Chapter 1 – Novum Initium
It was a big day at Prehistoric Park. Throughout the square miles of this enormous area, the crew were finishing off the exhibits for everything from giant insects to dinosaurs. A jeep drove through the partially constructed park, stopped and a broadly grinning Drew Luczynski got out. The land, a few miles south of Sarasota City, Florida, was owned by Novum and, looking at it, they'd picked the right one for the project. The construction crew were currently working on every habitat that extinct wildlife could possibly live. Forests, plains, tropical rainforests and even coral reefs had been simulated; basically, they could house any animal they wanted.
Drew walked into his office; he needed a meeting with the other high-ranking members of staff about Theodore's first choice. As he entered the building, he saw several people sitting on chairs around a large round table. Whilst he recognized Leon and Adrian, most of the people sitting at the table were new faces. He never ceased being surprised as to how large Novum was; pretty much everybody sitting was transferred from some part of the company. As Drew went to his chair, he mentally took note of everyone.
Sitting next to Leon and Adrian were the other two Deputy Keepers, a man and a woman about the same age as them, give or take a few years; Jack and Alice Denham. Jack was a little taller than Leon with black hair, hazel eyes and a slightly stocky build. He wore a pair of glasses, a black t-shirt, scuffed trousers and a goofy smile. Alice, sitting next to him, was quite tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes and an average, slightly athletic build. There was a similarity in facial features that betrayed their familial relation. Whilst not night and day, Jack and Alice were definitely dawn and dusk to each other; she seemed more collected and serious than her excitable younger brother. Whilst he had only been briefly introduced to them, he knew they were both skilled and competent; both had been animal handlers on Novum projects before the opportunity for Prehistoric Park came up; tempted by the prospect of "new frontiers" (as well as the considerable paycheck), they'd taken the job.
The heads of staff were also there. Drew mentally listed them off.
Linda Eberhart, a tall, fair skinned blonde woman in her mid-thirties. She had been a zoo vet, working at many accredited institutions around the world (including San Diego Zoo, ZSL London Zoo and the San Diego Safari Park), before joining Novum as a vet on their various projects. Given this, it was unsurprising that Theodore had offered her the position of chief veterinarian at Prehistoric Park. Sitting next to her was her assistant, Yolanda Hall. They looked startlingly alike; it was hard to believe that they weren't related. For a moment, he thought he saw Leon briefly glance at Yolanda, before returning his gaze back to Drew.
Sitting adjacent to Linda was Kyle Taymor, a well-built African-British man in his early forties. He had also come from a zoo background; he had been working in many accredited institutions around the world (including the ZSL London Zoo, Bronx Zoo and Chester Zoo), before he had joined Novum as an animal handler on their many projects. Theodore had offered him the position of head keeper. He, tempted by the new frontiers the job would offer, had jumped at the call.
Sitting next to Kyle was Nikolai Koshkin, a tall, barrel-chested, dark-haired Russian man in his early fifties (although he looked a few years younger). He was an ex-Spetsnaz sniper, who had joined Novum shortly after leaving. He had several scars from that era; the most notable being on his forehead and his arm. Drew knew better than inquire about their origin; he was always evasive about his past and with good reason; he had suffered from PTSD for a number of years, whilst living as a recluse, and, after joining Novum, had managed to overcome it. Theodore had offered him the position of head of security on Prehistoric Park, (then called the Lazarus Project). Interested by what the offer entailed, he had taken the position.
Sitting in the next seat but one was Collete Dubois, one of his officers, a woman about the same age as Drew with platinum blonde hair, pale skin and icy blue eyes. She gave the room an icy stare, as if contemplating the number of ways she could escape the room and overpower everyone using only her little finger. Drew briefly shuddered; when he'd briefly met Nikolai and Colette previously, the grizzled former special forces agent had introduced her as his 'number two'. And, from the impression she was giving, Drew wasn't questioning that fact.
Sitting next to Collete, with his head buried in a book was Khatin von Schorzberg, the head of the park's research division. It wasn't a surprise he was busy reading the book instead of focusing on Drew or talking to the others in the room; he wasn't keen on socialization, instead choosing to focus on his research.
Now that he thought about it, he was now starting to realize just what Leon had meant when he'd talked about being unnerved. Namely, unlike everybody else in the room, neither he nor Adrian, had any prior experience at Novum. And that in mind, Drew thought, they'd have a difficult time ahead of them – Leon, in particular.
Of course, Leon and Adrian weren't completely hopeless. Whilst they weren't at Novum prior to this project, they were experienced animal handlers. Drew, Leon and Adrian had been to school together, college together and had spent a few months working in a pet store together after college. Admittedly, after that, their paths had diverged and they hadn't really remained in contact until recently – however, Drew knew what his old friends had been up to. Aside from working as a bird handler, Adrian had been spending the past few years pursing his passion; falconry. Leon, on the other hand, had gone from job to job – he initially started out volunteering at a library in their hometown before going through animal handling jobs at various zoos and animal shelters and had been recently unemployed when he got the call. While Drew wasn't certain if there was an area Leon would focus in, he did know that his autistic friend had determination, dependability, and passion (and knowledge of) for animals.
