The following is a complete list of creatures from the universe of ITV science fiction television series Primeval and also any spin-off merchandise. The series includes various imaginary species which are not native to the series setting, with some being prehistoric and others being futuristic. Various creatures were designed with some artistic license, for dramatic effect.[1] A number of creatures from the Walking with... series were also reimagined for dramatic effect.
In 2007 Character Options announced they would create Primeval action figures, including both a flying Rex and a large plush toy Rex, Future Predators, Hesperornis and Dodos).
| Primeval creatures: | Top A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z References External links |
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| Ammonite | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Cretaceous or earlier |
| First appearance | Episode 1.1 |
| Last appearance | Episode 2.7 |
| Returned to era? | No. Died out of water. |
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 fish, crustaceans and other small creatures; while they themselves were preyed upon by marine reptiles.
Helen Cutter leaves Ammonites as calling cards on Nick's desk, and on Stephen's grave in episode 2.7.
| Anatotitan | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Extinction Event |
| Number | A large herd |
In Extinction Event, the first large dinosaurs the kidnapped team spot are Anatotitan, which are described as large hadrosaurs that move in large herds, stampeding whenever they are threatened by a predator such as the Tyrannosaurus. They were said to be a yellow-brown color with dark brown camouflage stripes down their back, similar to the Iguanodon in The Lost Island.
| Ankylosaurus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Extinction Event |
| Number | At least one in the present, two in the Cretaceous |
In Extinction Event, Ankylosaurs are seen a couple of times, at first one plods harmlessly through the team's campsite, and prove to be resistant to gunfire, and later Jenny and the soldiers accomponying her are almost killed after an angered Ankylosaurus hits the car they are in with its tail club. A mother and baby are also seen in the Cretaceous.
| Anurognathus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Jurassic |
| Appears in | Episode 1.5 Episode 5.5 |
| Number | Dozens |
| Humans killed | 5 |
| Returned to era? | No. All killed in episode 1.5, still at large in episode 5.5. |
Anurognathus was a tiny pterosaur that had a short head with 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. [2] Anurognathus lived in the Late Jurassic period, 130 million years ago and had a wingspan of 50 cm (20 in) and a 50 cm (20 in) long body (skull included), it could not have weighed more than a few grams. Despite this they prove to be creatures of devastating violence.[3]
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.[3]
This fictional species of Anurognathus evolved from the Jurassic species Anurognathus 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. This behavior may be slightly based on the theory that a similar anurognathid pterosaur, Jeholopterus, was a hematophagous creature, like the modern vampire bat.[4] The creatures seen here were re-imagined from the ones in Walking with Dinosaurs by the producers for dramatic effect.[1]
In episode 5.5 a flock appears at the New Dawn power station. They attack Matt and Emily and later kill two Prospero guards. They later attack and kill April. What happened to them is unknown.
| Arthropleura | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Carboniferous |
| First appearance | Episode 1.2 |
| Last appearance | Episode 2.7 |
| Number | 2 |
| Humans killed | 1 |
| Returned to era? | All killed in present. |
Arthropleura was a 2–3 m (7–10 ft) long (about 6 m (20 ft) long in the series) 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 eyesight 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.[5] For dramatic effect, the Arthropleura in episode 1.2 was heavily re-imagined as it was venomous, larger than the real animal and highly aggressive.[1]
Symptoms of the Arthropleura poisoning include uncontrolled shaking, anaphylaxis and 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.[5]
An Arthropleura also reappeared in the series finale of Series 2 as one of the many creatures captured by Leek. When the security system holding it failed, it ran amok, although how it had survived thus far without the carboniferous atmosphere that it needed to live, remains a mystery.
Arthropleura also featured in the advertising campaign for the show, appearing in The London Paper on the 16 February 2007. The Arthropleura portrayed here is different from the creatures seen in the fossil record, in addition to the Arthropleura in Walking with Monsters as well as in Prehistoric Park, re-imagined by the producers to make it scarier.[1]
| Australopithecus | |
|---|---|
| Species | Australopithecus afarensis |
| Home era | Pliocene |
| Appears in | Episode 3.10 |
| Returned to era? | Never left their own time |
Australopithecus are believed to be the ancestors of modern-day humans.
Helen Cutter believed the only way to stop the destruction of life on earth was to stop humans from evolving, so she attempted to wipe out our ancestors. She began by poisoning the members of the "First Family" in episode 3.10, but is killed herself before she can complete her plan. Danny Quinn later found several more living in the Rift Valley as he attempted to find his way back to the anomaly.
| Badger-like mammal | |
|---|---|
| Appears in | The Lost Island |
| Number | 1 |
In The Lost Island, the team are marooned in the Cretaceous, when they run into a mammal described as being similar to a badger. It briefly snarls at the team, and then runs off. It turns out to have been later feasting on a dead Iguanodon calf.
| Burrowing insect | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Future |
| Appears in | Episode 5.1 |
| Humans killed | 2+ |
| Returned to era? | No, all killed in explosion |
This creature is from the future, and has been encountered by Matt Anderson before, allowing him knowledge of their behaviour. Adults are 2–3 m (7–10 ft) in length. They have armoured shells, however their underbelly is softer. Their anomaly must have opened some years before and they had dug tunnels stretching all across London.
In episode 5.1, one attacked a roadworker who fell into one of its tunnels, and returned when Matt, Becker and Abby arrived, attempting to attack them as they fired their EMDs, which did not affect it. It then attacked a man at a barbecue, which alerted the team who tried to use lethal weapons to bring it down, only for the creature to drag Connor into its tunnel. As the team located its nest, it succumbed to the damage done to it and died, leaving Connor to find dozens more inside the building. Connor filled the building with gas and escaped with Matt as the building was blown up in order to exterminate them.
| Camouflage Beast | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Future |
| Appears in | Episode 3.2 |
| Humans killed | 2 |
| Returned to era? | Fell back through the anomaly after being shot by Danny Quinn |
In episode 3.2, the Camouflage Beast (it is never given a name on screen) is the major, and only, creature. It has been shown on the ITV website that this creature is based heavily on the Madagascan Aye-Aye which is seen as a symbol of death in its homeland. The creature may speak some kind of language, as it makes a kind of hissing, whispering noise when it is alone.
It was responsible for the disappearance of two boys 14 years before the present, including Patrick Quinn, and leaving Ryan Mason the only survivor. In the present day it was being fed raw meat by a girl in order to keep it from eating neighbouring pets. When the team arrived at the now abandoned house they could not find the creature due to its camouflage ability, and later it attacked Abby when she was alone. Abby later followed it and discovered the girl feeding it. She and Ryan were in the house when it attacked again, however when the others arrived it killed a real estate agent. It attacked Danny Quinn, and it went through its anomaly when it reopened, however it came back, only to be shot several times by Danny as it fell back through, possibly dead.
In episode 4.7 Patrick Quinn, who in fact survived and went through the anomaly, stated that the Camouflage beasts kept coming for him and was forced to kill them to survive. The trauma caused him to also see humans as animals, and became convinced that killing humans is not any different from killing animals.
| Coelurosauravus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Permian |
| First appearance | Episode 1.1 |
| Number | 1 |
| Returned to era? | No, kept as a pet |
A male Coelurosauravus, later named "Rex", entered the present in the series' premiere, and despite attempts to send it back to the Permian, was adopted by Abby and quickly became a mascot for the team. Coelurosauravus is incorrectly shown to be capable of powered flight rather than simple gliding, and shown to be far larger than its real size of 30 cm (12 in). Its head crest is also entirely speculative.
In episode 1.1, Rex was kept by Ben Trent after he came through the Permian anomaly, and was assumed to be the flying lizard Draco volans until Abby Maitland arrived and said he wasn't. After encountering a Scutosaurus and a group of others, Rex was taken to the Home Office to be examined. He escaped the lab and flew around the building, and Abby kept him from leaving. He was returned through the Permian anomaly by Nick Cutter, but came back to the present and was taken back to Abby's flat in secret. Abby had to adjust the temperature of her flat so that it was similar to his own environment, and Connor Temple discovered him, but agreed to not reveal Rex's pressence. Rex escaped from the flat in episode 1.5, and was accidentally transported to a golf course where Connor tried to catch him. Rex ran off as they were attacked by a Pteranodon, and Abby pleaded to Cutter to let her keep him. Rex was later found and returned to the flat.
