List of creatures in Primeval

The following is a complete list of creatures from the universe of ITV science fiction television series Primeval.

Ammonite
Ammonites are a group of marine animals of the subclass Ammonoidea in the class Cephalopoda, phylum Mollusca. Ammonites' closest living relative is probably not the modern Nautilus (which they outwardly resemble), but rather the subclass Coleoidea (octopus, squid, and cuttlefish). Their fossil shells usually take the form of planispirals, although there were some helically-spiralled and non-spiralled forms (known as "heteromorphs").

Many Ammonites lived in the open water of ancient seas, rather than at the sea bottom. Many of them are thought to have been good swimmers with flattened, discus-shaped, streamlined shells. Ammonites preyed on fishes, crustaceans and other small creatures; while they themselves were preyed upon by marine reptiles.

Anurognathus
Anurognathus was a tiny pterosaur that had a short head, pin-like teeth for catching insects, and although it traditionally is ascribed to the long tailed pterosaur group, its tail was comparatively short, allowing it more maneuverability for hunting in woodland. Anurognathus lived in the Late Cretaceous period, 85 million years ago and had a wingspan of 50 cm (20 inches) and a 9 cm long body (skull included), it could not have weighed more than a few grams. Despite this they prove to be creatures of devastating violence.

Anurognathus live like a flying piranha fish, with an amazingly keen sense of smell able to detect blood from hundreds of feet away. A swarm can strip flesh from bones in minutes. They also swarm in huge flocks and overcome prey through weight in numbers.

This fictional species of Agnurognathus evolved from the Jurassic species Agnurognathus ammoni which lived about 150 million years ago and had small needle like teeth for hunting insects. This evolved form has slicing teeth for taking lumps of flesh off large dinosaurs. The creatures seen here where re-imagined by the producers for dramatic effect.

Arthropleura
Arthropleura was a 2–3 metre (6–10 feet) long relative of centipedes and millipedes, native to the Upper Carboniferous of Britain and the United States. It was the largest known land invertebrate of all time and grew so large because of the high percentage of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere at that time. A burrower, they have poor eye sight but have excellent sense of smell and touch. One appears in the second episode. Although not a carnivore, they have powerful pincers and venomous bite and can easily be provoked into attacking.

Symptoms of Arthropleura poisoning include:
 * 1) Uncontrolled shaking.
 * 2) Anaphylaxis.
 * 3) Short term memory loss in recovered patients.

Once bitten the venom then begins to slowly attack the central nervous system, not so far removed from modern biochemistry as to be totally ineffective, and any enzyme inhibitor would be detrimental to an extent. However as the Arthropleura are detritus eaters they make no attempt to eat their victims.

Fortunately the hospital staff discovered that the Venom has a modern day equivalent, thus producing an anti-venom. This may come in useful as the Late Carboniferous Anomaly never appears to have closed, so more Arthropleura could potentially come through.

The Arthropleura also featured in the advertising campaign for the show, appearing in the The London Paper on the 16th of February 2007. The Arthropleura portrayed here is different from the creatures seen in the fossil record, re-imagined by the producers to make it scarier.

Coelurosauravus
Coelurosauravus are roughly iguana sized lizard-like diapsid reptiles native to the Permian period. It has specialized wing-like structures allowing it to glide. These were rod like structures with skin stretched over them; this features is unique to this genus. The average length of the specimens were 60 cm and the body was long and flat, suitable for its gliding nature.

The first Coelurosauravus which appears in the series is "Rex", which eventually becomes the team's pet. He is discovered in the Forest of Dean by a young boy, Ben, who contacts the zoo where Abby Maitland is working. When she arrives at the boy's home he suggests it may be the modern gliding lizard Draco volans, but Abby discredits this theory, saying the child may have discovered a new species.

The two journey into the Forest of Dean to see if they can find out more about Rex where they discover a dead cow lodged in a tree. When Rex runs away from Abby she follows it and becomes separated from the boy. In the process of trying to recapture Rex she discovers that it can fly, or at least glide very well. The others find Rex shortly after discovering the Scutosaurus, it is later taken to the Home Office where the researchers there examine him — however they scare it and it escapes, gliding through the building. It finds an open window and glides out. However it quickly returns enticed by Abby's lizard food.