They made for a bizarre collection. However, they all shared a common goal; they were ready for the most dangerous creatures that prehistory could throw at them. And Theodore had told Drew what they would be starting with. "The creature Theodore wants to rescue first is this," Drew explained. The file he had showed a picture of a large sauropod, with a sloping back, a long neck and a small head. Above the picture, "Brachiosaurus: the giant of the Jurassic" was written.
"Brachiosaurus was one of the largest sauropods of its time," Drew explained, flicking through pages of the file. "The best fossils have been found in a place in North America called the Morrison Formation, which happens to be one of the richest fossil sites in the world. The Late Jurassic was the age of sauropods; there were over 10 different species in North America alone," Drew said "However, Brachiosaurus was the largest of them. It's the perfect creature to start with." He looked around the room. "Anyone who'd like to say anything, raise your hand."
Nikolai raised his hand, and Drew pointed at him to indicate permission to speak. "As head of security, I need to be informed of any potential dangers these creatures could cause." Colette nodded her head in agreement.
Drew gave him a look like he was crazy and said, "Brachiosaurus is gigantic, yes, but it's a herbivore. I'd take some precautions with it, it might injure someone, but that's about it. There are some creatures in that era that are a bit more dangerous, but that's about it."
Nikolai raised his eyebrow. "Could I know what those other animals might be?"
"Yeah."
Everybody looked to Leon, who drew a folder out of his backpack. "Drew, Adrian, and I worked out a system that we put by Theodore and got his approval for on the day we first got hired." He placed the folder on the table, drawing out a small dossier. "The day after Theodore gave us our target, I made sure to compile all the information I could find about it and anything else we might encounter into a document, and printed out two copies." He passed the makeshift data file over to Nikolai, completely unaware of either the curious look Jack was giving and the subtle look of intrigue that Yolanda was giving him. "Here's yours."
Colette raised her eyebrow and eyes narrowed. "You said you made two copies. Where's the other one?"
"Oh yeah, that." Leon chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head, "I gave it to Kyle the day before he started work on building the exhibits for today's mission."
"That is correct."
The head keeper nodded. "Theodore stated that I should receive a copy of this file as early as possible so I'd have a reasonable idea of both what to expect and what exhibits to design."
Linda nodded her head. "He also sent me a copy. After all, the sooner we have a rough idea of what to expect, the better." Yolanda nodded enthusiastically, a wide smile on her face.
Nikolai briefly narrowed his eyes and said in a calm, measured tone, "I see..."
Leon nodded his head, seemingly oblivious to the tone in Nikolai's voice towards Kyle. "All that said, I also made sure to highlight certain types of animals in ways that I figured would be a good way to gouge potential threat levels. If you have any questions or suggestions on ways to refine it, I'm all ears – however, what I basically do is give you a copy of the file, you read it, and then pass it along to your team as you see fit."
Nikolai thought to himself and nodded. "Gilbertson, that seems reasonable; I'm impressed at your diligence. I'll look through the file and contact my team immediately." Colette also nodded, whilst giving a curious look to Leon.
"And what of the ones you don't know?"
As one, everyone looked to Khatin, who lowered his book, revealing a pondering look on his face. He nodded his head, his green eyes agleam and complimenting his dirty blonde hair. "As I'm sure we are all aware, the fossil record is notoriously incomplete – new species are still being discovered every day. Answer me this, what would happen if you were to encounter an undiscovered species over the course of these missions?"
"We took that into consideration as well."
They all looked to Adrian, who nodded his head. "We discussed this with Theodore. For situations like that, we'll decide based upon size and potential threat level. Any unfamiliar animals that are deemed minimal threat level will be automatically sent through. Animals of a moderate threat level are either going to be sent through automatically or with permission on a case-to-case basis. Higher threat level animals, meanwhile will only be sent through with permission." He looked to Nikolai. "And yes, any undiscovered giant carnivores will be amongst that category."
"Sounds workable," said Kyle.
"Agreed," said Nikolai.
"I see." Khatin nodded his head. "Very well then. You've planned this out really well; I'm impressed."
Alice snorted. "I'd certainly hope so."
Drew smiled. "Well if there's no other questions." He stood up from his seat, placing his hands on his part of the table. "Are we all ready?"
"Yes," the Denhams and vets said in unison.
"Aye," said Kyle and Khatin.
"Da," said Nikolai.
"Oui," said Colette.
"Born ready," said Adrian, a confident smirk on his face, whilst Leon smiled softly and said quietly, "I'm with you, Drew. Always."
"Then that settles it", Drew rammed his right fist against his left palm, a confident smirk on his face, "Let's get started."
. . . . .
Drew had never felt more excited as he, Leon, Adrian and the Denhams went down to the portal site.
Arriving at the portal site, they got in a Jeep that had already been placed there for them to use; Drew got in the driver's seat, Leon in the passenger seat and Jack, Adrian and Alice in the back. Drew looked to his teammates. "You ready, guys?"
His four teammates nodded, each of them drawing out their own portal remote. "Do you really need to ask us twice, fearless leader?" Jack responded, his eyebrow raised in amusement.
Drew smiled. "Just making sure."
A nearby technician entered the co-ordinates into the portal and it whirred into life. The Jeep drove through, ready to bring back some of the titans of the Jurassic…
. . . . .
