DVD BBC Life On Earth Disc 2: The Invasion of the Land (1979)

BBC Life On Earth Disc 2: The Invasion of the Land (1979)

Around 350 million years ago some fish crawled up onto land. Their fins became legs, they breathed with the help of their wet skins and simple lungs. Amphibians - frogs, newts and salamanders - still live this way but their young initially need liquid in which to swim. So some species return to water to lay their eggs. Others keep their eggs moist in mounds of foamy spittle, in pouches on their backs, or even within their throats.

Peter's DVD rating: 5.0 stars

David Attenborough surveys the amphibians in one of the best episodes of the series. Precious footage in this episode include a living Coelacanth, and Golden Toads mating (though again Attenborough does not identify the species, just saying they are "rare" - rare indeed, the Golden Toad became extinct about a decade after this episode was filmed.) Beware: the English subtitle mistakes "Caecilian" for "Sicilians". The Waxy Monkey Frog wins Most Hilarious award. Most amazing shot is the Darwin's Frog giving birth from his mouth - it took the cameraman 104 hours of waiting for this to happen.

1:30	Mudskipper walks in mangrove swamp	2:30	Coelacanth fossil	4:20	Modern Coelacanth has lobe fin (Comoro Islands)
6:30	Lungfish in cocoon survives dry season.	9:00	Lungfish has blood-lined pouch to absorb oxygen	10:00	Eustenopteron has bony fin
11:30	Ancient Horsetail fossilized into coal	12:30	Amphibian fossil in coal seam	13:45	Japanese Giant Salamander
14:10	Newt	16:30	Newt tadpole	16:50	Axolotl retains its gills (Mexico)
19:25	Caecilian has no limbs (Southeast Asia)	21:00	Goliath Frog (West Africa)	22:35	Flying Frog ? (Costa Rica)
24:20	Holy Cross Toad burrows in sand (Australia)	25:20	Grass Snake ? tries to attack European Toad	26:00	Fire-bellied Toad shows its stomach to predators as warning
27:40	Golden Poison Dart Frogs	28:10	Waxy Monkey Frog ? waxes itself Argentina	30:00	Toad blinks to help swallow prey
30:30	Toad tongue	31:45	Edible Frog call during the day	35:30	Golden Toads mating (Costa Rica)
36:00	European Toads mating frenzy in pond	38:25	Kaieteur Golden Frog hides in minute pool in a leaf (Kaieteur Falls, Potaro River, Guyana)	40:20	African Foam-nest Tree Frog ? lays eggs in foam (Africa)
42:30	Whistling Frog lays eggs on ground (Caribbean)	44:15	Midwife Toad male carries eggs on its legs (Europe)	44:35	Surinam Toad male places eggs on female's back
47:00	South American Marsupial Frog keeps eggs in pouch (Brazil)	47:45	Chile: Darwin's Frog males keep eggs in vocal sac	49:00	Darwin's Frog birthing
49:45	African Viviparous Toad ? female gives birth after carrying eggs in oviduct (West Africa)	51:00	Australia Desert Frog ? eating membrane of cocoon (Australia)

1:30 Mudskipper	2:30 Coelacanth fossil	4:20 Coelacanth
4:20 lobe fin	6:30 Lungfish in cocoon	9:00 Lungfish
10:00 Eustenopteron	11:30 Horsetail fossilized into coal	12:30 Amphibian fossil in coal seam
13:45 Japanese Giant Salamander	14:10 Newt	16:30 Newt tadpole
16:50 Axolotl	19:25 Caecilian	21:00 Goliath Frog
22:35 Flying Frog ?	24:20 Holy Cross Toad	25:20 Grass Snake ?
25:20 European Toad	26:00 Fire-bellied Toad	27:40 Golden Poison Dart Frogs
28:10 Waxy Monkey Frog ? waxes itself	30:00 Toad blinks	30:30 Toad tongue
31:45 Edible Frog	35:30 Golden Toads	36:00 European Toads
38:25 Kaieteur Golden Frog	40:20 African Foam-nest Tree Frog ?	42:30 Whistling Frog
44:15 Midwife Toad	44:35 Surinam Toad	47:00 South American Marsupial Frog
47:45 Darwin's Frog	49:00 Darwin's Frog birthing	49:45 African Viviparous Toad ?
51:00 Australia Desert Frog ?


Index	Jan 11, 2006	Peter Chen