When Nick Cutter goes through the Forest of Dean time anomaly, he tries to take Rex with him, but Rex sneaks back through shortly before the anomaly closes and is taken home, secretly, by Abby and kept as a pet. Though it is unclear what happened to Rex in Episode 5, he evidently survived the swarm of Anurognathus as he is seen once again in Abby's flat in Episode 6.

Columbian Mammoth
The Columbian Mammoth was one of the largest of the mammoth species and also one of the largest elephants to have ever lived, measuring 4 metres, or 13 feet, at the shoulder and weighing 9.8 tons with tusks 5 metres, or 16 feet, long.

It was a herbivore, with a diet consisting of varied plant life ranging from grasses to conifers. It has been estimated that a large male would have eaten approximately 700 pounds, or 318.2 kilograms, of plant material daily.

The remains of Columbian Mammoths were discovered in the La Brea Tar Pits in California and this mammoth also lived in Mexico, where its remains are very common. It was one of the last members of the Megafauna to become extinct, with several specimens dating only about 7,800 years ago.

While the details are yet to be known, a Mammoth is stated to appear in series two holding up traffic on the M25 motorway.

Dodo
Dodos are flightless birds from the late Holocene. The Dodo was found only on the islands of Mauritius. Related to pigeons and doves, they stand about a metre tall (three feet), weighing about 23 kg (50 pounds). Dodos have greyish plumage, a 23-centimetre (9-inch) bill with a hooked point, very small wings, stout yellow legs, and a tuft of curly feathers on its rear end. The sternum is insufficient to support flight; these ground-bound birds evolved to take advantage of an island ecosystem with no predators. They live on fallen fruit and in the Primeval Universe they exist in a symbiotic relationship with the Ambalacoque tree.

The name Dodo came from the Portuguese word doudo or doido, itself a loanword from Old English (cf. English "dolt"). The name was given because the Dodo apparently never tried to run or escape when hunted hence they where traditionally regarded as stupid. The species was hunted to extinct during the 17th Century, shortly after the first arrival of people on the Dodo's native Mauritius.

They appeared in Episode Four. Nick Cutter quickly realizes they are just friendly and trusting, never having to deal with predators before. In reality they were as intelligent as any other bird. The dodos are themselves harmless, but some carry deadly parasites.

Future Predator
The Future Predator is a creature that appears in Episode Six. It stands at 2 metres tall and weighs half a ton. Nick and the other members of the crew believe that the Future Predators entered the present day not from the past (unlike all the other animals in the series) but from the future, presumably after the demise of man. First entering the Permian era through an Anomaly leading to the future and then into the present through the Anomaly in the Forest of Dean in pursuit of Helen Cutter.

DNA analysis shows that the future predator seems to be descended from a sort of bat, which became big and flightless, similar to those in Dougal Dixon's After Man: A Zoology of the Future.

Its elongated head houses a highly intelligent brain and a melon organ. The ears have moved to the centre of the face, giving the sonar a more directed and precise interpretation of the surrounding environment - an improvement on that used by the bats of today. Its eyes are small and weak, with an incredibly advanced sonar system, echolocation layered over low quality vision. The two nostrils have merged into one large hole in the middle of the face. Future Predators also live together in life partnerships (a female and a male). When the couple have offspring the male guards the nest and the female does the hunting.

The Future Predators are not very strong, and rely more on acrobatics and agility to take down prey. The species advanced sonar can also be its weakness as Nick manages to kill one by luring it into a greenhouse, then blowing out the glass with a gun, scrambling its sonar system with a jumble of sonar echoes from the falling pieces of glass.

Future Predators will return to Primeval Series 2, along with other creatures from the future, although not much has been revealed yet. They will also appear in the book, The Lost Predator. The predator was designed by Digital Textures Lead Daren Horley.

Giant Spider
The Giant Spiders are, despite appearances, not true spiders (order Araneae), but a species of Solifugae, a distinct arachnid order. The name derives from Latin, and means those that flee from the sun.

The adults are up to 1 metre wide, by 1 metre long, because the lush rainforest of the Carboniferous saturates the atmosphere with oxygen, allowing them to grow larger than modern arthropods. They have pincers instead of fangs - like the modern day camel spider, only much bigger.