The team arrived at the top of a bluff overlooking a valley. Dead bushes and shrubs reigned over the area with the occasional tree or termite mound. In the distance, however, Drew saw a large pool with giant ferns and horsetails growing around the edge, surrounding a small stand of conifers. Compared to the desolate landscape around it, this was an oasis.
Drew smiled, turned to his team and began talking. "This is the perfect place to look for Brachiosaurus. We're going head to the watering hole down there, because animals will be drawn to it in a drought." The team drove down the hill towards the small lake. After about twenty minutes driving with no animals in sight, they heard a low, trumpeting bellow. Stopping the Jeep, Drew turned to Leon. "What could that be?" He quietly asked.
Leon shrugged. "I don't know; could be anything?" The ground began to move….
"Ok," said Jack. "Either we're about to experience an earthquake, or something big is on its way."
Alice rolled her eyes at her brother's comment, whilst Leon and Adrian were briefly confused by Jack's statement; Drew mentally chuckled at the sight of this. His friends still weren't good on sarcasm - Leon considerably more so. The trumpeting bellow split the air once more, followed by a high-pitched keening bellow and a low, rhino-like groaning snort. Adrian and Leon narrowed their eyes at something in the distance, before Adrian pointed to his left. "Whatever that is," he stated. "It's coming from thataway."
"Sounds about right," Leon agreed, before turning to Drew. "What do you say Drew? Should we stay in the jeep or try to follow on foot?"
Jack, Alice and Adrian looked at Drew expectantly, as if waiting for a response. Drew was just about to speak when the foliage began cracking and a large dinosaur emerged from a stand of dried-up bushes. They all knew what this was; a Stegosaurus. The beast let out a grunt, the light of the sun shining upon its dark tan scales, with black patches across its back. The tail was tipped with dangerous-looking three-foot spikes. But the neck tapered to an absurdly small head with a placid gaze, like a very dumb horse.
However, its most distinct feature was the double rows of large diamond-shaped plates running along its back. These plates were orange, but with dark red eyespots. As it approached, the orange on the plates became lighter, the stegosaurus grumbled and lifted its head, before beginning to browse on the denuded bushes. Seeing this, Jack pointed at the stegosaurus, "I've read about this," he whispered to Alice. "It was theorized that they could pump blood into their plates for display; scare tactics to."
The stegosaurus then turned its head, its pale orange eyes narrowed, and snorted while swinging its tail, complete with menacing three-foot long spikes near the tip, left and right. Suddenly, two more Stegosaurus emerged from the bushes and began browsing near it.
A few minutes later, they were joined by a larger group, numbering approximately nine, six adults, what looked to be a subadult, and two, pig-sized juveniles. The team noted that the adults in the second group were lighter in color, were slightly smaller in size, and had plates that were darker colored, smaller, and less elaborately patterned.
"I'm guessing this is sexual dimorphism – females are smaller and more brightly colored; though apparently with the exception of the plates," Leon thought to himself. He took note of the three males, who were browsing some distance away from the new group. "This might be the way stegosaurus herds are arranged, or it might be just the drought. We'll figure that out once they're at the park."
Accompanying the female stegosaurus were a group of ornithopods covered in reddish brown scales, with black stripes down their backs, sides, and tails. Two of the adults were slightly larger the others, had spike-like claws on their thumbs, and had bright red fleshy throat pouches like a male frigatebird's.
Walking some distance away were a herd of sandy brown scaled sauropods (with barred stripes on the juveniles), large round heads and orange eyes. They also had iguana-like spines across their backs, though six of the adults appeared to have slightly longer spines compared to the others and were slightly shorter. They were accompanied by two groups of ankylosaurs – each about six feet long, one dark grey in color, with a wide muzzle and large shoulder spikes and another reddish-brown and with a narrow muzzle.
Drew couldn't help but let out a low whistle. "Awesome."
Jack snorted. "I'll say." He directed a narrow-eyed look at Leon. "Alright Dolittle, as the resident animal expert, I'm guessing you know what all these are?"
"Um...yes," Leon stated, confused at the nickname Jack had given him, before he pointed at the ornithopods. "The ornithopods are Camptosaurus." He pointed at the sauropods and ankylosaurs. "And the sauropods are Camarasaurus, whilst the ankylosaurs are Gargoyleosaurus and Mymoorapelta."
Alice said, whilst looking at the combined herd. "Hmm, I remember reading somewhere that stegosaurus and camptosaurus associated with each other; it's like ostriches and zebras." She narrowed her eyes as she saw the ornithopods fan out around the stegosaurus and face outward while the stegosaurus gathered in the middle.
"It certainly makes sense," Leon agreed. "From stegosaur braincases, we know that, like rhinos, they had weak eyesight but a good sense of smell, whilst Camptosaurus had good vision. The Camptosaurus act as an early warning system, whilst the stegosaurs provide the muscle." He then pointed at the camarasaurus and their ankylosaur comrades, which were browsing on a few denuded trees a short distance away. "And as for them? Given that it's a drought, their presence alongside the stegosaurus and camptosaurus is circumstantial."
"If you say so." Jack looked to Drew, "How shall we proceed, fearless leader?"
The rest of the group looked to Drew, who smirked, "Let's get out of the jeep. See if we can get close to them on foot. I've got a plan and it's a cracker."
. . . . .
"I do hope you know what you're doing."
