Official Poster for series featuring a Smilodon
Life on Our Planet is a nature documentary streaming television series that premiered on Netflix on October 25th, 2023. It is produced by Amblin Television and Silverback Films, with Steven Spielberg as executive producer, visual effects by Industrial Life & Magic, and narration by Morgan Freeman. The series focuses on the evolutionary history of complex life from the Precambrian to the present day. Its announcement was declared on November 1, 2022 alongside 5 other documentaries (being Our Universe, Our Planet ll, Our Oceans, Our Living World, and Our Water World). David Attenborough and Morgan Freeman are confirmed to narrate the aforementioned documentaries, the latter of which has narrated Life on Our Planet.
A second season is green-lit by Netflix to release as a "new iteration", and was announced in late May of 2024. The creative team behind the first season will return, including Freeman as narrator and Spielberg as executive producer. Four episodes were ordered, which will “tell the story of the rise and fall of the dinosaurs – where they came from, why they mattered, how they evolved and how they met their ultimate fate.” The second season currently does not have a scheduled release date.
Episodes[]
There are a total of 8 episodes of Life on Our Planet. Below is a general summary of each episode started with the official brief synopsis that Netflix gave for their episodes in quotation marks. Each summary will be split into the events of the animated sections and the live-action segments for clarity.
Episode 1[]
- The Rules of Life - "Evolution. Competition. Mass extinction. Three fundamental rules have driven the rise and fall of life on Earth for over four billion years.”
- The episode talks about the origin of life and what causes evolution, including natural selection, adaptation, interaction and speciation, along with an overview of the series. Several segments taking place 2, 75, and 66 million years ago focuses on a pair of Smilodon gracilis successfully taking down a Titanis, a mother Maiasaura navigates the nesting grounds in order to feed her children, and a female Tyrannosaurus & her offspring attempt to hunt a female Triceratops.
- In live-action segments, Birds, Sharks, Dolphins, and whales (all the descendants of one common ancestor) attack a bait ball as a team, plants compete for space in a rainforest, completion is shown between a plant and the caterpillars that feed on it, while various African animals congregate around a watering hole.
- The episode talks about the origin of life and what causes evolution, including natural selection, adaptation, interaction and speciation, along with an overview of the series. Several segments taking place 2, 75, and 66 million years ago focuses on a pair of Smilodon gracilis successfully taking down a Titanis, a mother Maiasaura navigates the nesting grounds in order to feed her children, and a female Tyrannosaurus & her offspring attempt to hunt a female Triceratops.
Episode 2[]
- The First Frontier - "For billions of years, land on Earth was uninhabitable. But in the seas, predation allowed species to thrive before — and after — two mass extinctions."
- In the Precambrian seas, plankton develops which will one day evolve into future organisms. Marine invertebrates slowly evolve and the prehistoric seas are dominated by jellyfish until the Cambrian explosion. In the shallow seas of the Cambrian, an Anomalocaris attempts to hunt a trilobite, but is unable to due to the arthropod's hard exoskeleton. By the Ordovician, trilobite armor has evolved to become even more advanced to deal with new predators, however the armor is unable to withstand the beaks of predatory cephalopods such as Cameroceras, while Arandaspis, an early vertebrate and fish , scavenges the remains of the trilobite. The Late Ordovician mass extinction causes a massive global cooling that wipes out most of the life on Earth, causing many invertebrates to retreat to the deep sea causing the vertebrates to proceed on a path to dominance. In the Devonian, a school of Dunkleosteus, one of the largest new vertebrates, hunts ammonoids using a vital new adaptation: jaws. Massive blooms of rotting plankton cause global deoxygenation, leading to the second mass extinction event: the Late Devonian extinction. Meanwhile, on land, plants come to dominate and transform the landscape , allowing animals to come on land .
- In live-action segments, a rainbow nudibranch attacks and kills a sea anemone, larval jellyfish attempt to float over predatory sea anemones, a deep sea bobtail squid hunts a shrimp, male giant cuttlefish fight over mates, male sarcastic fringeheads fight over territory, and reef sharks hunt a school of fish.