In episode 2.2, Rex took an instant dislike to Connor's new girlfriend Caroline Steel, attempting to bite her. In episode 2.4 he was left in the freezer by Caroline, and was found by Abby before he completely froze. By the next day he had recovered. In episode 2.5 Caroline attempted to capture Rex by leaving food out for him, and he flew around the flat trying to avoid her but was knocked down by a tennis racket. Caroline took Rex to Oliver Leek, who kept him in his creature prison. In episode 2.7 he was released along with the other creatures, and found a shaft to the surface which was used by the team to escape. Rex was shot by a guard, and Caroline asked to redeem herself by getting Rex out.
Rex was shown to still be living with Abby and Connor in episode 3.1, and in episode 3.6 Abby's brother Jack bet Rex during a game of poker with a friend and lost. He was put on E-Bay for sale which allowed Connor to notice what Jack had done. They attempted to get Rex back, and finally did so when Connor had Captain Becker threaten the seller. Abby brought Rex over to James Lester's flat where Connor was staying in episode 3.9, and Rex played with Connor's two Diictodon, Sid and Nancy.
During Abby and Connor's disappearance, Rex was relocated to the new ARC inside the menagerie, living alongside other creatures that hadn't been returned to their own eras. Abby reunited with Rex in episode 4.2 after she had returned and been placed in charge of the creatures. In episode 4.3 Rex escaped the menagerie and caused the ARC to go into lockdown when he was scanned by Phillip Burton's bio-scanner. The room was drained of oxygen, and Connor managed to cancel the lockdown in time to be able to resuscitate Rex. In episode 5.4 he was in Abby's lab when the ARC was invaded by Future Beetles and flew around the ARC. Abby searched for him to rescue him before a gamma ray was released, and later returned to the menagerie.
| Columbian Mammoth | |
|---|---|
| Species | Mammuthus columbi |
| Home era | Pleistocene |
| First appearance | Episode 2.6 |
| Last appearance | Episode 5.5 |
| Number | 2 |
| Humans killed | at least one |
| Returned to era? | No, kept by the ARC |
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 m (13 ft), at the shoulder and weighing 10 t (9.8 long tons) with tusks 5 m (16 ft) 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 300 kg (660 lb), 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.
The Mammoth appears in series two holding up traffic on the M25 motorway. As it desperately tries to make its way to the nearby trees, it completely destroys all the nearby cars. Using female elephant urine, the team manage to lead it into a lorry trailer and trap it, taking it back to the ARC where it was kept in a large garage.
After being chased through the ARC by a Future Predator, Lester releases the Mammoth which impales the predator on its tusks. Lester then jokes that his children have been wanting him to get a pet. The Mammoth was seen in the new ARC's menagerie in episode 4.2 and episode 4.4.
In episode 5.5, the anomaly on the M25 reopened and another Mammoth (possibly more) entered it.
| Prehistoric bird | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Extinction Event |
| Number | One captured in the present |
In Extinction Event, in an area where live specimens of Cretaceous life forms have been collected, Cutter stops to look at a tiny crested bird in a wire cage that was captured by the Russian team. One of the men describes how rare this actually is, as tiny-boned creatures rarely remain intact in fossilisation.
| Deinosuchus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Fire and Water |
| Number | Two, one male and one female. |
In Fire and Water, Deinosuchus are described as "Giant Crocodiles" and that females were more dominant than males. Connor and Abby lure the Deinosuchus using Aerosols while Captain Becker and his men dart it with tranquillisers. They never do get them back to the past and remain in Leek's old bunker where he kept all his army of creatures.
| Didelphodon | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Extinction Event |
| Number | One captured in the present |
In Extinction Event, a single Didelphodon is captured by the Russian anomaly team, and taken to a building in their camp where live specimens are taken. It is described as a hairy badger-like marsupial and is also an insectivore, as it is described crunching on live locusts.
| Diictodon | |
|---|---|
| Species | Diictodon |
| Home era | Permian |
| First appearance | Episode 3.3 |
| Number | Over 15 |
| Returned to era? | Yes (except two Nancy and Sid) |
Diictodon are small burrowing mammal-like reptiles.
A group of over fifteen individuals appear to be traversing air vents in a hospital, chewing through the electricity that the team will need to remove them. Abby catches one which sends of a distress signal calling them all back through the anomaly but one drops from the roof (Sid) and lands inside a trolley Connor is pushing. A single Diictodon tried to escape through an anomaly, which disappears. It later becomes apparent that Abby and Conner adopt two to keep Rex company. In episode 3.5 they are called Sid and Nancy and are living with Connor while Abby's brother is staying.[6] When Connor was staying with Lester, the two caused him much grief.
| Dimetrodon | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Permian |
| Appears in | Extinction Event |
| Number | Dozens in the Permian era |
In Extinction Event, Dimetrodon are encountered by Helen, Jenny and the group of men assigned to help them. They are described as being as big as alligators, basking in groups like iguanas or sea lions and also have a crippling amount of bacteria in their mouth, similar to a Komodo dragon. The group of Dimetrodon are disturbed by the team and one man is badly bitten. He never recovers from the ensuing infection, but is later killed in the Cretaceous by a pack of Troodon.
| Dodo | |
|---|---|
| Species | Raphus cucullatus |
| Home era | Holocene |
| Appears in | Episode 1.4 |
| Number | 4 |
| Humans killed | 1 |
| Returned to era? | 2 killed by parasites, the other 2 returned |
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 1 m (3 ft) tall, weighing about 23 kg (51 lb).[7] Dodos have greyish plumage, a 23 cm (9.1 in) 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 came from the Portuguese word doudo or doido, itself a loanword from Old English (cf. English "dolt").[8] The name was given because the Dodo apparently never tried to run or escape when hunted - hence, they were traditionally regarded as stupid. The species was hunted to extinction by the late 17th century, shortly after the first arrival of people on the Dodo's native Mauritius.[9]
They were the main focus in episode 1.4. 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.[10] The Dodos are themselves harmless, but some carry deadly parasites.[11]
| Dracorex | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Episode 3.7 Episode 4.1 |
| Returned to era? | No. Is currently being kept in the ARC. |
Dracorex is a Cretaceous dinosaur. A promotional picture for that episode shows that it has sharp teeth, which is unlikely for a probably herbivorous creature, and two, small, wing-like sails on its back in the manner of Amargasaurus. The picture shows a very long but not forked tongue. The dinosaur also has grasping talons on its hind legs, shown in the image lashing out at the knight.
A female appears in episode 3.7, having lived in Medieval times before being chased through an anomaly to the present by a knight who assumed it to be a dragon. The Dracorex had been injured after having a wooden stake driven into its side, and Abby and Becker cornered it in a strawberry patch where it collapsed of its own accord. Abby removed the stake with Becker and cared for it with Connor as she helped to patch it up. It was later moved to the ARC. It escaped from the new ARC's menagerie in episode 4.1 due to an error caused by Jess. It knocked Matt down in a corridor before it arrived in the hub where Jess was. Becker and soldiers arrived to contain it, but it was lead into Lester's office by Matt, who left it some water. Some time later Becker tranquilised it and it was moved back to the menagerie,
| Embolotherium | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Eocene |
| Appears in | Episode 3.9 |
| Humans killed | 1 |
| Returned to era? | Yes |
The Embolotherium are prehistoric rhinoceros, but larger and have more brittle horns which are used for display during mating seasons. These beasts able to scare off big predators like Andrewsarchus. The males have a heart shaped horn on top of their noses which is about 70 cm (28 in) and the females have a some sort of stump.