Drew smirked and gave a little chuckle. "Oh, Miss Denham," he stated. "I absolutely know what I'm doing."
Now, the five adventurers were at the bottom of the bluff, examining and gathering plants, whilst keeping a wary eye on the dinosaurs. Drew's idea was that they could gather the plants and use them as bait to entice the herd through the portal. However, it was clear that they were still a little rusty working together.
"Shit," Jack hissed, briefly recoiling his hand after accidentally touching a bristle. "Pity grass hasn't evolved yet," he grumbled. "Otherwise, we could just get a load of it, plonk it front of the dinosaurs and switch the portal on."
"Not necessarily," Leon stated as he carefully worked to pull up some tough shrub leaves after noticing the camptosaurus eating them. "Even if grass had evolved, given their jaw morphologies and digestive systems, none of them would be able to eat it."
Jack rolled his eyes, and then tapped Adrian on the shoulder. "Hey," he whispered. "Tall, dark, and Asian." Adrian turned his head and glowered at Jack, before Jack pointed at Leon. "Does he come with a translator?"
Leon sighed. "Stegosaurs were selective feeders – eating mostly ferns, shrubs and cycads," he explained patiently without even looking at Jack. "It ate relatively small, soft objects – they could even rear up on their hind legs to feed on conifers." He pointed at the nearest animal, which, using its tail as a tripod, was reared up on its hind legs to eat what little conifer needles remained on a nearby tree. "Case in point." Jack took a look, then quietly made his way over to a large bunch of needles and gathered some of them up.
After another few minutes, they'd managed to gather a decent-sized haul. Drew reached for another plant when they heard a low, equine grunt. Turning to look, they saw a female camptosaurus looking straight at them with a wary look on its face. Seconds later, all the herbivores turned their heads to look at these new creatures, except for the camarasaurus.
As the stegosaurus, camptosaurus, and both herds of ankylosaur gave them wary gazes, the team kept as still as possible. Adrian surreptitiously directed a glance at Alice out of the corner of his eyes. "We've been spotted," he whispered, to which Alice rolled her eyes.
"Yeah," she whispered back. "Thank you Captain Obvious."
"What should we do?" Jack asked.
Drew took a deep breath and exhaled quietly, whilst his four teammates looked at him. "I'm going to try to move towards them," he whispered. "You guys follow my lead; no sudden movements."
Drew breathed in and started slowly moving towards the herbivores, with the rest of the team doing the same shortly after. After a few tense moments, Drew stopped a couple feet or so away from a large male stegosaurus. As his teammates watched in silent awe, Drew slowly lifted some of the plants and placed a trail on the ground. Standing near the end of the trail, he waited for the stegosaurus to react. Eventually, the stegosaurus turned towards the trail and began to feed.
The adventurers all let out a mental sigh of relief as the stegosaurus walked further down the trail, whilst the others watched warily. As this happened, Drew briefly glanced at his teammates. "Guys," he whispered. "I want you now to try to get the plants and place them on the ground near me." Alice and Jack looked in each other's eyes, uncertain at this order. "Do as he says," Adrian whispered.
Drew's four teammates all silently gulped, and proceeded to do as asked, leaving only the plants they were using for the camarasaurus. Drew smiled, "Good, now let's get ready."
Waiting quietly to avoid alerting the stegosaurus, Drew began to lift the portal remote as the Stegosaurus got closer to the pile. Once he was finally ready, he pressed the appropriate button, and the portal sprang into life.
The sudden flash seemed to spook the four onlooking herds, and they stepped back reflexively while grunting warily. The stegosaurus briefly looked up from its meal, a confused grunt escaping from its beak. Drew was quick to act. "Hey you!" The stegosaurus looked at him upon hearing the sudden yell. "You still want this?" He suddenly threw the plants he was carrying through the portal, with the rest of his team doing the same, "Go ahead and get it!"
In response, the stegosaur let out a low grunting bellow, rearing up slightly on its hind legs to mid-height in the process, before snorting, swinging its tail side to side, and bursting forward, charging like a rhino, too focused on the food to be afraid of the glowing object. Within seconds, the mighty beast had completely vanished through the portal. The stegosaurus herd began charging through the portal, following the food, with the Camptosaurus, Gargoyleosaurus, and Mymoorapelta following. The team jumped aside to avoid getting trampled and, once the last had gone through, Drew closed off the portal. Now all that were left were the still blissfully browsing camarasaurus.
"Ok," said Jack. "How are we gonna get this lot through the portal?"
Drew smiled, "What we did with the stegs." Stealthily walking up to the camarasaurus herd, the team left a trail of vegetation leading to a single pile. Once the Camarasaurus had gotten close enough, the team tossed the vegetation through the portal, which the sauropods followed, moving as if a single, unified entity. Drew smiled, "Our first residents. And, we'd best get driving." Drew looked to his team. "Back to the jeep." The team climbed back in.
After their encounter with the herds, the team drove the Jeep towards the watering hole – after about twenty minutes, they finally got there. Looking around, Leon said, "This is a watering hole – to animals in a drought, it's like a beacon. We should find animals sooner or later. . ." Suddenly, a loud, anguished bellow echoed from some distance away. Leon turned his head to look at the rest of the group, a sheepish smile on his face, "OK, make that sooner."