- In the Precambrian seas, plankton develops which will one day evolve into future organisms. Marine invertebrates slowly evolve and the prehistoric seas are dominated by jellyfish until the Cambrian explosion. In the shallow seas of the Cambrian, an Anomalocaris attempts to hunt a trilobite, but is unable to due to the arthropod's hard exoskeleton. By the Ordovician, trilobite armor has evolved to become even more advanced to deal with new predators, however the armor is unable to withstand the beaks of predatory cephalopods such as Cameroceras, while Arandaspis, an early vertebrate and fish , scavenges the remains of the trilobite. The Late Ordovician mass extinction causes a massive global cooling that wipes out most of the life on Earth, causing many invertebrates to retreat to the deep sea causing the vertebrates to proceed on a path to dominance. In the Devonian, a school of Dunkleosteus, one of the largest new vertebrates, hunts ammonoids using a vital new adaptation: jaws. Massive blooms of rotting plankton cause global deoxygenation, leading to the second mass extinction event: the Late Devonian extinction. Meanwhile, on land, plants come to dominate and transform the landscape , allowing animals to come on land .
Episode 3[]
- Invaders of the Land - "Sprawling moss, towering trees, flying insects, limbed amphibians: Early species vied for domination as the land went from hostile to hospitable."
- On land lichen break down rock creating the first soil, allowing plants to come on land, grow, and eventually dominate. Arthropods come on land evolving into many forms including the massive millipede Arthropleura. A segment than focuses on the coal forests of the Carboniferous, where a male Arthropleura follows a scent trail left by a female, after finding her, the male and performs a courtship ritual with her. In the water, the first lobe-fined fish evolve, including the massive Strepsodus. Several young Strepsodus narrowly escape a hungry canibalistic adult by moving onto land but are eaten by an early tetrapod, Anthracosaurus. Eventually the Carboniferous ends, giving way to the drier Permian. The amphibious tetrapods develop hard-shelled eggs that are more resistant to desiccation, evolving into the first amniotes. The Permian is ruled by primitive reptiles such as Scutosaurus, synapsids/proto-mammals such as Lystrosaurus, and apex predators, called gorgonopsids. a female Inostrancevia, an example of which, successfully hunts down a Scutosaurus with her saber-like teeth. A massive increase in volcanic eruptions in the Siberian Traps lead to great floods of lava, an atmosphere of poisonous chemicals, and rapid global warming, prompting the Permian–Triassic extinction event, the largest mass extinction event in Earth's history, leading to the death of almost all life. However, some species such as Lystrosaurus manage to survive.
- In live-action segments, a peacock spider dances for an unimpressed female, a tiger beetle hunts for prey while narrowly avoiding a trapdoor spider, marsh frogs jump out of the water to catch dragonflies, and a strawberry poison-dart frog carries her offspring to a bromeliad in the forest canopy.
- On land lichen break down rock creating the first soil, allowing plants to come on land, grow, and eventually dominate. Arthropods come on land evolving into many forms including the massive millipede Arthropleura. A segment than focuses on the coal forests of the Carboniferous, where a male Arthropleura follows a scent trail left by a female, after finding her, the male and performs a courtship ritual with her. In the water, the first lobe-fined fish evolve, including the massive Strepsodus. Several young Strepsodus narrowly escape a hungry canibalistic adult by moving onto land but are eaten by an early tetrapod, Anthracosaurus. Eventually the Carboniferous ends, giving way to the drier Permian. The amphibious tetrapods develop hard-shelled eggs that are more resistant to desiccation, evolving into the first amniotes. The Permian is ruled by primitive reptiles such as Scutosaurus, synapsids/proto-mammals such as Lystrosaurus, and apex predators, called gorgonopsids. a female Inostrancevia, an example of which, successfully hunts down a Scutosaurus with her saber-like teeth. A massive increase in volcanic eruptions in the Siberian Traps lead to great floods of lava, an atmosphere of poisonous chemicals, and rapid global warming, prompting the Permian–Triassic extinction event, the largest mass extinction event in Earth's history, leading to the death of almost all life. However, some species such as Lystrosaurus manage to survive.
Episode 4[]
- In Cold Blood - "After Earth's third mass extinction, mammals' surviving ancestors ruled the supercontinent Pangea. But lizards soon ushered in the age of reptiles.”