A herd of Embolotherium appeared from an anomaly and caused damage in a campsite. There is one male and several females, accompanied by a baby. The male killed a quad-bike rider after he disturbed the infant. The females were gathered around a tent, trapping another man, and Connor distracted the male by having it chase him in a go-cart. The baby was also trapped inside the tent, so Abby and Sarah saved it after making their way through the herd. Later the team attempted to force them through the anomaly, only for it to close as Connor lead the bull to the females and caused them all to stampede. They charged towards the campsite, however Eve managed to open an anomaly to send them all back through.
| Entelodon | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Oligocene |
| Appears in | Extinction Event |
| Number | 2 |
In Extinction Event, a pair of Entelodon come through an anomaly from the Cenozoic onto Oxford Street, killing three people and damaging cars and buses, as well as chasing Connor, Abby and Jenny at different stages in the chapter. One is brought down by Cutter's tranquilliser darts and the other is killed by Hemple, the team's artillery expert for the book.
| Eotyrannus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Early Cretaceous |
| Appears in | The Lost Island |
| Number | A large pack |
| Humans killed | Several |
| Returned to era? | All died |
In The Lost Island, the team face a near-constant threat on the island, due to the attacks of a large pack of Eotyrannus, a tyrannosauroid dinosaur about 4 metres long. The creatures kill several people, then die in a storm.
| Euparkeria | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Early Triassic |
| Appears in | Extinction Event |
| Number | At least four |
In Extinction Event, a small anomaly opens in a service station along a dual carriageway, and lets through several Euparkeria, which are described as small quadrupedal animals that run on their hind legs when frightened. Because the anomaly site is closed off for the chapter involving the Archosaurs, no members of the public are attacked, but Abby is bitten through a gauntlet by one. The Euparkeria are all rounded up and released through the anomaly before it closes.
| Future Beetle | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Future |
| Appears in | Episode 5.4 |
| Humans killed | 1 |
| Returned to era? | No. All killed. |
A species of carnivorous beetle from the future resembling the scarab beetle, that move around in enormous swarms led by a huge Queen. Their mandibles are so strong they can chew through concrete.
They appear via an anomaly opened by Connor, kill a guard and cause chaos throughout the ARC going through the vents and piping. Becker shot some of the swarm with an EMD, including the Queen, and othes were killed with pesticide. Their venom is not extremely poisonous, but one beetle bit Jess, who went into anaphylaxis. Matt and Connor rigged the anomaly creator to explode in a gamma ray burst to kill the remaining beetles.
| Future Bird | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Future |
| Appears in | Shadow of the Jaguar |
| Humans killed | 1 (kills more with its control) |
| Returned to era? | No. Escapes into Plio-Pleistocene. |
In Shadow of the Jaguar, a creature from the future, theorised to be a future evolution of predatory birds by Cutter, is found controlling a pack of Thylacosmilus with pheromones. It has a certain resemblance to the Incan god, Pacha Kamaq. The team track it down to its lair in the ruins of an Incan temple in the Peruvian jungle. After they disrupt its control over the Thylacosmilus, the creature retreats through the anomaly with them seconds before it closes. Cutter later theorises to Lester the creature may have been seen later in history by the Incas and incorporated into their mythology. The creature had several unusual abilities, such as the ability to control other creatures through the use of pheromones (like a queen bee controls a beehive), and a tongue with a tip covered in many tiny teeth that can burrow into flesh.
| Fungus Creature | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Future |
| Appears in | Episode 3.5 |
| Humans killed | 4 (all infected, one fell through anomaly, two transformed and one was quarantined) |
| Returned to era? | No. Killed by freezing the ARC hub. |
The fungus is parasitic, extremely aggressive and eats through the flesh of anything that touches it. As soon as someone touches it, it instantly begins converting them into a shell that is loosely human shaped, but has lost all human features and intelligence, relying on instinct. In other words, the fungus effectively kills the host once it has transformed. The ARC team thought that heating the creatures would kill them, but it only advanced their reproduction. In the end, freezing them was the solution. The fungus creature's life cycle is as follows:
The fungus is probably the evolved form of the contemporary Cordyceps fungus of south-east Asia for its lifecycle bears a strong resemblance to the fungus. Cordyceps grows inside a host (usually an ant), replacing the surrounding tissue with its own, avoiding the vital organs. It then alters the host's behaviour to make it go to an area of suitable conditions. Cordyceps then grows throughout the host's body, killing it, before becoming completely rooted in the ground or stem the host found itself on. Cordyceps then sporulates, infecting more hosts, by either inhaling the spores through the windpipe or spores falling through pores in the exoskleteton or skin. The Cordyceps fungus probably evolved into the future fungus to attack bigger prey, such as the Megopteran.
The fungus was found by Sir Richard Bentley's assistant after he went through an anomaly in a flat, and accidentally transferred it to the present where Bentley was infected by it. As he slowly took over him, a sample of Connor's at the ARC affected another man, and more quickly turned him into a Fungus Creature. Connor and Sarah's belief that overheating it would kill it was thought to have worked only to learn it actually spread the spores even more, leading the flamethrower-wielding team to capture it instead. After freezing the fungus instead, they found it worked and prepared the ARC to freeze their captured creature, only for it to escape and attack Jenny before it succumbed to the cold.
| Future Predator | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Future |
| First appearance | Episode 1.6 |
| Last appearance | Episode 5.6 |
Vicious creatures referred to as "Future Predators" are Primeval's most recurring creatures, besides Rex. They are descendants of bats, and like bats use echolocation to hunt and locate prey, with the ears having moved to the front of the face. They are extremely agile, however it comes at a cost as they are easily stunned by powerful blows. The Future Predators are known to have caused the most deaths out of any creature in the series, both on-screen deaths, and total (if what Helen Cutter said about them wiping out humanity in the future was true). TV critic Walt Belcher of the Tampa Tribune described the Future Predator as "an apelike and skull-headed thing that sort of represents the ultimate dumbing down of the human race"[12]
Their first appearance is in episode 1.6. A mating pair lived in the Permian era after going through an anomaly, and Helen realised they were from the future. When an anomaly lead to the present they went through, and proceeded to kill a lion and four innocent people, including Abby Maitland's boss. Helen, believing there was only one, warned the team about it, and they failed in their attempt to kill it initially. Connor Temple came up with an idea to track its echolocation, but was attacked in a car before he was saved by Abby and Stephen Hart. Nick Cutter lead the team to its lair, where they discovered it had given birth to five infants before they were attacked by the male. Nick managed to kill it, and he and Helen planned to use the infants to locate the future anomaly in the Permian to try prevent more from going though into that era. However the female Predator followed and attacked them, killing Tom Ryan and his men before a Gorgonopsid arrived and knocked it down. Three of the infants were killed before the mother fought back, and though it managed to inflict heavy wounds on the Gorgonopsid it was crushed and killed. Nick and Helen unknowingly left the remaining two infants in the Permian.
In episode 2.6, Oliver Leek had control of a Predator using a "neural clamp", which he had taken to the ARC and kill some of the staff discreetly before going after James Lester. Lester made several attempts to fight back, turning on Connor's I-Pod speakers on loud and using a machinegun from the armoury before being cornered in the main room. Leek had the Predator leap to deliver the final blow, only for it to become impaled on the tusk of a Columbian Mammoth that Lester had just let loose. In episode 2.7 it is revealed Leek has successfully captured a pack of Predators, and using neural clamps to maintain control over them, referring to them as his "Praetorian Guard". Nick was pursued by one through the facility until he managed to draw it in close with his blood before ripping the neural clamp from its head, killing it. Leek threatened to use the rest of his controlled Predators to tear Nick apart, however Nick freed them of their mind control devices by forcing the one he had into a fuse box, disabling the rest. They then turned on Leek and killed him before they were locked in a feeding chamber along with all of the other creatures that Leek, Helen and their soldiers had locked kept. They were among the creatures that killed Stephen as he sacrificed himself to keep the creatures locked up to have them kill one another.
In episode 3.1 Future Predators appear in their own environment in an old city. They were the inadvertent guards for a mysterious artefact. Soldiers sent by Christine Johnson to recover the artefact killed a young Predator before an adult kills all but one of the soldiers. In episode 3.4, Christine was shown to have been operating on one in an attempt to learn how to recreate its echolocation. It woke up, and Christine had it killed. In episode 3.8, a pack of Future Predators stalked the team when they arrived in the future. Captain Becker killed one while accidentally alerting several others to their pressence due to the noise from his gun. An infant leaped out of a car to attack Danny Quinn, scarring his neck before he stomped on it. More approached as the team were rescuing Jack Maitland, and Becker lead them away. The team were trapped in an abandoned bus by the Predators before several Megopterans arrived and the two species fought amongst themselves, and the still alive Becker killed another as it came towards the team. In episode 3.9, a Predator kills Christine after she was pushed through an anomaly leading to the future by Helen. In episode 3.10 one stalked Danny, Connor and Abby as they searched for Helen, but was locked away from them. It soon broke into the room along with several others, narrowly missing their quarry as they escaped into the Cretaceous through an anomaly which was closed to prevent them following.