They also have long pedipalps, which function as sense organs similar to insects' antennae and give the appearance of the two extra legs. Pedipalps terminate in reversible adhesive organs.They do not appear to make webs or produce venom but they nest in large groups and are very defensive of their offspring.

A nest of them appears in the second episode and eventually it is discovered that they avoid light, and by using torches, all the Giant Spiders were driven back through the anomaly by the end of Episode Two. However the Late Carboniferous anomaly never completely closed, so unless the team assigned some Special Forces soldiers to guard it, more Giant Spiders could potentially come through.

These creatures are based on fragmentary fossils which scientist thought was a 1 meter wide spider but this has just recently been reclassified as a type of scorpion. The Giant Spiders also featured in the advertising campaign for the show. First on giant billboards on the 1st of February 2007 and again in the The London Paper on the 16th of February 2007.

Gorgonopsid
Gorgonopsia are a group of creatures that where at one time called "mammal-like reptiles", though in most current classifcation systems, they are not true reptiles, instead much more closely related to true mammals. Their mammalian specializations include differentiated tooth shape, the fully developed temporal fenestra, pillar-like rear legs and even ear bones, as well as other traits associated with its mammalian descendants. Arguments have even been made for synapsids of its time being endothermic.

What’s really special about Gorgonopsid’s are their patience and implacability. Once they have smelt blood they have a tendency to peruse their prey at all costs. In fact it was this keen sense of smell that originally tempted it into the cold present, lured by the smell of Humans and waste from a supermarket. They then store their kills in trees like Leopards.

They also appear to be resilient and long lived as one male Gorgonopsid was still defending the Territory around the Anomaly for at least eight years, even after suffering horrible injuries with after a fight with a Future Predator which apparently healed without much scarring. Due to the thick armour on their back, the only way to combat them with regular fire arms is to aim for their underside.

This new species is a typical representative of the Gorgonopsia, It is distinguished from other species by a longer snout, and other details of the bones of the skull. It also has naked skin with short bristly hair rather than scales. This creature is based on Gorgonops longifrons found in the Karoo Basin in South Africa which was between 3 and 4 metres long and had eight centimetre sabres.

Hesperornis
Hesperornis is an extinct genus of flightless aquatic birds that lived during the Late Cretaceous. Hesperornis were very large birds, reaching up to 2 metres (6.5 feet) in length. They had virtually no wings, swimming with powerful hind legs. Their toes were probably lobed rather than being webbed, as in today's grebes; like in these, the toes could rotate well, which is necessary to decrease drag in lobed feet but not in webbed ones such as in loons, where the toes are simply folded together.

Like many other Mesozoic birds such as Ichthyornis, Hesperornis had teeth in its beak which were used to hold prey (most likely fish). In the hesperornithiform lineage they were of a different arrangement than in any other known bird (or in non-avian theropod dinosaurs), with the teeth sitting in a longitudinal groove rather than in individual sockets.

They hunted in the waters of the North American Inland Sea which then were tropical waters, much warmer than today. They probably fed mainly on fish, their teeth were helpful in dealing with slippery or hard-shelled prey. Later as Nick Cutter swims through the anomaly he finds himself in a tropical sea with a flock of Hesperornis swimming around him. He later finds a Hesperornis rookery amongst the rocky shoreline. Two Hesperornis investigate, but Helen Cutter shoos them off by throwing small stones, and says that they "tend to be more dumb than violent, only attacking when they're in a panic or disturbed."

Hesperornis is shown as being covered in scales when in real life, Hesperornis was likely covered in feathers. Also they were not able to stand upright or walk as the legs attached far at the back and sideways, with even the lower leg being tightly attached to the body. Thus, they were limited to sliding on their belly or galumphing.

Mosasaur
Mosasaurs were serpentine marine reptiles and ferocious predators. Mosasaurs were not dinosaurs but evolved from semi-aquatic squamates known as the aigialosaurs, close relatives of modern-day monitor lizards. Mosasaurs breathed air and were powerful swimmers that were well-adapted to living in the warm, shallow epicontinental seas prevalent during the Late Cretaceous Period. Mosasaurs are intensely territorial and cannibals, and the only meetings between two Mosasaurs that don’t end in violence occur when the Mosasaurs in question are of opposite sexes, and there is the possibility of mating.