- During the Triassic, in the aftermath of the recent extinction, surviving species recoup and Lystrosaurus quickly becomes the dominant animal on Earth, reaching an abundance unmatched by any other past or future animal. However, reptiles continue to evolve on the arid margins of Pangaea, and future Lystrosaurus populations find themselves at the mercy of predators such as erythrosuchids, spelling their extinction. Reptiles diversify and come to dominate both the land and the sea; in a flash-forward to the Jurassic, early sea turtles face predation from pliosaurs, and their hatchlings must avoid pterosaurs as they race to the water. Back in the Triassic, a massive precipitation event brings an end to the Pangaean desert, turning the world lush and green. Plateosaurus roams these forests, signaling the eventual future dominance of the Dinosaurs.
- In live-action segments, Fabian's lizards in the Atacama Desert gain nourishment from brine flies and fight over the best feeding spots, the water anole uses a bubble as a diving bell to stay underwater, a Komodo dragon envenomates a water buffalo calf, green sea turtles congregate off Raine Island, and Nile crocodiles attack wildebeest.
- During the Triassic, in the aftermath of the recent extinction, surviving species recoup and Lystrosaurus quickly becomes the dominant animal on Earth, reaching an abundance unmatched by any other past or future animal. However, reptiles continue to evolve on the arid margins of Pangaea, and future Lystrosaurus populations find themselves at the mercy of predators such as erythrosuchids, spelling their extinction. Reptiles diversify and come to dominate both the land and the sea; in a flash-forward to the Jurassic, early sea turtles face predation from pliosaurs, and their hatchlings must avoid pterosaurs as they race to the water. Back in the Triassic, a massive precipitation event brings an end to the Pangaean desert, turning the world lush and green. Plateosaurus roams these forests, signaling the eventual future dominance of the Dinosaurs.
Episode 5[]
- In the Shadow of Giants - "The formation of continents with varied environments allowed for an explosion of biodiversity — and turbo-charged the evolution of mighty dinosaurs.”
- Near the beginning of the Early Jurassic, heavy volcanic activity during the breakup of Pangaea leads to another extinction. However, the new environments facilitate, and even supercharge, the evolution of the survivors, including the dinosaurs. By the Late Jurassic, large dinosaurs of all kinds have evolved, an Allosaurus unsuccessfully hunts for Diplodocus hatchlings during a rainstorm at night. Flowering plants evolve and revolutionize life on Earth, as numerous lineages of insects adapt to feed on their nectar and pollinate them & other lineages evolve to feed on these pollinators, and by the Cretaceous, there are more species on the land than in the ocean for the first time. During the Early Cretaceous, the evolution of feathers benefits theropod dinosaurs such as Deinonychus, which hunt in packs to take down Arkansaurus. Tectonic changes in the Late Cretaceous create shallow seas that increasingly isolate landmasses from one another. Ornithischian dinosaurs such as Maiasaura develop the ability to chew the newly-evolving plantlife and travel in massive herds. Meanwhile, early mammals also take advantage of the diversifying plants and evolve complex behavior. A male Tyrannosaurus successfully courts a female.
- In live-action segments, a giant water lily blooms and is pollinated by a Cyclocephala beetle, pollinators face different predators, Megaponera ants raid a termite mound & use antibiotic saliva to heal each others' wounds, a mother numbat rescues her offspring from a snake, and a sidewinder rattlesnake unsuccessfully attempts to hunt kangaroo rats.
- Near the beginning of the Early Jurassic, heavy volcanic activity during the breakup of Pangaea leads to another extinction. However, the new environments facilitate, and even supercharge, the evolution of the survivors, including the dinosaurs. By the Late Jurassic, large dinosaurs of all kinds have evolved, an Allosaurus unsuccessfully hunts for Diplodocus hatchlings during a rainstorm at night. Flowering plants evolve and revolutionize life on Earth, as numerous lineages of insects adapt to feed on their nectar and pollinate them & other lineages evolve to feed on these pollinators, and by the Cretaceous, there are more species on the land than in the ocean for the first time. During the Early Cretaceous, the evolution of feathers benefits theropod dinosaurs such as Deinonychus, which hunt in packs to take down Arkansaurus. Tectonic changes in the Late Cretaceous create shallow seas that increasingly isolate landmasses from one another. Ornithischian dinosaurs such as Maiasaura develop the ability to chew the newly-evolving plantlife and travel in massive herds. Meanwhile, early mammals also take advantage of the diversifying plants and evolve complex behavior. A male Tyrannosaurus successfully courts a female.