In episode 5.6, the Future Predators are shown differently, having evolved to survive in the harsh landscape caused by Philip Burton. They are much quicker then before, have more sun-damaged skin, and with food so scarce they attack each other to claim prey for themselves. One prepared to attack Connor before a storm came up, and it fought with another before the victor was brought down by Abby. A group attacked as Connor, Abby and Matt Anderson made their way back to the anomaly, though they fought amongst themselves. A pair went through an anomaly created by Connor into the ARC, and attacked Lester and Jess Parker. They severely injured Lester, and when the team arrived Abby came up with a plan to paralyse them by using ultra-sonic noise. The first had Abby pinned before Becker killed it with his EMD, and the other froze as Abby initiated her plan, and Becker was able to use his EMD to kill it with only a few close range blows.
The "Future Predators" also appear on the Watch YouTube Game. They attack your computer screen and it takes five hits to kill them.
| Future shark | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Future |
| Appears in | Episode 2.4 |
| Number | 1 |
| Returned to era? | No. Killed by the team. |
The Future Shark is the future evolution of a modern-day shark. It looks similar to some deep-sea sharks, but has a special adaptation: a very long tongue armed with spikes that can be fired from the jaw like a harpoon. Modern day sharks such as the tiger shark have been found with litter in their stomachs, including plastic bags, tins and car registration plates: the basketball and the shoe found in the Future Shark's stomach could be a reference to this.
In episode 2.4 this creature prepared to attack Jenny Lewis in the water before it was shot by Stephen Hart and then captured by the team who suspected it of killing a boy. After examining the creature in their ARC, Nick Cutter concluded it was probably the descendant of the shark. Since no remains of the boy were found in the creature's stomach, and sharks typically take days to digest their prey, it did not kill the missing boy.
| Future Worm | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Future |
| Appears in | Episode 3.8 |
| Number | 1 |
A future worm attacks Jack Maitland in the underground in the future. They are similar to the worms from episode 2.2 in that they shoot a foul liquid at their prey, but they more resemble maggots in appearance. It is not clear if the worms are larvae of the Mega-Optera or if they are a completely different species. They probably are not the larvae of the Mega-Optera as its young were seen in the present not long after they came out of a dead human body and are miniature versions of the adult animal.
| Giant Spider | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Carboniferous |
| Appears in | Episode 1.2 |
| Humans killed | 1 |
| Returned to era? | Yes |
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 m (39 in) wide, by 1 m 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.[5]
A nest of them appears in the second episode. Ryan and the other special forces enter the tunnel, and they are attacked by a whole group of them, killing one of the soldiers. They find out that the spiders did not kill the pest controller, because the bite looked different. 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 1.2.[5]
These creatures are based on fragmentary fossils which scientists thought was a 1 m wide spider but this has just recently been reclassified as a type of scorpion.[4] The Giant Spiders also featured in the advertising campaign for the show. First on giant billboards on 1 February 2007 and again in The London Paper on 16 February 2007.
| Giganotosaurus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Early Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Episode 3.4 |
| Humans killed | 4 |
| Returned to era? | Yes |
Giganotosaurus is one of the largest species of carnivorous dinosaurs. It is shown to be able to run at high speed for a surprisingly long distance, considering its huge size and weight. It is dubbed a "G-Rex" by the characters throughout the episode because it is pictured just like a T-Rex just slightly bigger.
In episode 3.4, one appears at an airport and starts attacking a news crew investigating the anomaly. It ate Nigel Marven, then went back through before it returned and ran out onto the runway, attacking an aeroplane. Connor Temple lured it away with a luggage carrier before it tripped over the small vehicle and pinned Connor down on the runway. Then a helicopter piloted by Danny Quinn lured it back through the anomaly. Danny came back in time to reveal that there was a large pack on the other side of the anomaly, and Connor only just manages to lock the anomaly in time.
| Gorgonopsid | |
|---|---|
| Species | Gorgonops |
| Home era | Late Permian |
| Appears in | Episode 1.1 Episode 1.6 |
| Number | 2 |
| Humans killed | 1 |
| Returned to era? | Episode 1.1 — killed. Episode 1.6 — already in its own time. |
Gorgonopsia are a group of creatures that were at one time called "mammal-like reptiles", though in most current classification systems, they are not classed as reptiles as they are more closely related to 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 Gorgonopsids is their patience and implacability. Once they have smelt blood they have a tendency to pursue 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.[4] 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 after a fight with a Future Predator which it killed by rearing up on its hind legs and crushing it under its weight.[13] Due to the thick armour on their back, the only way to combat them with regular fire arms is to aim for their underside.[14]
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 m (10 and 13 ft) long and had 8 cm (3 in) sabres.[4]
| Hesperornis | |
|---|---|
| Species | Hesperornis |
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Episode 1.3 |
| Number | 1 |
| Humans killed | 1 |
| Returned to era? | Yes |
Hesperornis is an extinct genus of flightless aquatic birds that lived during the Late Cretaceous. Hesperornis were fairly large birds, reaching up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 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.[15]
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."[16]
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.[17]
| Hyaenodon | |
|---|---|
| Species | Hyaenodon |
| Home era | Early Miocene |
| Appears in | Episode 4.6 |
| Number | 6 (3 cubs, 3 adults) |
| Humans killed | 1 |
| Returned to era? | 5 returned, one adult fell to its death |
Hyaenodon is an extinct genus of Hyaenodonts, a group of carnivorous creodonts of the family Hyaenodontidae. Some species of this genus were amongst the largest terrestrial carnivorous mammals of their time, others were only of the size of a marten. They had very massive skulls but only small brains. It had a long skull with a narrow snout - much larger in relation to the length of the skull than in canine carnivores, for instance. Its neck was shorter than its skull, while its body was long and robust and terminated in a long tail. Despite the name, these creatures are not related to hyenas.
A total of two adults and three cub Hyaenodons came through an anomaly in the wine cellar of a stately mansion, where Jenny Lewis is getting married, in episode 4.6, making a den. An adult killed a wedding planner in the cellar where the pups were. Connor stunned one male Hyaenodon and it was sent back through the anomaly. He was trapped in the cellar because of the female, and gave some wine to two cubs to knock them out and returned them to the anomaly before trying to get the third through as well, only to allow the male back through. The two adults attacked the wedding party and were fought off with medieval weapons. All the Hyaenodons were returned.
| Iguanodon | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Cretaceous |
| Appears in | The Lost Island |
| Number | Well over 100 in the Cretaceous, one in modern world |
The Iguanodon is first encountered in The Lost Island as a juvenile, which has fallen down a hill and broken its leg. Cutter shoots it to put it out of its misery. Later, when marooned in the past, the team witness hundreds of Iguanodon moving on a plain below, being attacked by Neovenator and associating with Polacanthus. Matt Anderson mentions handling a herd of them that had found their way into a beauty pageant during his first mission as team leader at the end of Series 4 webisode 5.
| Kaprosuchus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Early Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Episode 4.2 Episode 5.5 |
| Number | 1 |
| Humans killed | 3 (one ARC soldier due to a backfiring EMD shot.) |
| Returned to era? | No, shot by Becker |
Kaprosuchus is known by only a single skull, discovered by the paleontologist Paul Sereno in 2009. The prehistoric crocodile had oversized tusks embedded toward the front of its upper and lower jaws, inspiring Sereno's affectionate nickname, the BoarCroc. Like many crocodiles of the Cretaceous period, Kaprosuchus was not restricted to river ecosystems; judged by its long legs and impressive dentition, this four-legged reptile roamed the plains of Africa much in the style of a big cat. In fact, with its big tusks, powerful jaws and 6.1-metre (20 ft) span, Kaprosuchus may have been capable of taking down comparably sized herbivorous (or even carnivorous) dinosaurs.