The skull was more robustly built than other mosasaurs, as the mandibles articulated very tightly with the skull. It had a deep, barrel-shaped body, and with its fairly large eyes, poor binocular vision, and poorly developed olfactory bulbs, experts believe that Mosasaurus lived near the ocean surface, where it preyed on fish, turtles, ammonites as well as smaller Mosasaurs. Because of its robust skull and tightly articulating jaws, Mosasaurus was unable to swallow prey-items whole in the manner of earlier mosasaurs, such as Tylosaurus. Instead, with the aid of its curved, knife-like teeth, Mosasaurus was able to tear its prey into more manageable pieces that could be more easily swallowed.

The Mosasaur was shown to have an armored crocodile-like body, but in reality it would have been smooth-skinned and streamlined. Also it swallowed the lifeguard whole even though its jaw and enlarged neck muscles were evolved to tear and rip prey apart.

Parasite
This previously undiscovered species is a cestoid Parasite, up to 30 centimeters long and weighing up to 70 grams from the late Holocene. The Parasites belong to the group Taeniidae which are distinguished from the other families of the order Cestoidea by having a distinct head, furnished with four suctorial discs.

They feed off the nutrients in the bloodstream of its host, destroying the internal organs in the process. It then burrows into the brain of the carrier and manipulates it for the benefit of the Parasite. The Parasite causes the host to become aggressive. The bite of the host serves to spread the Parasite's eggs, which are released into the saliva, to a new host.

Symptoms of Parasite infection include:
 * 1) Drooling.
 * 2) Fear of Light.
 * 3) Increased strength and aggression.
 * 4) Vomiting.
 * 5) Variations in skin pigmentation and discoloration of the iris.

The mature Parasites eventually kill the host and themselves as part of their reproductive cycle. Each individual has male and female reproductive structures in its proglottid and can reproduce independently. Any warm blooded creature is an acceptable host, even humans. They became extinct during the 17th Century, shortly after the arrival of people on their native Mauritius.

Pteranodon
Pteranodon was a large Pterosaur, notable for its skull crest. These may have been used as mating displays, or it might have acted as a rudder, or perhaps both; also, it may have acted as a counterweight to the large beak. Despite its huge size, at 9 metres, Pteranodon is not the biggest of the pterosaurs, creatures like Quetzocoatlus could reach 13m.

It could, like the modern-day albatross, glide by navigating through thermals based on the fact that the Pteranodon had a high aspect ratio (wingspan to chord length) similar to that of the albatross — 9:1 for Pteranodon, compared to 8:1 for an albatross, but was also fully capable of powered flight).

In Episode Five, a Pteranodon appears from an anomaly above a golf course. It then apparently attacks Connor and Rex. After some chasing, Connor and Rex jump down a hill as the Pteranodon swoops and flies away above them. It was assumed that this creature was responsible for the death of a golfer earlier. Later Stephen discovers that its diet contains fish and small reptiles but no human remains, proving that it did not kill the golfer and the real killer is still out there. This also proves that it was trying to catch Rex, not kill Connor.

Pterosaur
Pterosaurs are sometimes referred to in the popular media as dinosaurs, but this is incorrect. The term "dinosaur" is properly restricted to a certain group of terrestrial reptiles with a unique upright stance (superorder Dinosauria), and therefore excludes the pterosaurs, as well as the various groups of extinct aquatic reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs.

In Episode Three, Nick Cutter travels through an underwater anomaly and finds himself in a Cretaceous tropical sea, 70 million years ago. As he comes ashore and puts his scuba down on the beach he observed several Pterosaurs, at a distance, flying and feeding over the costal waters.

Sarcopterygian
Sarcopterygians are a group of prehistoric fish which are traditionally classed as lobe-finned fishes, which in the real world include the modern day lungfish and the coelacanth, Latimeria. These are bony fish with paired rounded fins. The fin-limbs of sarcopterygiians are so like the expected ancestral form of tetrapod limbs that they have been universally considered the direct ancestors of land vertebrates.

Sarcopterygians have modified cosmoid scales, which are thinner than true cosmoid scales, which can only be found on extinct fish. Coelacanths also have a special electroreceptive device called a rostral organ in the front of the skull, which probably helps in prey detection.