Episode 6[]
- Out of the Ashes - "The dinosaurs met their end with a cataclysmic asteroid impact. Rising from the ashes, birds reinvented themselves into a dynasty 10,000 species strong."
- On the last day of the Cretaceous, Edmontosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, Alamosaurus, and a plesiosaur go about their daily lives just before an asteroid the size of Mount Everest hits the Earth, causing the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. Megatsunamis, burning ejecta from the impact, an overheated atmosphere, and acid rain wipe out a majority of life on Earth, bringing to an end the reign of non-avian dinosaurs and destabilizing the marine food web. Abyssal scavengers and insects survive by feeding on the dead organisms. Some reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals manage to survive the impact from below the ground, while a single lineage of dinosaurs, the birds, also survive via eggs laid in the ground. A flashback to the Jurassic shows the origins of flight as a female Anchiornis uses its gliding capabilities to evade a juvenile Sinraptor. Despite the impact winter, the adaptations of conifers to the cold allow them to dominate the northern latitudes shortly after impact. Meanwhile, flowering plants come to dominate the tropics, forming tropical rainforests, the most biodiverse ecosystem on Earth. By the Miocene, the plains of South America are dominated by the giant terror birds, which hunt mammals such as Theosodon. As Australia moves north, coral reefs dominate the Arafura Sea, serving as centers of diversification for marine life. Seabirds spread across the planet to take advantage of the wealth of prey. Despite the success of birds, it was the mammals that would dominate the Cenozoic, as a Smilodon kills a Titanis.
- In live-action segments, Andean flamingoes conduct courtship in the Altiplano, a great grey owl hunts a vole in a conifer forest, hummingbirds such as the swordbill use their specialized adaptations to feed on nectar and compete for the best flowers, a flock of gannets feeds on a school of fish, Galápagos penguins use their wings to "fly" underwater and hunt fish while marine iguanas feed on kelp.
- On the last day of the Cretaceous, Edmontosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, Alamosaurus, and a plesiosaur go about their daily lives just before an asteroid the size of Mount Everest hits the Earth, causing the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. Megatsunamis, burning ejecta from the impact, an overheated atmosphere, and acid rain wipe out a majority of life on Earth, bringing to an end the reign of non-avian dinosaurs and destabilizing the marine food web. Abyssal scavengers and insects survive by feeding on the dead organisms. Some reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals manage to survive the impact from below the ground, while a single lineage of dinosaurs, the birds, also survive via eggs laid in the ground. A flashback to the Jurassic shows the origins of flight as a female Anchiornis uses its gliding capabilities to evade a juvenile Sinraptor. Despite the impact winter, the adaptations of conifers to the cold allow them to dominate the northern latitudes shortly after impact. Meanwhile, flowering plants come to dominate the tropics, forming tropical rainforests, the most biodiverse ecosystem on Earth. By the Miocene, the plains of South America are dominated by the giant terror birds, which hunt mammals such as Theosodon. As Australia moves north, coral reefs dominate the Arafura Sea, serving as centers of diversification for marine life. Seabirds spread across the planet to take advantage of the wealth of prey. Despite the success of birds, it was the mammals that would dominate the Cenozoic, as a Smilodon kills a Titanis.
Episode 7[]
- Inheriting the Earth - "Emerging from the dinosaurs' shadows, mammals went from underdogs to global power, with game-changing adaptations that would conquer land, air and sea.”
- In a flashback to the Jurassic, early mammals live in the shadow of the dinosaurs. Following the K-Pg mass extinction, they quickly rebounded and diversified. However, near the end of the Eocene, the separation of Antarctica and South America drives a global cooling and drying event, leading to new adaptations in mammals such as large sizes. A male Megacerops, one of these new giant mammals, unsuccessfully spars with a rival male over a female. The drying trend from Antarctica's separation continues and leads to the replacement of forests with grasslands over a fifth of Earth's area, leading to the extinction of many mammals. Surviving grazing mammals evolve specialized adaptations to process grass. In early Pleistocene South America, a curious young Smilodon investigates a herd of Doedicurus and attempts to prey on a juvenile, but is warded off by their tails. The Himalayas are shown as an example of major geologic changes during the Cenozoic. Mammals conquer both the sky and the sea; in a flashback to the Eocene, Maiacetus, a semiaquatic early whale, evades the giant shark Otodus. As the planet cooled, the descendants of Maiacetus would evolve into the largest animals ever known: the baleen whales. The cooling intensifies, plunging the planet into an ice age and leading to the dominance of a new type of mammal.