A Kaprosuchus appeared in episode 4.2, having grown from a hatchling flushed into the sewer 5 years previously into an adult preying on the homeless living by the Thames. It's presence was discovered by Connor, Abby and Duncan, who alerted the ARC with Matt after he saved them from its initial attack when its home was set on fire by construction workers. Though it was brought down by an EMD and contained, it woke up and escaped, chasing Duncan into a maze of containers, killing an soldier. After forcing it out of a maze of containers, the team inadvertently killed it with EMDs since the firepower was too much for it.
Another appears in Episode 5.5, coming through a new anomaly during the anomaly convergance, and attacking Connor and Philip's car. Philip left Connor on his own, and Connor called Abby for help, who arrived and brought it down with an EMD while driving. Wthere or not it survived and was returned, or whether it was killed is unknown.
The Kaprosuchus also appears on the Watch YouTube Game. It would take two hits to kill the Kaprosuchus.
| Labyrinthodont | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic |
| Appears in | Episode 4.5 |
| Number | 2 (one young and one adult) |
| Humans killed | 3 |
| Returned to era? | Yes |
Labyrinthodonts were generally amphibian-like in build. They were short-legged and mostly large headed, with moderately short to long tails. Many groups, and all the early forms, were large animals. Primitive members of all labyrinthodont groups were probably true water predators, and various degrees of amphibious, semi-aquatic and semi terrestrial modes of living arose independently in different groups. Some lineages remained or became secondarily fully aquatic with reduced limbs and elongated, eel-like bodies.
A large (several metres long) Labyrinthodont with a very long tail, and a juvenile, appeared in a seaside cave in episode 4.5.[18] The adult had been causing many people and animal stock to go missing over the ten years since the anomaly had previously been open. It killed someone camping out to investigate the 'Witchfield Worm', and Matt Anderson saved a fisherman from been devoured too. Abby Maitland pursued the creature to a campsite where she lured it on top of a caravan and drove it part way to the anomaly site. Connor Temle discovered the infant in the cave, and its cries of pain caused by acid drew the adult back. It killed two people, one of whom had known about the creature and attempted to contain it, before being driven back through the anomaly by Connor and Abby.
See Future Worm
| Liopleurodon | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Jurassic |
| First appearance | The Lost Island |
| Last appearance | Episode 5.2 |
| Number | 2 |
| Returned to era? | Yes (in episode 5.2) |
Lioplaurodon are a species of Pliosaur, an extinct type of marine reptiles.
In the The Lost Island novel, a Liopleurodon sinks a trawler boat in the Atlantic south of Ireland, at Guns Island, and it later encountered by the team in the water. It seems heavily resistant to bullets, but when the team discover it, it is dying from the cold of the Atlantic winter.
In episode 5.2 a Liopleurodon comes through an anomaly in the North Sea, and attacks a naval submarine with the team aboard, disabling it. The submarine is drawn into the anomaly to the Jurassic and the Liopleurodon follows it back. A pod of them swim around the submarine, banging against it to see if it was food. When a swimming theropod was ejected from the vessel, all of the creatures went after the distraction as one of the Liopleurodons ate it.
| Megopteran | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Future |
| Appears in | Episodes 3.8 & 3.10 |
| Humans killed | at least 5 (also a factor of the apocalypse) |
| Returned to era? | yes, but three killed in the present |
ITV launched a competition for a viewer to design a creature, which was judged by the creators and will appear in Series 3. The winner was 16-year-old Carim Nahaboo from Essex,[19] whose creature is a large predatory insect from the future which, as Carim described, "evolved from carnivorous beetles, such as the tiger beetle".[20] However, the series described it as evolving from either wasps or ants. The creature can fly and run fast over long distances, and lives in future jungles.[20] It is known as Megopteran.
In episode 3.8 a group of them are gassed out by Danny and become the team's distraction when they are surrounded in a bus by Future Predators - a vicious fight ensures that the team escapes. As they do, a larger Megopteran appears and heads in their direction, but is not seen afterwards. They are shown to have an ovipositor, with which they can lay eggs into a host. Three creatures re-appear in the Series 3 finale and are seen rampaging around in Christine Johnson's base. Two are killed by Becker using electrical wires and the third one is presumably dead.
| Mer | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Future |
| Appears in | Episodes 2.4, 2.6 & 2.7 |
| Returned to era? | Episode 2.4: Yes Episode 2.7: Killed in fight |
The Mer first appear in episode 2.4. They are aquatic predators from the future, using the sewer network to hunt and trap prey. They successfully capture and drag Abby into their timezone, where the team later ventures to retrieve her. They have thin skulls, and can be rendered unconscious by having heavy objects, such as stones, thrown on their heads. Nick Cutter speculated that the Mer may be descendants of humans.
There appear to be two types of Mer;
In episode 2.6 and 2.7, it is revealed Leek has managed to acquire a Mer for his collection. The creature eventually escapes the feeding chamber, and attempts to break down a door to leave the bunker, before returning to the feeding room in an attempt by Cutter, Stephen and Helen to trap the creatures there, so that they kill each other.
| Millipede | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Silurian |
| Appears in | Episode 2.5 |
| Number | 1 |
| Returned to era? | Yes |
The Silurian period is shown as being home to not only giant scorpions, but also millipedes which roam in groups across the sand. They prefer to hide in the sand but may emerge if frightened by a predator. These millipedes are likely to be the staple food source for the giant scorpions.
In episode 2.5, Nick Cutter and Stephen Hart noticed a large group of them travelling on the sand, which they failed to realise were fleeing from the scorpions. One entered the present era briefly but was captured by Abby in a ball pool before it was returned back into the past.
| Mosasaur | |
|---|---|
| Species | Mosasaurus |
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Episode 1.3 |
| Number | 2 |
| Humans killed | 1 |
| Returned to era? | Yes, but killed in its own era |
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.[21][22] 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 them that do not end in violence occur when the Mosasaurs in question are of opposite sexes, and there is the possibility of mating.[16]
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 Mosasaurs 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, mosasaurs 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, mosasaurs 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, and covered in more lizard- or snake-like scales. Also it swallowed the lifeguard whole even though its jaw and enlarged neck muscles were evolved to tear and rip prey apart. The Mosasaur depicted also has a more tapering, snake-like body than its real life counterpart, and a pair of short horns over the head, like a theropod dinosaur.
| Neovenator | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Early Cretaceous |
| Appears in | The Lost Island |
| Number | 3; none came through anomaly |
In the Primeval spin-off novel The Lost Island, the team witness a pack of three Neovenator attack a herd of Iguanodon, but it is not known if the hunt is successful. Cutter initially mistakes them for Allosaurids but their presence nonetheless gives Cutter reason to move the team from their hunting grounds.
| Pachycephalosaurus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Extinction Event |
| Number | 1 |
In the past Jenny, Helen Cutter and the men supporting the British team observe a Tyrannosaurus hunting and killing a Pachycephalosaurus, which is described as having a knobbed head and using the domed forehead for display rather than head-butting, according to Helen.
| Parasite | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Holocene |
| Appears in | Episode 1.4 |
| Number | 2 |
| Humans killed | 1, although another was infected and presumably cured |
| Returned to era? | No. Died due to lack of oxgyen in bell jar. |
This previously undiscovered species is a cestoid[23] Parasite, up to 30 cm (12 in) long and weighing up to 70 g (2 oz) from the late Holocene. The Parasites belong to the group Taeniidae[24] which are distinguished from the other families of the order Cestoidea by having a distinct head, furnished with four suctorial discs.[11]
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 and photophobic. The bite of the host serves to spread the Parasite's eggs, which are released into the saliva, to a new host.[11] It is hinted that the parasites could be responsible for the Vampire myth.