The group quickly, but quietly, made their way further and came to a stop near the shores of the watering hole, just in time to see a horrific spectacle. A young sauropod, about thirty feet long, lay stuck to its knees in quicksand. Most of its length was neck and tail – the neck tapering to a small, horse-like head, and the tail tapering to a whip-like point. It had leathery-grey skin and a small row of iguana-like spines on its back. "Apatosaurus," Leon stated to identify the sauropod. "A young one by the looks of it. He must have come here looking for water and gotten stuck."
Adrian suddenly breathed out. "I think that's the least of his problems, Leon… look."
The team all looked where Adrian was pointing to see a gigantic bite mark on its back. The wound was several days old and it had clearly become infected. The young sauropod also looked weakened, hungry and tired – its eyes were almost glazed over as it struggled weakly in the mud. "What on Earth did that?" Jack asked in half wonder and half horror.
Drew shrugged. "Must've been something big."
Suddenly, a snarl echoed through the air and the team turned to see a small pack of theropods stalking through the denuded hills towards the trapped sauropod. Each was about twenty feet long and had reddish-brown leathery skin, with osteoderms on the back and tail. However, their most prominent feature were three horns, one large one on the nose and two on the brow.
Leon was quick to identify them. "Ceratosaurus – it's a common predator of the time. Named for those horns you can see on their heads." The Ceratosaurus scanned the area, almost hesitantly, before one began to advance towards the Apatosaurus, hissing in anticipation. The Apatosaurus let out several, low anguished bellows as he ineffectually struggled in the mire. A few minutes later, things only got worse for the Apatosaurus. From the nearby lake, several large crocodilians, about the size of alligators, emerged and advanced towards the Apatosaurus. The ceratosaurus paused in their advance to snap at the crocodilians, who bellowed in response. "Amphicotylus and Diplosaurus," Leon muttered. "They're two kinds of crocodile from this time."
Jack winced. "Poor thing. They're going to rip him to shreds."
Leon turned to Drew, "Have you got a plan?"
Drew smirked. "In fact, I do. Jack, Leon, keep the predators occupied whilst the rest of us get everything ready."
Jack looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Uh, fearless leader, what are you expecting us to do, throw a stick?"
Drew shrugged. "Whatever works."
Jack slowly breathed out and said, "OK. I think I've got a plan."
Leon looked at Jack, confused. "What are we going to do?"
Jack sighed. "Something stupid."
Drew ran towards the sauropod, whilst Alice and Adrian got the Jeep ready. As the Jeep pulled back, Adrian threw down a corset-like sleeve, which Drew attached to the winch, before wrapping it around the Apatosaurus' torso, as well as wrapping a large belt around its tail. Once this was done, he ran towards the Jeep, which Alice was driving, and gave the thumbs up. Alice nodded and began moving slowly forward.
As the Jeep began to move, the Apatosaurus began to move forward with it; eventually, the sauropod had moved close enough to the edge of the pool to pull himself out. After the Apatosaurus had done that, Drew detached the sleeve from the winch and the Apatosaurus, exhausted, stood in a resting posture.
Jack and Leon looked at this; now was their cue. Jack nodded to Leon and the two moved to either side of the predators. Lifting an airhorn, Jack began blaring it at the Ceratosaurus pack and the crocodiles, who turned and began to move towards him, snarling, briefly distracted from their own brief competition. Before they got too close, Leon began blaring another horn at them, causing them to change trajectory, before Jack began blaring his horn again, continuing the cycle. Suddenly, Leon slipped in a dust pocket and ended up sprawled in front of the predators, who advanced towards him, hissing in anticipation. Jack rolled his eyes – of course Leon would have had to have messed it up.
Advancing towards the predators, Jack lifted his air horn and began blaring at the Ceratosaurus, Amphicotylus and Diplosaurus. The carnivores began to move in his direction, snarling indignantly. Jack smirked and began slowly moving backwards, blaring the horn again. When the predators had gotten close enough, they charged towards him; Jack dived out of the way and activated the portal remote; unable to change their trajectory, the predators all dove through the portal into the present.
Walking up to Leon, Jack grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him up, before muttering, "First mission and I have to bail your arse out of trouble."
"It was an accident," Leon panted.
Jack shrugged. "Yeah, sure." Leon gave him a withering look.
Re-joining Drew, Alice and Adrian, they saw the young Apatosaurus lying on its belly, wheezing. Jack gave the injured creature a once-over and said, "He needs help."
Leon gave him a questioning look. "How do you know it's a he?"
Jack glared at Leon. "Do pronouns really matter?"
"Guys, arguing won't help," Adrian interjected.
"His back wound's badly infected," Alice agreed. "He'll need veterinary treatment, and quick. We contact the park and get him transported."
Drew lifted his communicator and portal remote, "Read my mind."
A few minutes later, Linda was standing by the Apatosaurus, the portal reflected behind her. "Yep, he's in a bad way," she stated not too long after examining the wounded sauropod. "Firstly, his back wound is severely infected – whilst we can flush and stitch it, his body temperature and respiratory rate indicate he's got septicaemia." Linda turned to the team. "Could you help me get him on to the truck?"
Drew nodded. "Absolutely."
After much coaxing, they managed to get the young Apatosaurus on to the truck. Once the sauropod had been loaded, the truck's doors closed and Linda got in it; before she left, Linda turned to the team. "Don't worry; we'll do what we can."