- In live-action segments, a pack of coatis search for food, capuchin monkeys open clams by hammering them on tree trunks, use their tails to absorb water & use citronella as an insect repellent, a cheetah unsuccessfully attempts to hunt a wildebeest calf, a female snow leopard raises her cubs while her mate's attempt to hunt ibex ends fatally, fruit bats are hunted by martial eagles, and male humpback whales compete over a female.
- In a flashback to the Jurassic, early mammals live in the shadow of the dinosaurs. Following the K-Pg mass extinction, they quickly rebounded and diversified. However, near the end of the Eocene, the separation of Antarctica and South America drives a global cooling and drying event, leading to new adaptations in mammals such as large sizes. A male Megacerops, one of these new giant mammals, unsuccessfully spars with a rival male over a female. The drying trend from Antarctica's separation continues and leads to the replacement of forests with grasslands over a fifth of Earth's area, leading to the extinction of many mammals. Surviving grazing mammals evolve specialized adaptations to process grass. In early Pleistocene South America, a curious young Smilodon investigates a herd of Doedicurus and attempts to prey on a juvenile, but is warded off by their tails. The Himalayas are shown as an example of major geologic changes during the Cenozoic. Mammals conquer both the sky and the sea; in a flashback to the Eocene, Maiacetus, a semiaquatic early whale, evades the giant shark Otodus. As the planet cooled, the descendants of Maiacetus would evolve into the largest animals ever known: the baleen whales. The cooling intensifies, plunging the planet into an ice age and leading to the dominance of a new type of mammal.
Episode 8[]
- Age of Ice and Fire - "As the Ice Age thawed, humans rose above the rest. But the possibility of a sixth mass extinction now looms: Has our ingenuity caused our downfall?”
- Near the beginning of the Pleistocene, changes in Earth's orbit, currents, and atmosphere lead to the ice age. By the end of the Pleistocene, the tundra-steppe circles the northern latitudes south of the ice sheets. On their migration through the steppe, a herd of Woolly Mammoths is ambushed by a pride of Cave Lions, who successfully take down a subadult male. A drying trend leads to the expansion of deserts south of the tundra-steppe, and the rainforests of Africa are almost entirely replaced with savanna. At the end of the glaciation, the ice sheets melt as the Earth's orbit shifts again and the climate warms. In North America, massive proglacial lakes form from the melting, and one such melting event leads to immense floods that carve a path across North America, but rapidly recede. The climate stabilizes and the world greens over the Holocene, allowing for a recovery of forests and wetlands. Many megafauna worldwide are mysteriously driven to extinction, which allows bison to dominate the Great Plains, where they are killed en masse in buffalo jumps by early human hunters, who had previously contributed to the megafaunal extinctions. Humans develop agriculture and give up the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, leading to the formation of complex society and civilization, and eventually technology. Humanity's dominance threatens the balance of Earth through habitat destruction and climate change, leading to the potential for a sixth mass extinction, which can only be halted through a concerted effort from humanity. However, Freeman notes that no matter what future awaits the Earth, "life has always found a way", as a dragonfly metamorphosizes and flies through a lush, post-apocalyptic London.
- In live-action segments, bison in the Yellowstone winter ward off wolves, two troops of baboons fight over fruit, a whiskered tern in the Danube delta unsuccessfully attempts to court a female, and humanity comes to dominate the globe.