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.
| Titanis | |
|---|---|
| Species | Phorusrhacidae |
| Home era | Plio-Pleistocene |
| First appearance | Episode 3.6 |
| Last appearance | Episode 4.7 |
| Humans killed | +6 |
| Returned to era? | Episode 3.6:Yes, (1 killed by a mine, 1 beheaded by car shrapnel) Episode 4.7: Unknown |
Phorusrhacids or "Terror Birds" are large carnivorous flightless birds that were the dominant predators in South America shortly during the Cenozoic period, 62-2.5 million years ago. They were roughly 1–3 m (3–10 ft) tall. Titanis walleri, one of the largest species, is known from North America, marking one of the comparatively rare examples where animals that evolved in South America managed to spread north after the Isthmus of Panama land bridge formed. Their wings evolved into meat hook-like structures that likely could be outstretched like arms to perform a hacking motion to help bring down prey. Like the armour-plated ostriches they resemble, Terror Birds are also very fast runners.
They first appear in episode 3.6. They first came through the anomaly in the 1950s, and attacked and killed scientists that were studying the anomaly. When the anomaly reopened in the present day, they came through again, and one was drawn to a cabin the team were hiding it due to a distress call they had accidentally played. It chased the team in their car, and Danny Quinn fought it off with a pipe before tey crashed. Abby Maitland and Sarah Page fled while Danny used Connor Temple as bait to draw in the bird, trapping it by hooking its leg into the car's tow cable. Abby and Sarah were chased by several more and chased to a minefield along with Danny and Connor, and Danny lured on onto a mine, killing it. Another attacked and killed one of Captain Ross's soldiers and was killed as the car exploded on a mine and the shrapnel cut through the bird's neck. The rest of the flock attack the cabin, and Connor distracted them so that Danny could play the distress call recording to lure them back to the anomaly.
A single terror bird attacked in a prison in episode 4.7, coming through a "satellite anomaly" and killing a tourist. It returned through the main anomaly and was driven back by the team, however it appeared through another satellite anomaly Abby and Becker found. It was allowed to go through the main anomaly, but it returned again to distract the team as they were attempting to capture Ethan Dobrowski. Connor and Abby chased after it, and Danny arrived to help knock it through a satellite anomaly. Again the terror bird returned, this time being brought down by Matt Anderson's EMD. Abby contained it in a storage closet, but it was set free by Ethan/Patrick to menace Emily merchant, but luckily used a club to bring it down again. It was presumably returned back to its own time after that.
| Polacanthus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Early Cretaceous |
| Appears in | The Lost Island |
| Number | At least a dozen; none come through anomaly |
In the Primeval spin-off novel The Lost Island the team run into a sleeping herd of Polacanthus when marooned in the Cretaceous. Cutter carefully manages to move the team around the group of Ankylosaurs, and later they observe a herd of them associating with Iguanodon.
| Pristichampsus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Palaeocene |
| Appears in | Episode 3.1[25] |
| Humans killed | 2 |
| Returned to era? | Yes |
The Pristichampsus was described by Adrian Hodges and Tim Haines as a "bit souped-up for our show - bigger, more powerful, all that sort of stuff" and "a running crocodile, he's also quite bipedal". It seems to be based on the real fossil crocodilian genus Pristichampsus, of which one species (P. rollinatii) was facultatively bipedal.[26][27] Pristichampsus has a vague similarity to Amut, it is later revealed that the Ancient Egyptians thought that the creature was the god Sobek, because of the similarities that they have, and that the anomaly was a gate way to the land of the gods. The series' creators have also confirmed it will be found in the Thames river and then destroy a kitchen.[25] In the new ITV Winter Spring Showreel, the Primeval trailer briefly shows the Pristichampsus rearing over cars and swimming in the river.
A Pristichampsus came through an anomaly in episode 3.1. It killed the caretaker Marianne but left her body, possibly as a warning to competitors. It attacked Sarah Page but escaped from the museum at its first opportunity through the docking door. It went on to kill a traffic warden and then swam across the Thames to a restaurant, attracted by the scent of hot food. It escaped to the top floor in a lift and attacked a cleaning woman. Cutter saved her by luring it out a window. The Pristichampsus fell, injuring its leg. It then started to return to the museum and the anomaly, its instinct to survive outweighing its instinct to hunt. Cutter, Becker and an armed escort met the creature there, but taking Sarah and Abby's advice, bowed to show there were not a threat. The Pristichampsus passed them without attacking and climbed through the anomaly just before it closed.
Throughout the episode, several other Pristichampsus almost came through the anomaly. It was revealed in the episode that Pristichampsus was the inspiration for the Egyptian goddess Amut. Cutter used this as an example that some of the anomalies and the creatures that came through them were the inspiration for myths and legends.[28]
| Pteranodon | |
|---|---|
| Species | Pteranodon |
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| First appearance | Episode 1.5 |
| Last appearance | Episode 3.10 |
| Number | 1 |
| Returned to era? | Yes |
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 m (30 ft) Pteranodon is not the biggest of the pterosaurs; creatures such as Quetzalcoatlus could reach 13 m (43 ft).[4]
It could, like the modern-day albatross, glide by navigating through thermals because 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.[29][30]
In episode 1.5, a Pteranodon appears from an anomaly above a golf course, where it 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.[3]
Also, a Pteranadon appears in the opening of episode 2.2 attacking Helen Cutter after she steals one of its eggs, though this was unrelated to the events of the episode.[31]
A Pteranadon appears again in episode 3.10 attacking Helen Cutter as she tries to go through an anomaly and causes her to drop her anomaly device.
| Pterosaur | |
|---|---|
| Appears in | Episode 1.3 |
| Number | 7 seen in past |
| Returned to era? | No |
Pterosaurs are (sometimes very large) flying reptiles, that lived in the Upper Triassic to Upper Cretaceous periods. They are not dinosaurs.
In episode 1.3, Nick Cutter travels through an underwater anomaly and finds himself in a Cretaceous tropical sea, 75 million years ago. As he comes ashore and puts his scuba down on the beach he observed several Pterosaurs flying and feeding over the coastal waters.
In The Lost Island an unidentified Pterosaur species are described resting on rocks, and basking in the sun with their wings open like the modern-day cormorant.
| Raptor | |
|---|---|
| Species | Dromaeosaurus or Deinonychus |
| Home era | Mid Cretaceous |
| First appearance | Episode 2.1 |
| Last appearance | Episode 5.3 |
| Humans killed | 7, and 1 wounded (Killed many in the Victorian era) |
| Returned to era? | Episode 2.1: One returned, one cannibalised, another decapitated Episode 2.6: No Episode 2.7: Killed in fight Episode 3.4: ran back through the anomaly Episode 3.10: Died from fall 4.1: Was already in own era Episode 5.3: Unknown, presumably dead. |
Raptors are bipedal carnivores with a long, stiffened tail and had an enlarged, sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which is thought to have been used to kill their prey.[32] Males were a lot stronger than the females, as the female in the show needed one indirect dose of tranquilliser to bring her down, while the male needed three direct doses of tranquilliser to bring him down, could burst through a shutter, and drag a fully-grown man.
Raptors lived and hunted in packs.[33] It was one of only five species, along with the future predators, worms, giant spiders and embolotherium where juvenile specimens have been seen. Juvenile Raptors display morphological differences such as the arms, which were proportionally longer than those of adults.[34] There has been confusion as to the identity of the raptors. While the first news entry claim the genus was Velociraptor,[35] both the official ITV site and Primeval site state that the raptors were based upon Deinonychus. It has been seen they live in Africa in the late Cretaceous, 95 million years ago, where no Deinonychus has been found.[36] Although, at one point the Primeval site did state that the raptors were based on Utahraptor. More recently they were listed as Dromaeosaurus.
The parents appear to invest little care in their young and are likely to forget the offspring is theirs if separated for too long, often resulting in cannibalism, although it was not confirmed that the cannibal Raptor was a parent and may have just been a rogue, or that if raptors were like lions, then Rogue was killing the defeated male's offspring. Raptors are shown as being covered in scales with a small crest of protofeathers that can be raised up like hackles when attacking.
In episode 2.1 two adults and an infant Deinonychus came through a shopping mall anomaly; one adult was decapitated by the closing anomaly, the other was returned and the infant was canabilised by one of the adults. They appear again in The Lost Island novel, hunting and killing three people marooned with the team in the Early Cretaceous. They are described as being Dromaeosaurs, but are also said to bear a resemblance to the Raptors in the earlier shopping mall episode. In episode 2.6 and episode 2.7 at least two fully grown Deinonychus were seen in Leeks creature prison. They were killed in a fight with other creatures at the end of the episode 2.7.
