A WORD FROM THE FILMMAKERS “After intense research and discussions “‘Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric with various specialists, we came to the World’ is the perfect symbiosis of realization five years ago that there was entertainment and scientific content. astonishingly little information available This film is very much my childhood “ on the marine reptiles that lived, in part, dreams come true: I get to see these at the same time as the dinosaurs. That animals that I've studied for years is tremendously surprising given just come to life right before my eyes. how fascinating these animals are with They are not just incredibly realistic their size, ability for predation, longevity but also entirely scientifically and perfect adaptation to the marine accurate in terms of their morphology and respective environment. We very carefully selected actions in the film. This Educators’ Guide is an invaluable the reptiles featured in the film and chose tool not only for teachers but for everyone, and is a the dominant marine reptile groups of perfect complement to the screening of the film.” the time to represent each of the periods of the Mesozoic era: ichthyosaurs in the Dr. Nathalie Bardet, Main Scientific Advisor Triassic, plesiosaurs in the Jurassic and CNRS/National Museum of Natural History mosasaurs in the Cretaceous. We hope that educators and students alike will be entertained while also learning about the This Educators’ and Activities Guide was written by prehistoric underwater world and its Drs. Stéphane Jouve and Peggy Vincent in collaboration with inhabitants, which most people know so Dr. Nathalie Bardet, CNRS/National Museum of Natural History. little about in comparison with their Edited by Julien Bollée and Alexandra Body. terrestrial cousins, the dinosaurs.” Illustrations by Karine Sampol & Stéphane Jouve for 3D Entertainment Distribution. Scientific Advisors: Pascal Vuong & Ronan Chapalain Dr. Olivier C. Rieppel, Rowe Family Curator, The Field Museum, Chicago (IL) Writers and Directors Dr. Ryosuke Motani, Professor, University of California, Davis (CA) Dr. Zulma Gasparini, Paleontologist, La Plata Museum/CONICET, La Plata (Argentina) Dr. Benjamin Kear, Paleontologist, La Trobe University, Melbourne (Australia) Special Thanks to: François Mantello, Pascal Vuong, Ronan Chapalain, Catherine Vuong, Dr. Elisabeth Mantello and Sylvain Grain. Designed by malderagraphistes. ” Produced and Published by 3D Entertainment Distribution. NOTE TO EDUCATORS AND TEACHERS very student instinctively believes in an unchanged Earth and Additional educational resources and activities are available online life in their current forms. The extreme length of geological from the official film website www.SeaRex-theFilm.com, including a time and the transformation of species are difficult notions companion booklet, “The Cast of ‘Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric Eto comprehend. The film “Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World” World’”. This 40-page PDF document provides information on each of presents the opportunity to address, in accordance with the US national the marine reptile, flying reptile and dinosaur species you will encounter educational standards in Biology and Earth Sciences, the history of in the film through some of its most salient characteristics, such as life and evolution through visually-stunning and compelling images. the meaning of its name, classification, the period during which it lived, geographic distribution, size, diet and other interesting details. The “Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World” Educators’ & Activities Guide is divided into three units which explore subjects included in the Life and Earth Sciences curricula: “What are Marine IN BRIEF Reptiles?”, “What is Paleontology?” and “Biological Crisis!” Each [] unit begins with key information on the particular topic to help you set a context for the activities, which are designed to be easily UNIT I “What are Marine Reptiles?” integrated into your lessons and are applicable for all student grades includes activities involving morphology, characteristics, and from elementary age through to university (1-2; 3-5; 6-8; and 9-12). adaptations. These activities provide the basis for teaching the mechanism and logic of classification. They are a great way The hands-on activities proposed in the guide can be undertaken for students to see the evolution in classification and species at various times in relation to your students’ viewing of the film relationships, in this case based on marine reptiles. to provide strong interactivity. The activities included in Unit I are specifically designed to be completed prior to viewing the film as a UNIT II “What is Paleontology?” preparation and to allow students to become familiar with the knowledge touches on general knowledge of fossils and evolution. It developed while watching the film. The 2nd and 3rd unit activities focuses primarily on the