- Near the beginning of the Pleistocene, changes in Earth's orbit, currents, and atmosphere lead to the ice age. By the end of the Pleistocene, the tundra-steppe circles the northern latitudes south of the ice sheets. On their migration through the steppe, a herd of Woolly Mammoths is ambushed by a pride of Cave Lions, who successfully take down a subadult male. A drying trend leads to the expansion of deserts south of the tundra-steppe, and the rainforests of Africa are almost entirely replaced with savanna. At the end of the glaciation, the ice sheets melt as the Earth's orbit shifts again and the climate warms. In North America, massive proglacial lakes form from the melting, and one such melting event leads to immense floods that carve a path across North America, but rapidly recede. The climate stabilizes and the world greens over the Holocene, allowing for a recovery of forests and wetlands. Many megafauna worldwide are mysteriously driven to extinction, which allows bison to dominate the Great Plains, where they are killed en masse in buffalo jumps by early human hunters, who had previously contributed to the megafaunal extinctions. Humans develop agriculture and give up the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, leading to the formation of complex society and civilization, and eventually technology. Humanity's dominance threatens the balance of Earth through habitat destruction and climate change, leading to the potential for a sixth mass extinction, which can only be halted through a concerted effort from humanity. However, Freeman notes that no matter what future awaits the Earth, "life has always found a way", as a dragonfly metamorphosizes and flies through a lush, post-apocalyptic London.
Animals Featured[]
List is subject to change as more animals get identified:
(Fauna portrayed in live action will be marked with a *)
Paleozoic[]
- Anomalocaris
- Olenoides
- Cameroceras
- Unidentified Ordovician trilobite (possibly Paraceraurus)
- Arandaspis
- Dunkleosteus
- Gonioclymenia
- Anthracosaurus
- Strepsodus
- Unidentified Scorpion*
- Arthropleura
- Inostrancevia
- Scutosaurus
- Lystrosaurus
Mesozoic[]
- Unidentified erythosuchid (likely Erythosuchus)
- Plateosaurus
- Unidentified Sauropod
- Anchiornis
- Sinraptor
- Unidentified Jurassic sea turtle (possibly Solnhofia)
- Pliosaurus
- Pterodactylus
- Diplodocus
- Allosaurus
- Deinonychus
- Arkansaurus
- Maiasaura
- Unidentified Cretaceous mammal
- Alamosaurus
- Unidentified maniraptoriform.
- Unidentified Ornithomimid
- Unidentified Cretaceous plesiosaur (possibly Rarosaurus)
- Unidentified Cretaceous pterosaur
- Edmontosaurus
- Triceratops
- Tyrannosaurus rex
Cenozoic[]
- Smilodon
- Phorusrhacos
- Doedicurus
- Titanis
- Theosodon
- Megacerops
- Otodus obliquus
- Maiacetus
- Cave lion (Panthera spelaea)
- Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius)
Holocene/Modern/Present Day[]
- Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)*
- Human (Homo sapiens)*
- Common Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)*
- Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus)*
- Heliconius butterfly*
- Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus)*
- Plains Zebra (Equus quagga)*
- Giraffe (genus Giraffa)*
- Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)*
- African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana)*
- African Lion (Panthera leo)*
- Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)*
- Impala (Aepyceros melampus)*
- Domestic Cattle (Bos taurus)*
- Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)*
- American Bison (Bison bison)*
- Sarcastic Fringehead (Neoclinus blanchardi)*
- Fabian's lizard (Liolaemus fabiani)*
- Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)*
- Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)*
- Gannet (Pelecanus bassanus)*
- Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis)*
- Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps)*
- South American Coati (Nasua nasua)*
- Panamanian White-Faced Capuchin (Cebus imitator)*
- Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)*
- Siberian Ibex (Capra sibirica)*
- Caribbean Reef Shark (Carcharhinus perezi)*
- Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris)*
- Sidewinder Rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes)*
- Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)*
- Straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum)*
- Great Grey Owl (Strix nebulosa)*
- Andean Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus)*
- Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus)*
- Galápagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus)*
- Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus)*
- Rainbow Nudibranch (Dendronotus iris)*
- Australian giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama)*
- Sarcastic fringehead (Neoclinus blanchardi)*
- Tiger beetle*
- Peacock spider (genus Maratus)*
- Trapdoor spider*
- Strawberry poison-dart frog (Oophaga pumilio)*
- Water Anole (Anolis aquaticus)*
- Shore Fly (Ephydridae)*
- Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)*
- Unidentified voles*
- Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus)*
- Matabele ant (Megaponera analis)*
- Bobtail squid*
Inaccuracies and Outdated Material[]
As this docuseries ages, more information is discovered that updates reconstructions of prehistoric fauna which will make Life on Our Planet obsolete; or there are some inaccuracies that should be brought up to clear any misconception. Such corrections will be listed here, and will grow as this media gets older.