Episode 3.4 shows Mick Harper and Nigel Marven approaching a juvenile Velociraptor in an aircraft hangar, before Nigel was killed by the Giganotosaurus that followed it. Velociraptor also feature in Fire and Water.
Dromaeosaurus made an in episode 3.10, attacking Danny Quin, Conner Temple and Abby Maitland. Three are seen feasting on another raptor's carcass in a forest and they then proceed to attack the three members of the team before they were knocked out by a stun grenade. Another raptor later followed Danny through an anomaly into Pliocene Africa and charged at Helen and knocks her off a cliff, killing them both.
In episode 4.1 in the Cretaceous a male Dromaeosaurus takes Abby's blanket to decorate its bower so as to impress a mate. It was later lured by Abby with her blanket to provide a distraction for a Spinosaurus standing near an anomaly, and after a brief fight the raptor was killed.
In episode 5.3, a Deinonychus was responsible for several murders in the Victorian era. Matt and Emily encounter it and have a small battle with it. It later kills Henry Merchant before being shot by Becker.
The Deinonychus also appears on the Watch YouTube game. It takes one shot to kill it.
| Sarcopterygian | |
|---|---|
| Appears in | Episode 1.1 (mentioned) |
| Returned to era? | No |
Sarcopterygians are a group of prehistoric fish which are traditionally classed as lobe-finned fish, 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.[37]
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 fossilised member of this group appears in the first episode, Cutter explaining that this specimen appears in the fossil record at a time when it should have been extinct for 70 million years, and the fact that a live one appeared in the Indian Ocean. This suggests that there has been at least one anomaly in the distant past, and one outside of Britain.[14] This was later confirmed in the Primeval spin-off novel Shadow of the Jaguar.
| Scutosaurus | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Episode 1.1 |
| Last appearance | Episode 2.7 |
| Humans killed | 2 |
| Returned to era? | Episode 1.1: Yes Episode 2.7: No. Killed in fight |
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 defence 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.
They have an important role in episode 1.1 and in episode 1.6 a herd if briefly seen on a hillside, in episode 2.6 they are seen locked up at the rear of Leek's animal containment facility and in episode 2.7 they play a more important role, being used by the team to kill two of Leek's men.
These fearsome-looking animals were in fact inoffensive herbivores, which were well adapted to the dry conditions which covered much of Pangaea at that time. A social animal, they migrated in large groups.[4] 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. When in the past, they see several more Scutosaurus roaming a desert.[14]
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 armoured species called Scutosaurus kapinski that lived about 250 million years ago in Russia, the size of the Scutosaurus in the series is exaggerated.[1] 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 m (10 ft) in length. They appear locked up at the end of episode 2.7.
| Shrew | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Extinction Event |
| Number | 2 captured in the present |
In a small building used by the Russian anomaly team used for captured specimens, Cutter observes a pair of small shrew-like creatures scuttling around in a tank, while explaining to Abby how the mammals inherit the Earth after the K-T Event.
| Silurian Scorpion | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Silurian |
| First appearance | Episode 2.5 |
| Last appearance | Episode 2.7 |
| Number | 1 |
| Humans killed | 6 |
| Returned to era? | Episode 2.5 — already in its own time. Episode 2.7 — 1 Killed in a fight and 1 caught by Stephen. |
The Silurian Scorpion is a prehistoric creature from the Silurian that grows to immense sizes, and is a variety of animal similar to Brontoscorpio. They have a long whip-like tail, spikes on the foreclaws and a flattened body, similar to modern day whip scorpions. The scorpions never come through the anomaly in their first appearance, but did in the second season finale, along with many other creatures. They are probably reimagined from the ones in Walking with Monsters by the producers to make them bigger and more frightening. They hunt by sensing surface vibrations and burrowing underground, similar to the giant worms from the film Tremors. Their main food source appears to be the Silurian millipedes. In reality, scorpions of this size would not be able to breathe, let alone move about.
The scorpions made a reappearance in episode 2.7. One of them was released onto a crowded beach by Oliver Leek to show his power, where it promptly ate two tourists and scared everyone else away. Stephen Hart set out to deal with it on his own, and harpooned it below a bridge. The still alive creature was left to be collected at leisure. Its fate was unknown, but presumably it was killed.
They appear in a flashback in episode 3.2, when Cutter recognizes the Cleaner and thought he was killed by the scorpions. They are referred to as "Silurian Scorpions" in the episode, but they are listed as "Giant scorpion" on the Primeval official websites.
| Smilodon | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Pleistocene |
| First appearance | Episode 2.3 |
| Last appearance | Episode 2.7 |
| Number | 1 |
| Humans killed | 5 |
| Returned to era? | Episode 2.3: No, kept by Oliver Leek Episode 2.7: Presumably killed |
Smilodon is a vicious carnivorous sabre-toothed cat that lived in the Pleistocene in both North and South America. They are commonly and incorrectly called "sabre toothed tigers" where, in truth, all modern day tigers evolved from a different line.[38]
A fully-grown Smilodon weighed approximately 200 kg (440 lb) and had a short tail, powerful legs, and a large head. The cats have two huge canine teeth, about 17 cm (7 in) long, that are used to kill prey by suffocation.[39] 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 1.4 by Helen Cutter as "sabre-toothed killers". However, she apparently lied when she claimed they would come through at that point, and escaped through the Spaghetti Junction. They are also seen, in skeleton form, in Cutter's office. The cat made a proper appearance in the second series, rampaging through a local park. It was being looked after by a ranger named Valerie, who apparently had cared for it since it first came through, as a cub. She was later killed by it (though the casualty is not shown). The cat was apparently killed by a heart attack after being tranquillised. When Cutter hears of this he is puzzled since it was healthy, pointing towards other involvement. In fact, the sabre-tooth was really smuggled along with several other creatures. It reappears in episode 2.6 and episode 2.7.[40]
| Spinosaurus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | late Cretaceous |
| First appearance | Episode 4.1 Episode 5.5 |
| Number | 1 |
| Returned to era? | Yes |
The Spinosaurus is the largest carnivorous dinosaur, weighing 4–8 t (4–8 long tons) and 18 m (59 ft) in length. It lived in Africa in the late Cretaceous. It is bipedal has a large "sail" on its back, though the one in the show included an additional mini sail on its tail.
In episode 4.1, a Spinosaurus is stalking Connor and Abby in the Cretaceous when the pair open an Anomaly to the present using Helen's anomaly device. Abby lures a raptor towards the territorial Spinosaurus to distract it, and the larger dinosaur wins the fight while the two slip through the anomaly. When the anomaly was accidentally unlocked it came through and rampaged through the city, and was lured into an arena to be contained. Connor attempted to open another anomaly as Abby distracted it with lights and music and Becker and his men brought it down with their new EMDs. However it got back up and tried to attack Connor and Matt who were hanging from the ceiling, and it swallows the anomaly device and disappears into the anomaly created by it inside the Spinosaurus' stomach.
Spinosaurus was seen again in Episode 5.5, though this was stock from 4.1.
| Stegosaurus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | late Jurassic |
| Appears in | Series 4 webisode 1 |
| Number | 1 (at least) |
Stegosaurus is the largest and most famous member of the Stegosaurid family, growing up to 9 m (30 ft) in length and more than capable of defending itself from predators with the four spikes on the end of its tail. A row of plates along its back, its most recognizable feature, may have been used as a cooling system in hot weather or to flash colour that could be used to entice mates or threaten enemies and predators.