Jack nodded. "Wish ya luck, Doc."
Linda nodded back, "You too." Then she started the truck.
Once the truck had gone through the portal, Drew closed it. After a brief pause, Jack said, "What now, exactly?"
Drew thought to himself, observing the surrounding area. "Right, we need to scope out the watering hole… we'll split up. Three of us'll go round the watering hole in one direction and two of us'll go in the other. This way, we can cover more ground." He drew out his walkie-talkie, "Make sure to keep these on you, just in case."
The others looked uncertainly at each other, but conceded to the plan; Drew, Leon and Adrian would walk around the right side of the watering hole, while the Denhams went to the left. For several minutes the two siblings traveled, with not a single animal in sight. "Y'know, I'm starting to suspect our fearless leader messed up when he told us to scope this place out" Jack soon asked.
Alice took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "Jack, we've only been looking for a few minutes. Be patient – this is a drought, animals will be at this place."
"I know," Jack grumbled. "But even so, I don't think we'll find anything big – the little stuff tends to do better in a drought."
"Whether that's the case, we're just gonna have to keep going," Alice stated patiently. "However long it takes, we'll find something..."
Suddenly, a hoarse, barking squawk, followed by a series of panicked chitters echoed through the denuded forest. Both siblings paused, listening carefully, eyes widened. Alice looked at her brother, an amused look on her face and with a raised eyebrow. "What did I tell you?"
Jack chuckled nervously, rubbing his hand through his hair. "Alright, you got me."
Alice chuckled. "Well, what are we waiting for? You wanted some animals to rescue; let's go get some."
"Read my mind, sis."
They made their way into the forest, following the noises to a small clearing to see a pair of small theropods digging into the ground and snapping at some burrows. Each was about six feet long and stood bipedally on two large, muscular legs, with short arms and three-fingered hands, and the body counterbalanced by a long tail. Their bodies were covered in black and tan feathers, except for their necks and heads, which were bare and had bald, brick-red skin. They had short, deep skulls with sharp, pointed teeth and shining yellow eyes. Jack was quick to identify them. "Those are Ornitholestes. The jackal of the Morrison – on the ancestral line to the raptors."
"That's nice." Alice pointed at the two carnivores. "What now?"
Jack smiled and clapped his hands. "Show time." Before Alice could respond to this, her brother drew out his airhorn and honked it loudly in the direction of the two digging carnivores. The ornitholestes went rigid at the sound. The horn blew again, and the theropods turned their heads to see Jack, smirking giddily, and Alice, who had gone pale. Jack chuckled, before yelling, "Hey, you!". Blowing the airhorn a third time, he began waving his hand. "Come and get me!"
The two ornitholestes snarled and bolted straight towards the two siblings. Once they had gotten close enough, Jack activated the portal and the theropods came diving through. Once they had come through, Jack closed the portal. "Ta-dah! We have raptors."
Alice sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You couldn't have warned me that was the plan?" Jack sighed. "Oh, Ally, you know I like to improvise."
Alice sighed again. "Never mind. We can talk about this later."
Careful to not make any sudden noises, the Denhams made their way over to the burrows. Getting on their hands and knees, they looked closer to see the head of a small mammal poke out from the nearest burrow. After a few minutes, the animal fully emerged. It looked like a cross between a chipmunk, a rat and an armadillo, but with disproportionately-sized forearms – it was covered in dark brown fur, with lighter fur on its face and paws. Alice, an experienced mammal handler, was quick to identify it. "That's a Fruitafossor," she stated. "One of the first burrowing mammals".
"Fascinating." Jack whispered. "How are we going to get it through?"
"I brought some dead termites as bait – I'll leave a trail." Alice carefully drew out a small package and carefully left a trail of dead insects, whilst walking away from the burrows. "Come along, Jack," she suggested. "They'll probably come out if we're not breathing down their necks."
Jack did as his sister asked, and, in some bushes, the two siblings came to a stop. After what felt like an eternity, the fruitafossor came out of the burrow, before sniffing at the insects. It turned its head towards the burrow and chittered loudly, and thirty other small mammals, of all ages and sizes, emerged – whilst most were fruitafossor, some were smaller, black-colored mammals that looked like golden moles, which Alice identified as paurodon.
The colony cautiously sniffed the termite trail, and then slowly started crawling down it, eating the dead insects as they went. Once they were at the trail's end, Alice activated the portal. The mammals recoiled from the vortex, arching their backs and hissing, but slowly calmed. Once they were calm, Alice got their attention with a handful of termites, which she then tossed through the portal. Within seconds, the entire mixed colony had darted through the portal, following the food. After the last one had gone through, Alice closed the portal.
"There," said Alice. "Three for the price of one."
Jack stood up and sighed, "Now what do we do?" His sister got back up on her feet, before pointing into the forest. "We keep on going," she reasoned, "Let's get moving."
Meanwhile, Drew, Leon and Adrian were trekking through the denuded forest. Whilst they were walking, Leon turned to Adrian. "So, what do you think of them?" He asked in a low whisper. "Jack and Alice, I mean?"
Adrian sighed. "I like her."
Before Leon could say anything, Drew abruptly shushed them as a low, warbling noise echoed through the air.
