A natural history by David Attenborough
A series of 13 programmes 7: Victors of the Dry Land
Reptiles were the first backboned creatures to solve the problems of becoming fully committed terrestrial animals. Two innovations were vital. The scaly waterproof skin conserved body moisture and the sealed egg protected the baby reptile inside its own ' private puddle '. These developments once enabled the mighty reptiles to rule the world -as the dinosaurs did-and today enable them to survive even on roasting hot lava fields and in burning deserts.
But reptiles are far from being inefficient relics of a bygone age. Their behaviour is amazingly complex -and the snakes include some of the most efficient and deadly hunters in the world.
Photography
MAURICE FISHER , MAURICE TIBBLES Film editor RON MARTIN Music EDWARD WILLIAMS
Assistant producer MICHAEL SALISBURY
Executive producer CHRISTOPHER PARSONS Producer JOHN SPARKS. BBC Bristol
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