Series 4 webisode 1 includes CCTV footage of a Stegosaurus causing havoc in the House of Commons during the time between Series 3 and 4. However this was not a real Stegosaurus, the CG model was that of the Embolotherium, reused with close up footage.
| "Swimming Theropod" | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Middle Jurassic (Callovian Epoch) |
| Appears in | Episode 5.2 |
| Humans killed | 2 |
| Returned to era? | Yes, then eaten by a Liopleurodon |
A juvenile theropod was found unconscious in in the North Sea and taken on board a naval submarine. After awakening, it attacked and killed a crewman. It was stunned by Abby and Connor, and then expelled through a torpedo-like tube into the Jurassic seas where it was eaten by a Liopleurodon.
| Therocephalia | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Permian |
| Appears in | Episode 4.4 |
| Number | 20+ |
| Humans killed | 2 |
| Returned to era? | Not shown, all had been gassed by smoke bombs. |
Therocephalians are an extinct suborder of carnivorous eutheriodont therapsids that lived from the middle and late Permian into the Triassic. Therocephalians ("beast-heads") are named after their large skulls, which, along with the structure of their teeth, suggest that they were successful carnivores. Like other non-mammalian synapsids, therocephalians are described as mammal-like reptiles, although in fact, Therocephalia is the group most closely related to the cynodonts, which gave rise to the mammals. The earlier therocephalians were in many respects as primitive as the gorgonopsids, but they did show certain advanced features. The discovery of maxilloturbinal ridges in some specimens suggests that at least some therocephalians may have been warm-blooded.
A species of Therocephalian appears in episode 4.4. Numerous creatures the size of a large dog come through an anomaly at a school, and kill a teacher and a female student. Matt, Becker, and Connor deal with the venomous creatures, and Becker was bitten by one of the venomous creatures to paralyse him, but later recovered.
| Thylacosmilus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Plio-Pleistocene |
| Appears in | Shadow of the Jaguar |
| Number | 6+ |
| Humans killed | 40+ |
| Returned to era? | Four return, one killed by the SAS members, another by Future Bird |
Thylacosmilus was a pouched carnivore, resembling a sabre-toothed cat, that lived in South America 2 million years ago. It had a long, curving chin and a large pair of sabre teeth used for killing its prey. Thylacosmilus eventually went extinct due to being outcompeted by true sabre-tooth cats such as Smilodon.
In Shadow of the Jaguar, the first known anomaly to open overseas is in a biological reserve in the Peruvian rainforest and allows a pack of Thylacosmilus access to the modern world. They proceed to go on the rampage, wiping out several small villages, killing one of the sons of a senior man to Sir James Lester (Sir Charles), killing a sloth and killing several members of the SAS. A second pride of six Thylacosmilus are followed and some are killed by the SAS. It turns out that the Thylacosmilus are under the control of a creature from the future, which is using pheromones to control the pack's instinct and use them like hunting hounds. After the team disrupt the bird's control, the Thylacosmilus flee in terror back through the anomaly, just before it closes.
| Torosaurus | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Extinction Event |
| Number | Large herds, several animals are killed |
In Extinction Event, several large groups of Torosaurus are seen. They are described as having huge frills, long horns and being aggressively unpredictable. In the first instance, a mother is killed whilst defending her calf and almost killing Connor in the process, and her calf is then killed by an unseen predator, which later turns out to be a Tyrannosaurus. Later on, a large herd is found by a river, and several animals are killed after a tank fires at them. The Torosaurus then attack the tanks and succeed in killing the driver.
| Tree Creeper | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Episode 4.3 Episode 5.5 |
| Humans killed | 1 |
| Returned to era? | 4.3: 1 (All killed, but one fell back into the anomaly) 5.5: Unknown |
Large (approx. 2 m high) Cretaceous[41] apelike arboreal dinosaurs, can climb easily using claws and a long prehensile tail, which they also use to grab their prey. Vicious carnivores with a head resembling the Raptor and a retractable sickle claw. There is currently little evidence to support what an actual one looks like.
Two came through an anomaly in a London theatre in episode 4.3. Another one attacked Emily in the Cretaceous before Matt rescued her, and gave chase through the anomaly only to be blasted back with EMDs. One of the two in the present was immediately shot by Becker, and the other is killed by falling after a chase Matt and Emily. Given the name "Tree Creepers" by Emily Merchant, real species name, if any, not known.
A Tree Creeper is also appears in episode 5.5, when it comes through an anomaly into the ARC carpark. It curiously investigates Lester's new Jaguar, and Lester comes to defend it, bringing down the creature with a few EMD bursts. It is unknown if Lester sent the creature back through the anomaly.
| Troodon | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Extinction Event |
| Number | Several individuals, in both the past, and in the present. |
| Humans killed | 1 |
| Returned to era? | No |
Troodon are small carnivorous dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous. They had the largest brain of any dinosaur.
Several are encountered in Extinction Event, where they are described as being ruthless predators. They were first encountered feasting on the carcass of a dead Anatotitan, which had apparently been killed by shock, as a result of a meteor strike. Later, Jenny and Helen Cutter are in the Cretaceous period, and one of the mercenary soldiers assigned to help them, Tim Jenkins, was dragged away by the Troodons, who ate him alive due to his crippling caused by a Dimetrodon. The rest of the team too late to save him. Later in the present, a pack of Troodon showed up at the overturned car Jenny and Hemple were in. Jenny attempted to keep them at bay by using a large metal rod that she had found in the truck's wreck. However, one of the Troodon then knocked her down to the ground, and pinned her down, with its foot. Just as it was about to kill her, the car's ruptured fuel tank caught on fire, scaring the Troodons away.
| Tyrannosaurus | |
|---|---|
| Species | Tyrannosaurus rex |
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Extinction Event Episode 5.5 |
| Number | Extinction Event - 2. Episode 5.5 - 1 |
| Humans killed | 20 |
| Returned to era? | No. Extinction Event - Male killed by female and female remains in Siberia. Episode 5.5 - Shot. |
Tyrannosaurus is the most well known carnivorous dinosaur despite not being the largest.
In Extinction Event, a pair of Tyrannosaurus stalk the forests of Siberia, referred to many as Baba Yaga after a figure in Russian folklore. The female does most of the damage, killing a Torosaurus calf and several men before it encounters the male Tyrannosaurus, which has just arrived from the Cretaceous having killed a Pachycephalosaurus. The male and female fight, and the female kills her smaller rival. Surprisingly, the female Tyrannosaurus is not stopped, and merely returns to the dank, Russian forests, having killed her competitor.
In Episode 5.5 one rampaged through the streets of London, killing a few people until shot multiple times by Matt with an EMD it is unknown if it survived. This creature was the initial cause of the public's realisation of the anomalies.
| Velociraptor | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Late Cretaceous |
| Appears in | Episode 3.4, Fire and Water |
| Number | 1 in episode 3.4, 6 in Fire And Water |
| Returned to era? | Yes |
In episode 3.4, a huge anomaly opens, in an aeroplane hangar. Nigel Marven and a media team is called to investigate. A juvenile Velociraptor runs out of it and bites Nigel on the hand. It then runs back through the anomaly just before the Giganotosaurus comes through. Six Velociraptors came through an anomaly into a wet and rainy Maidenhead in Fire and Water. They were all returned but several were shot in the past when they tried to kill Becker and they did succeed in killing one of his colleagues, Jamie Weavers.
| Worm | |
|---|---|
| Home era | Pre-Cambrian |
| Appears in | Episode 2.2 Episode 5.5 |
| Number | 40+ |
| Humans killed | 3 |
| Returned to era? | No. All killed, most by heat caused by a thermostat. |
Although many invertebrates are commonly called worms, the Primeval worms are very large carnivorous worms from some time before the oxygen catastrophe, 2.7 billion years ago. In reality such a creature is impossible - for any lifeform to grow that big it would need an atmosphere more energy-rich than the fog they live in and they would not be able to breathe let alone move in it. The worms have long retractable mouthparts, large enough to engulf a man, for feeding. These creatures were based on marine ragworms. The worms need movement to see their prey, and can be fooled if a person stands still and throws an inanimate object[31]
In the episode, the worms cannot survive outside the "fog", which is first shown when Nick and Stephen trap the mouthparts in a door separating the fog: if separated from their natural atmosphere, oxygen, highly poisonous to them, kills them. The fog is the Pre-Cambrian atmosphere, which presumably comes through the anomaly. When they are faced with an increase of heat, they explode to spawn their young which then attempt to burrow into a living host. They can also spit a brown-coloured slime, which might be used to track or even attack their prey[31] This life cycle is not dissimilar to the parasite.
It also reappears in a classroom during the convergence of the anomalies in Series 5.
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