs; a suction-feeding frog/turtle; bizarre Cretaceous mammals; ancient birds with teeth; and a tiny, feathered dinosaur.

13. Weirdest Wonders on Wings

June 22, 2023

Enter the amazing world of ancient flying reptiles, the first vertebrates to fly. Examine the unique wing structure of the pterosaurs, as contrasted with those of birds and bats. Get to know the two distinctive groups of pterosaurs, the small and graceful rhamphorhynchids, and the massive pterodactyls. Review leading scientific thinking on how these incredible animals launched into the air.

12. Marine Monsters of the Mesozoic

June 22, 2023

Here, encounter the fearsome swimming reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs, yet were not themselves dinosaurs. Note how these creatures descended from former terrestrial animals, evolving unique specializations for marine life. Learn about the three main groups of ancient marine reptiles, the plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, and ichthyosaurs, and look into whether any actual dinosaurs swam.

11. Dinosaurs in Your Backyard

June 22, 2023

Trace the evolutionary path of birds within the Age of Dinosaurs. Take stock of the amazing diversity of ancient birds and bird types in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Then, look into the key physiological components in the evolution of powered flight, from smaller and lighter body types to forebrain expansion and musculature, and examine the question of how flight began.

10. What Did T. rex Taste Like?

June 22, 2023

Follow events in recent decades that have revolutionized dinosaur paleontology, overturning the earlier conception of dinosaurs as slow-moving and cold-blooded. Study fieldwork revealing active, agile, and fleet-footed dinosaurs, and shedding light on their deep evolutionary connection with birds. Review fascinating discoveries of feathered dinosaurs, and other evidence linking these groups.

9. Tracing the Dinosaur Evolutionary Tree

June 22, 2023

Investigate natural selection

8. A Dinosaur Mystery in Madagascar

June 22, 2023

Travel with Professor Curry Rogers to the island of Madagascar, an ecosystem that has yielded dazzling dinosaur remains. Learn about her ongoing work there, involving the discovery of new species of titanosaur, the largest of the dinosaurs, and rare evidence of dinosaur cannibalism. Look into what may explain huge bonebeds on Madagascar that indicate repeated mass deaths of dinosaurs.

7. How Bones Become Fossils

June 22, 2023

Consider the rare and complex circumstances that are necessary for the creation of fossils. Begin with an understanding of body fossils and trace fossils. Consider the five modes by which organic materials become fossilized. Then, study key parameters, from ecological to climatic, that are necessary in the lengthy journey that allows a dead dinosaur to become a fossil.

6. How Rocks Reveal Dinosaur Secrets

June 22, 2023

Contemplate geological time, the span of hundreds of millions of years that contextualizes the Age of the Dinosaurs. Learn about the types of rock strata that contain the fossil record, and the preserved environments, from deserts to lake, river, and marine ecosystems, where fossils are found. Grasp how scientists analyze and date fossil finds with relation to the geological record.

5. The Ornithischia: Armor, Thick Heads, Horns

June 22, 2023

Complete your tour of dinosaur groups with the species of Ornithischia, a large family of herbivores that feature striking anatomy. Get to know the subgroups of Ankylosauria, with their armor and tail clubs; Stegosauria, known for dorsal plates and spikes; Ceratopsia, sporting eye and nose horns, and frills; Pachycephalosauria, the bone-headed dinosaurs; and Ornithopoda, the duck-billed species.

4. The Saurischia: Sharp Teeth, Long Necks

June 22, 2023

Take a first look at how paleontologists categorize dinosaurs. Focusing on the major Saurischia group, identify the dinosaurs of the subgroup Theropoda, including carnivorous predators such as Tyrannosaurus rex and feathered dinosaurs. Continue with subgroups Prosauropoda, a diverse group of herbivores, and Sauropoda, containing the giant, long-necked herbivores such as the iconic Apatosaurus.

3. The Extinction That Launched the Dinosaurs

June 22, 2023

Look into the origins of the dinosaurs, and the ecological conditions that allowed them to flourish. Study the context of the Mesozoic Era, in which the dinosaurs emerged. Learn about the mass extinction during this era that critically affected the dinosaurs

2. Finding the First Dinosaur Bones

June 22, 2023

Track the story of how explanations for ancient fossils were first grounded in science. Beginning in the 17th century, follow the events that led to the

1. Our Enduring Fascination with Dinosaurs

June 22, 2023

Take account of the deep presence of dinosaurs in our cultural imagination, both within modern societies and those of Indigenous peoples around the world. Trace Professor Curry Rogers

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Where to Watch Rediscovering the Age of Dinosaurs

Rediscovering the Age of Dinosaurs is available for streaming on the The Great Courses website, both individual episodes and full seasons. You can also watch Rediscovering the Age of Dinosaurs on demand at Apple TV Channels, Prime Video and Amazon.