One recently-caught, preserved member of this group appears in the first episode. It was caught in the Indian Ocean and sent to Professor Nick Cutter to be identified. He discovers that this species of Sarcopterygian should have been extinct for 70 million years. This suggests however that there has been at least one other anomaly open for it to escape into modern times.

Scutosaurus
Scutosaurus was a genus of armour-covered Permian period pareiasaur, loosely related to the turtles. Its genus name refers to large plates of bony scutes (osteoderms) set in the skin, as a defense against predators. But the most unusual thing about them were the heavy skulls ornamented with strange knobs and ridges. It was of a very heavy build, almost rhinoceros-like. Unlike most reptiles, held its legs underneath its body with stubby toes to support its great weight. These fearsome-looking animals were in fact inoffensive herbivores, which was well adapted to the dry conditions which covered much of Pangaea at that time. A social animal, they migrated in large groups. The leaf-shaped multi-cusped teeth resemble those of iguanas, caseids, and other reptilian herbivores. This dentition, together with the deep capacious body which would have housed an extensive digestive tract.

One appears in the first episode, the team come across it in the Forest of Dean. It is a herbivore and therefore is not responsible for the death of the cow that they discovered earlier the same day in a tree. When in the past, they see several more Scutosaurus roaming a desert.

Although initially described correctly as a pareiasaur, this species is from then on called a dinosaur throughout the episode in which it appears. Although based on the heavily armour species called Scutosaurus kapinski that lived about 260 million years ago in Russia, the size of the Scutosaurus in the series is exaggerated for dramatic purposes. . It is described as at least "five or six tons" in weight, about as big as an elephant. In fact the actual Scutosaurus was much smaller, no more than 3 meters in length.

Smilodon
Smilodon is a vicious carnivourous sabre-toothed cat that lived in the Pleistocene in both North and South America. They are commonly and incorrectly called "saber toothed tigers" where, in truth, all modern day cats evolved from a completely different line.

A fully-grown Smilodon weighed approximately 200 kilograms (450 pounds) and had a short tail, powerful legs, and a large head. The cats have two huge canine teeth, about 17 cm (7 inches) long, that is used to kill prey by suffocation. The jaws could open to about 120 degrees in order to use these fangs to deadly effect. They eventually died out due to climate change.

Smilodon was mentioned in episode 4 by Helen as "sabre-toothed killers". However, she lied when she claimed they would come through at that point, and escaped through the Spaghetti Junction. The cats will make a proper appearance in the second series, rampaging through Thorpe Park.

Velociraptor
Velociraptor is a bipedal carnivore with a long, stiffened tail and had an enlarged, sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which is thought to have been used to kill its prey. Velociraptor can be distinguished from other dromaeosaurids by its long and low skull, with an upturned snout. Velociraptor was small for a dromaeosaurid, with adults measuring 6 ft long and 2 ft high at the hip.

While the details are yet to be known, it has been stated that the Velociraptors wreak havoc in a John Lewis shopping centre, specifically a China shop. In an interview a clip was shown of a bowling ball that had fallen through an anomaly. Then a Velociraptor, not shown fully, comes up and sniffs it

The Primeval version of Velociraptor is shown as being covered in scales when in real life, Velociraptor, like other maniraptoran theropods, was covered in feathers.

Ambalacoque
Ambalacoque grows to 30-40 m tall with a rich white, gummy latex called chicle in its bark. The ornamental leaves are medium green and glossy. The fruit is a large, 4-8 cm in diameter and containing 2-10 seeds.

These seeds only germinate after passing through the digestive tract of a Dodo. The reason for this relationship is that 'Dodo's, like many birds, need to eat stones, (or Roswell keyrings) in order to make their digestive system work. The harsh conditions in its digestive system would have destroyed any delicate seeds, so variants of the Ambalacoque with hardier pits gained an evolutionary advantage. Over time, variants with extremely tough seeds became dominant and also dependent upon the Dodo's as part of their reproductive cycle as the grinding of a bird's gizzard abraded away at the stony pit so that the seed within could sprout through.

The species became extinct during the 17th Century, shortly after the first arrival of people on their native Mauritius. When the Dodo's died out the trees where unable to reproduce and also became extinct.