techniques used in paleontology and can be carried out before or following the film screening. the relationships between fossils and geological processes. UNIT III “Biological Crisis!” deals with the evolution of species throughout time and the occurrence of biological crises. SEA [a large body of salt water] REX [Latin word meaning King] [ABOUT THE FILM] “Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World” takes students 200 million years back in time to the Mesozoic era for a wondrous adventure across the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods with larger-than-life underwater creatures. With their daunting size and natural abilities, marine reptiles ruled the ancient depths before dinosaurs conquered the earth. In the company of a young imaginative A poster featuring the various species seen in the film and woman and a scientist from the past, they will explore a a geologic time scale is included in each printed copy of little-known universe and meet fascinating animals such as the Educators’ & Activities Guide. It can also be downloaded the powerful Liopleurodon, the long-necked Elasmosaurus, from the official film website www.SeaRex-theFilm.com the “eye lizard” Ophthalmosaurus and the gigantic Shonisaurus. Thanks to state-of-the-art 3D CG images, see You will find a glossary detailing the scientific terms used in science come alive in a unique and entertaining manner. the Educators & Activities Guide at the end of this document, following Unit III. Any questions and/or comments? Please contact us at [email protected] This publication may be reproduced by teachers and educators for classroom use. This publication may not be reproduced for storage in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, recording – without the prior permission of the publisher. Reproduction of these materials for commercial resale is strictly prohibited. 3 SEA REX: JOURNEY TO A PREHISTORIC WORLD © 2010 3D Entertainment Distribution Ltd. All rights reserved CURRICULUM NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS Activity Grade Objectives Pages Unit I - What are Marine Reptiles? Teeth and food 1-2 Students learn to infer what animals eat from the shape of their teeth. 20/21 A postcard from the Cretaceous 3-5 Students learn that some organisms have completely disappeared and others resembled those alive today. 22/23 What a fossil! 6-8 Students learn to establish a relationship with morphological characters. 24/25 Fossils and clocks! 9-12 Students learn how molecular clocks combined with fossil records are used to date the divergence between organisms. 26/27 Unit II - What is Paleontology? What is a fossil? 1-2 Students debate and propose experiments to answer this question: what is a fossil? 38 Sedimentation and fossils 3-5 Students learn moving water erodes landforms and the sediments bury dead organisms to become fossils. 39 How can fossils help date sediments? 6-8 Students learn how fossils help to date geologic layers. 40/41 What do you know about marine reptiles? 9-12 Students answer a quiz on marine reptiles and evolution. 42/43 Unit III - What a crisis! Which animal, which environment? 1-2 Students learn that different animals inhabit different types of environments and have external features related to these. 48/49 Paleo-food chain perturbation 3-5 Students learn that living organisms depend on one another and on their environment for survival. 50/51 Crisis? Did you say crisis? Not for everybody… 6-8 Students learn that the history of life has been disrupted by major catastrophic events. 52/53 Diversity in crisis... 9-12 Students learn how to analyze fossil evidence with regard to biological diversity and mass extinction. 54/55 POSTER INSIDE Download this educational poster for classroom use featuring "The Cast of 'Sea Rex'" and Earth's Geological Time Scale at www.SeaRex-theFilm.com One complimentary copy inside each printed guide. 4 SEA REX: JOURNEY TO A PREHISTORIC WORLD © 2010 3D Entertainment Distribution Ltd. All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS UNIT I - WHAT ARE MARINE REPTILES? 1.1. What are Marine Reptiles? . 6 1.1.1. Are marine reptiles dinosaurs? . 6 1.1.2. How to classify marine reptiles . 7 1.1.2.a. How to classify the living world. 7 1.1.2.b. The history and classification of marine reptiles. 8 1.1.2.c. Some marine sauropsids . 11 1.1.3. Their morphology. 17 1.1.3.a. Diverse morphologies, diverse swimming styles. 17 1.1.3.b. Teeth, skulls and diets . 18 1.1.3.c. Nares and breath. 18 1.1.3.d. Reproduction . 19 1.2. Activities . 20 UNIT II - WHAT IS PALEONTOLOGY? 2.1. What is Paleontology? . 28 2.1.1. What is a fossil? . 28 2.1.1.a. How old is the Earth?. 28 2.1.1.b. Time in Geology . 28 2.1.1.c. From burial to excavation . 29 2.1.1.d. Various kinds of fossils . 30 2.1.1.e. Tectonic plates and faunal distribution . 30 2.1.2. Paleontology and evolution history. 31 2.1.2.a. Ancient discoveries and the Middle Ages. 31 2.1.2.b. 17th century and the beginning of the Natural Sciences .