Following the noise, the team walked into a clearing to see a small herd of bipedal dinosaurs browsing from a strand of denuded bushes. The larger ones were about eight feet long and was covered in a downy coating of orange and white feathers, with some having bright blue heads, whilst the smaller ones were about six feet long and had dull brown feathers. Leon knew what they were immediately. "Dryosaurus – a kind of primitive iguanodont. The smaller ones are Nanosaurus…"
Suddenly, one of the Dryosaurus turned to look at something and let out a shrill cry of alarm. Seconds later, a dark, bipedal shape burst from the bushes and ran towards the Dryosaurus and nanosaurus, who scattered, whipping up a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, they saw that an elderly Dryosaurus had been left behind.
The creature responsible for this scare, a large theropod, some fifteen feet long, approached the elderly Dryosaurus, snarling. It had light tan skin with black patches, and a thin coat of black-and-tan feathers. Its arms were short, but powerful and ended in three-fingered hands, each tipped with a vicious claw. Adrian looked at the carnivore, confused. "What's that?"
"Marshosaurus," Leon muttered. "A type of megalosaur." The elderly Dryosaurus attempted to run, but the Marshosaurus pursued it, almost herding it towards a stand of bushes, before a second Marshosaurus burst out of the bushes and pounced on the Dryosaurus; restraining it with its front limbs, the theropod clamped its jaws around its throat. The Dryosaurus' spasms became weaker and weaker until it finally went limp. Its comrade joined it and the two ate with gusto.
As they watched the theropods eat, out of the corner of their eyes, Drew, Leon and Adrian saw the rest of the ornithopod herd regrouping. Leon turned to Drew and asked, "What's the plan?"
Drew smirked, "The plan is we split up – you and Adrian handle the Dryosaurus and nanosaurus, whilst I handle the Marshosaurus."
Sneaking past the feeding carnivores, Drew hooked a hand winch into the dead ornithopod's tail; when he was some distance away, he switched it on, and it began pulling the carcass away. The Marshosaurus took notice of this and began to follow their kill. Once they had gotten close enough, Drew activated the portal and threw the winch through. The theropods followed it through, into the present. Drew shut off the portal and smiled. Meanwhile, Leon and Adrian had left a trail of vegetation for the ornithopod herd as bait and allowing the dinosaurs to follow it. Once they had gotten close enough, Leon activated the portal, allowing them to go through, one by one, into the present. Meeting up with Drew, Leon smiled, "I'm ready for more, Drew! I wonder how the Denhams are faring."
Meanwhile, Jack and Alice, still searching their side of the watering hole had found a clearing full of animals – several creatures that looked like giant tuataras sat, browsing on vegetation, and two creatures that looked like snakes with tiny legs basked in the sun, whilst several kinds of small mammal, of varying sizes, scampered across the clearing's floor competed with small, lizard-like crocodilians, small, crested pterosaurs, small, bipedal, fanged dinosaurs and small tuatara-like creatures for whatever food they could find. Jack muttered, "Bingo." For the giant tuatara-like creatures and small dinosaurs, they used vegetation as bait to send them through the portal – however, they proved to be a bit difficult, often snapping at the humans. The crocodilians and pterosaurs also proved difficult in their own way, the former snapping their teeth and swinging their tails while the latter constantly tried to fly away and avoid them. The smaller tuatara-like creatures, in contrast, proved comparatively easier, as did the snakes.
Jack smiled, "First day and we've got a bumper crop… This can only get better and better…" He was cut off by an Ornitholestes vocalization, followed by a low reverberating growling. Following the sound, they saw two Ornitholestes standing over the carcass of a dead ornithopod, hissing and snapping at a small group of larger theropods. Each of these was about twelve feet long and covered in a thin coat of dark black feathers, segueing to white on the face. Jack breathed out, "Stokesosaurus – an early tyrannosaur."
Alice said, silently, "In a drought, carcasses are valuable."
Jack smirked. "Two for the price of one."
After a few minutes, the Stokesosaurus got bolder, making mock charges at the Ornitholestes, snapping at them to intimidate them into fleeing. The Ornitholestes stood their ground, snarling and hissing defiantly. But how long were they going to last? The Stokesosaurus had the advantages of size, power and numbers. It was a fact; the odds were tipped in the Stokesosaurus' favour.
Eventually, the Ornitholestes began to back away; whilst one attempted to rip a chunk of meat, a Stokesosaurus attacked it as it retreated, causing it to drop the meat. Their rivals gone, the Stokesosaurus pack ripped into the carcass with gusto.
The Ornitholestes waited some distance away, for the larger theropods to finish. "There won't be much left of the carcass in a few minutes," Alice muttered. "If we don't act now, we'll miss the opportunity."
Jack looked at the two Ornitholestes, a smirk on his face. "I've got a plan…"
The two split up – Alice would handle the Ornitholestes, whilst Jack would handle the Stokesosaurus. Alice, using a grappling tool, hooked the chunk of meat that the Ornitholestes had dropped and began pulling it. The theropods, noticing the meat moving away, followed it – once they'd gotten close enough, Alice activated the portal and the theropods dived after the meat.
