Characters / Sea Monsters A Prehistoric Adventure

Marine Reptiles

Dolichorhynchops

Dolichorhynchops osborni

A dolphin-sized polycotylid plesiosaur.

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• Artistic Licence Paleontology: Plesiosaurs had large babies relative to their mother's size, so the female protagonist should be already a third of her mother's length from birth.
• Bizarre Alien Locomotion: Like all plesiosaurs, they swim using four paddle-like flippers.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: Has the long snout of a gharial, on a vaguely pinniped-like body.
• Pregnant Reptile: Dolly's mother is shown giving birth to Dolly and her brother.^note This is based on scientific evidence, as a specimen of a close relative of Dolichorhynchops, Polycotylus, was a mother with a fetus inside her body.

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The Female Dolichorhynchops

The Dolichorhynchops protagonist of the story.

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• Life Will Kill You: After many years of surviving the Perilous Prehistoric Seas and reproducing, she finally succumbs to old age.
• Missing Mom: Her mother is killed by a Cretoxyrhina.
• Rugged Scar: Gets a chunk taken out of her left hind flipper by a Squalicorax.

Styxosaurus

Styxosaurus snowii

A distant relative of the Dolichorhynchops; an elasmosaurid plesiosaur.

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• Bizarre Alien Locomotion: Like Dolichorhynchops, they swim using four paddle-like flippers.
• Gentle Giant: Despite dwarfing the Dolichorhynchops they leave them alone, as they are happy to feast on fish instead.
• Long Neck: The Styxosaurus make good use of these when catching fish.

Platecarpus

Platecarpus tympaniticus

A mosasaur that feeds on small fish and squid.

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Tylosaurus

Tylosaurus proriger

A larger relative of Platecarpus, and a ferocious apex predator.

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• Always a Bigger Fish: Both a Hesperornis and and a Squalicorax are eaten by a Tylosaurus while in pursuit of their prey, a small fish and the female protagonist respectively.
• Behemoth Battle: A 29-foot Tylosaurus finds himself in the sights of a larger individual of the same species. The skirmish concludes with the death of the smaller tylosaur.
• Dire Beast: Is seen as this to the smaller Platecarpus.
• Neck Snap: A large Tylosaurus kills a smaller one in this way during a territorial confrontation.

Protostega

Protostega gigas

A giant sea turtle.

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• Dire Beast: A giant sea turtle, much larger than the leatherback sea turtle of today.
• Gentle Giant: A Protostega is seen feeding on squid, and pays no attention to Dolly when she passes by it.

Archosaurs

Pteranodon

Pteranodon longiceps

A pteranodontid pterosaur.

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• Terror-dactyl: Beautifully averted with perhaps the most accurate depiction of Pteranodon longiceps in a documentary (as of the documentary's release). It is even covered in a dark covering that may or may not be pycnofibers, a fur-like covering most, if not all pterosaurs possessed.

Hesperornis

Hesperornis regalis

A flightless seabird.

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• Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: Hesperornis is basically a giant, flightless grebe with teeth.
• Toothy Bird: It is a seabird that has teeth.

Gorgosaurus

A medium-sized tyrannosaur that appears in the beginning of the documentary.

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• Anachronism Stew: The oldest Gorgosaurus is dated to around 77 million years ago, 5 million years after the time period the documentary takes place. That being said, it isn't referred as such in the documentary.

Fish

Enchodus

Enchodus sp.

Saber-toothed baitfish.

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• Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: They form bait balls not unlike sardines.
• Monster Munch: Serve no other role than to be food for other marine creatures.

Xiphactinus

Xiphactinus audax

A 17-foot long predatory fish.

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• Deadly Dodging: Dolly moves out of the way of a charging Xiphactinus just in time for the fish to ram head-first into a Gillicus, which it eats. It backfires on the Xiphactinus, which dies because of internal damage caused by swallowing such big prey.
• Death by Gluttony: A Xiphactinus swallows a Gillicus whole, which damages the Xiphactinus' insides, killing it.
• Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: They resemble giant oceanic tigerfish.
• Fiendish Fish: A Xiphactinus pursues Dolly.

Squalicorax

Squalicorax sp.

A medium sized shark and potential prey of Tylosaurus.

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• Always a Bigger Fish: The Squalicorax pursuing Dolly gets snapped up by a Tylosaurus, allowing Dolly to escape.
• Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: They are ecological equivalents to requiem (carcharinid) sharks.
• Monster Munch: Out of the three appearances made by this shark, the first two end up with the shark eaten by a Tylosaurus.
• No Name Given: Is not referred to by name at any point in the documentary. The narrator refers to it as a "smaller shark".
• Threatening Shark: A Squalicorax attacks Dolly, biting a chunk out of her left hind flipper.

Cretoxyrhina

Cretoxyrhina mantelli

A large shark.

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• Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: They attack their prey from below like great white sharks.
• Threatening Shark: A Cretoxyrhina kills Dolly's mother.

Invertebrates

Tusoteuthis

Enchoteuthis melanae^note formerly Tusoteuthis longa

A giant prehistoric squid.

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• Giant Squid: Tusoteuthis is a squid as large as the giant squid of today.