- The creators behind this documentary openly admit that many of the designs for the creatures (ex. Titanis, Tyrannosaurus, Allosaurus) were more focused on appealing to audiences (notably, looking scary) rather than being scientifically accurate. Meaning that a number of animals presented are visually inaccurate to how they would've been in real life.
- The erythosuchid is presented as a more reptilian-like predator with a splayed gait like that of a crocodile or lizard, whereas in real life they were likely able to move around upright more like mammalian or dinosaurian genera.
- When describing the Lystrosaurus with the erythosuchid, it shows the former exhibiting excessive prey naivety, it being explained as Lystrosaurus evolving in a world without any competition due to the Permian-Triassic extinction event and therefore having no defense against predators. In truth, a number of predators also survived the event (ex. Moschorhinus), therefore Lystrosaurus would've recognized the predator as a threat and reacted accordingly.
- Dunkleosteus is presented in a much larger length of 8 to 9 meters, though newer studies now put the fish at around 4 meters. This is likely due to the documentary starting production during the late 2010's before the discovery was made.
- During the discussion of the K-Pg Extinction, it briefly shows Alamosaurus galloping away from a tidal wave, although more likely the animal was far too big to be able to actually run, let alone gallop.
- A number of scenes feature hunting moments that, in a general sense, wouldn't have played out in real life the same way they would've in the documentary: ex. a singular cave lion taking down a larger (albeit teenaged) mammoth with little to no effort, or a Smilodon doing the same to a much larger Titanis, again with little resistance from the latter.
- Anchiornis is depicted as being mostly white. Fossil analysis of the feather filaments show that the real animal would have instead been mostly gray and black.
- Smilodon would have not explicitly hunted Titanis as the species depicted was much smaller than the bird, making it a dangerous target, especially when hunting alone.
- A short necked plesiosaur was shown at the end of the Cretaceous period. The only animal this could be referring to is Rarosaurus, which at the time of the show’s release believed to be a polycotylid (a group of short necked plesiosaurs related to Elasmosaurs), however a 2024 study challenged its position as a plesiosaur suggesting that Rarosaurus is actually a marine Crocodylomorph.
Speculative Information[]
While not entirely wrong, speculative aspects of Life on Our Planet's creatures should be given light on what is proven fact and what is guesswork based on evidence to prevent any misconception.
- In a brief scene during the fight between two Titanis, the younger male is shown looking back at the older male, moving its eyeball to do so rather than turning its head, nearly looking behind it. In most bird species, bird irises are fixed in place with very limited movement, 10 to 20 degrees at best so their eyes aren't able to turn that far when the head is stationary (although some species of passerines are able to move their eyes 80 degrees). It's impossible to say though if a Terror Bird's eyes were able to move to that degree.
- The documentary featured a segment showing Deinonychus pack-hunting an Arkansaurus, an idea that only some now agree might not be accurate to how the raptor would actually behave.
- The pair of Titanis were featured doing a kind of dancing display as a form of intimidation to drive the other one off before blood could be shed. This is entirely speculative, as no modern birds are known to behave like this.
Gallery[]
Cover of Companion Book
Anchiornis gliding as shown in trailer
Two Tyrannosaurus as portrayed in Life on Our Planet
Smilodon near watering hole
Arthopleura pair as shown in trailer
Herd of ornithopods as seen in trailer
Pair of Smilodon hunting
Wooly Mammoth group portrayed in trailer
Wetlands with a herd of Diplodocus
Lystrosaurus in a burrow
Tyrannosaurus pair displaying affection
Cave Lions resting
Anthracosaurus feasting on a caught Strepsodus
Triceratops grazing in Cretaceous meadow
A Titanis competing with another Titanis
Allosaurus fighting against a herd of Diplodocus
Inostrancevia hunting Scutosaurus
Plateosaurus
Megacerops
Cameroceras
Footage[]
6 Mind Blowing New Nature Documentaries - Only on Netflix
Initial trailer for 6 documentaries including Life On Our Planet.
Life on Our Planet - Official Teaser - Netflix
Official Teaser Trailer
Life On Our Planet - Official Trailer - Netflix
Official Trailer
NEW TRAILER - Life On Our Planet
NEW CLIP - Arthropleura - The Giant Millipede (Life On Our Planet)
Clip of Arthropleura
NEW CLIP - Smilodons Hunting A Terror Bird (Life On Our Planet)
Clip of Smilodons Hunting Titanis