David Attenborough on Television Screens Once Again

For those of us in the United Kingdom, look out for David Attenborough’s new television series which starts on Friday 20th September and is being shown on BBC 2 (9pm).  This two-part documentary series which has the same format as the 2011 documentary series called “David Attenborough’s First Life” takes viewers through the evolution of the vertebrates.

The evolution of animals with backbones is one of the greatest stories in natural history. Brand-new discoveries of fossils, including some amazing fossil discoveries from China, combined with stunning CGI and cinematography enable Sir David to tell this fascinating story and reveal that humans (Homo sapiens) are just part of an amazing lineage of animals that dates back some 500 million years or so.

David Attenborough

In the first episode, entitled “From The Seas To The Skies”, David Attenborough uses new fossil evidence to unlock nature’s most extraordinary story, the incredible ascent of the animal group that now dominates our planet, the vertebrates.  The origins of the vertebrates lie in primitive fish that once swam in ancient seas but remarkable advances allowed them to make the radical move onto land, and then take to the skies with the advent of flight.

David Attenborough’s Rise of the Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates

Sir David tells the story of the vertebrates.

Sir David tells the story of the vertebrates.

Picture credit: BBC

Team members at Everything Dinosaur have rated this series ten out of ten, we highly recommend watching either on the television or via other channels such as online.

Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the help of BBC Media Centre for the compilation of this article.