Conifers
The Conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being trees with just a few being shrubs.

Species of Conifers can be found growing naturally in almost all parts of the world, and are frequently dominant plants in their habitats, as in the taiga, for example. Conifers are of immense economic value, primarily for timber and paper production; the wood of conifers is known as softwood. The division contains approximately 700 living species.

Conifers are the most common plant species in the series. They first appered in Episode one, not only is the forest of Dean almost completely dominated by modern Conifers, but a prehistoric species are sometimes seen through the anomaly in the Permian Period. Conifers also appear in the fossil record as far back as the late Carboniferous period and so might reside in the other end of the London Underground anomaly although this was never seen.

Gymnosperm
The gymnosperms (Gymnospermae) are a group of spermatophyte seed-bearing plants with ovules on the edge or blade of an open sporophyll, the sporophylls usually arranged in cone-like structures. Gymnosperms are heterosporous, producing microspores that develop into pollen grains and megaspores that are retained in an ovule. After fertilization (joining of the micro- and megaspore), the resulting embryo, along with other cells comprising the ovule, develops into a seed.

Towards the end of the Permian the glaciers where receding and the continental interiors became arid deserts, with great seasonal fluctuations (wet and dry seasons), because of the lack of the moderating effect of nearby bodies of water. These drying conditions in this world favour gymnosperms over plants such as ferns and the first modern trees such as conifers, that where beginning to appeared at the time.

Theses gymnosperm groves form lush oases of greenery in an otherwise barren world where Coelurosauravus nest and where Cutter and Captain Ryan made their ill-fated camp.

Spaghetti Junction Grass
Grass is a common word that generally describes a group of green plants in the family Gramineae (Poaceae). True grasses include most plants grown as grains, for pasture, and for lawns (turf). This group also include bamboos. Grasses have proven to be among the most versatile of life forms adapting to conditions in lush rain forests, dry deserts, and cold mountain steppes, and are presently the most widespread of all plant types.

In the otherworldy planes of Spaghetti Junction, A species of Grass dominates the landscape, forming a large central grassland which streches in all directions for thousands of miles. This Grass also appears to be the only native species in that world, although whether or not it is native to this world or an introduced species that originally came from another world like the Dodo's and florished their, most Grass species are highly adaptable, is an unaswered question.

It’s been confirmed that Spaghetti Junction will be revisited in series two by co-creator Adrian Hodges so explanations as to the nature of the anomaly network and its inhabitants will presumably be given then.

Advertising campaign
These animals appear only in the advertising campaign. First on giant billboards since February 1st 2007 and again in the thelondonpaper in February 16th 2007. They also appear as free computer wallpapers on the official site. However, as these creatures did not appear in the actual series, whether or not these are canon is still highly disputed.



Bird of Prey
In one the team are shown to be under attack from a giant Hawk of some kind. The shape of the feet show that it to be more Avian in nature and not the Pteranodon from Episode Five as Pteranodon was incapable of grasping with its feet and Pteranodon has five toes and this creature only has four.



Millipede
In the second, Nick Cutter and Abby Maitland are surrounded by a Giant Arthropod. The markings on the cuticle and its large size show this is not the Arthropleura from Episode Two. Also the creature appears to be trying to constrict them like an Anaconda. This creature is referred to as Millipede.

Unknown Animals
The precence and identity of these animals have yet to be identified. This section is temporary and will eventually be incorporated into the above lists when they have been confirmed.

Sand Monster
An article dated 5 September, 2007 claimed that a scene had been filmed at a Bournemouth beach where hapless beach-goers are under attack from some unknown animal. While no details are given as to the nature of this creature, despite the fact that it plays a crucial role in the second series, it is prehistoric and apparently lives beneath the sand. It is also meat-eating, and will be composed completely of CGI. It was also stated that Stephen Hart battled the creature.

Exclusive video creatures
In an exclusive Primeval video, Adrian Hodges is seen with models of a Dunkleosteus, Metriorhynchus and a model of a dinosaur resembling an Alvarezsauridae in the background. These may appear in series two or these could simply be old models used from the "Walking with ..." series spin-offs Sea Monsters and Chased by Dinosaurs.