Once the Ornitholestes had been accounted for, Jack drew out his airhorn and honked it loudly in the direction of the Stokesosaurus, who turned to look at him. Jack smirked and said, "That's right; come and get me." The stokesosaurus snarled and bolted straight towards him. Once they had gotten close enough, Jack activated the portal and the theropods dived through.
Suddenly, there was a loud, squawking cacophony. The two humans looked to up to see a small flock of pterosaurs looking down at them. They were dull grey in coloration, fading to tan on the belly. They had the large eyes and coloration of a nocturnal animal, like a bat or a nightjar. Accompanying them was a small group of mammals, like flying squirrels. Leaving a trail of mealworms on the ground, Jack and Alice waited for the animals to alight on the ground, before setting up the portal. Transfixed by the glowing orb, the creatures moved through the portal, moving as if a single entity. Jack lifted his walkie-talkie. "Jack to fearless leader, we've had quite an impressive haul… how have things been on your… what?"
At the park, the injured male Apatosaurus had been transported to the veterinary station. Linda looked at him, anesthetized, and stated "Careful now everybody. We don't know how serious this could be". Linda turned towards a tech standing near the magnifier, "Excuse me, can you move the lamp over so I can get a closer look?" The tech nodded, "Yes ma'am" and moved the device over; the sauropod's body was illuminated in the glow, revealing the bite wound. Linda looked through the loupes at the bite marks and said, "The wound's infected and he's probably lost a lot of blood – but the bite's a pretty clean cut. Right, before we do anything, we need some antibiotics". She looked over at one of the surgeons and said "Harry, antibiotics?" Harry nodded and opened a drawer containing multiple antibiotics, "Which kind? Bird or crocodile?
Linda turned to him and said "Crocodile.". The surgeon handed her some crocodile antibiotics, and she gave the Apatosaurus the injection needed, "Alright, time to get to work". She turned to Yolanda and said, "Yolanda, pass me the swab will you?". Yolanda nodded and passed Linda the swab, to which Linda replied "Thank you", as she wiped the bite marks with it, before flushing the wounds , turning to a nearby vet tech and saying "Sutures, please ", as the vet tech handed them over, "Keep the light on the bite; this will require utmost care". Linda worked meticulously and carefully on stitching up the bite marks; after what seemed like an eternity, the operation was finally over. Linda breathed out "There, that should be enough", before nodding, "Alright everyone, good work. Let's get this guy to one of the recovery pens.
Reuniting with Drew, Leon and Adrian by the shore, Jack and Alice saw what the team had wanted to alert them about. The corpse of a sauropod, possibly an Apatosaurus lay, dead, up to its knees in the quicksand. It had been several days dead – and scavengers were still picking it off. A small group of pterosaurs were picking the carcass clean – one with a wingspan of about eight feet, with a large crest, sharp pointed teeth and a bald, vulture-like head, and covered in black and white fur, whilst the other had an upturned beak and brownish grey fur. Leon had identified two as Harpactognathus and Kepodactylus – using the meat as bait, they managed to send the pterosaurs through the portal.
After getting some Morrison river turtles, fish, amphibians and filter-feeding pterosaurs, the team sat to appreciate a brief lull. Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake, followed by the sound of a sauropod bellow … Big animals were coming to the lake.
Alerted, the gang looked behind them towards what appeared to be a large mountain, just in time to see a truly awe-inspiring sight. A large herd of three different species of sauropod were walking down to the lakebed. One of the sauropods they recognised as Apatosaurus – the other two were different. One was a dark reddish brown with tan giraffe-like patches along the sides of its body, long iguana-like spines across its back, a lighter-build and noticeably longer – some were noticeably larger than others. The other species sauropod was a lighter grey than the apatosaurus, had shorter spines across their backs and black stripes running down their tails, with a longer neck, but a shorter tail.
Leon was quick to identify them all. "We all recognize the apatosaurus," he started before pointing at the other two species. "The longer ones are diplodocus, whilst the short-tailed ones are barosaurus." Some went down to the lake to drink, periodically scanning the air for predators, whilst others browsed on the trees.
In an instant, the entire herd went on edge and an Apatosaurus turned and sniffed the air, and bellowed a loud, trumpeting call. Suddenly, several bipedal, fast-moving shapes moved stealthily through bushes and the herd became more and more agitated. There was a brief pause – before at least seven theropods burst out from the bushes and sprinted towards the sauropods, who bellowed and stamped in response.
Now, the team could get a good look at the theropods – the largest was about thirty feet long and they were all covered in scaly reddish-brown skin with red stripes along their backs and tail, with dark feathers along their backs, arms, and in rings around the bases of their necks, long arms that ended with viciously clawed three-fingered hands, muscular legs ending in clawed, three-toed feet, narrow wide-gaped jaws filled with rows of small serrated teeth and foreboding dark red ridges above each eye. The theropods were currently scoping out the sauropod herd, trying to pick off a weak individual. Leon breathed out, "Allosaurus – one of the top predators of the Jurassic. A nightmare to most herbivores."
The herds, unified as one, bellowed in rage at the theropods, who snapped and hissed in response. Eventually, the elderly herd leaders bellowed at the herds, moving them into retreat, the theropods followed. A large female amongst the allosaurus, seemingly the leader, snapped its teeth in time to shear a chunk of flesh off the flank of an old male Apatosaurus, who let out an agonised bellow in response. The Apatosaurus' elderly matriarch briefly looked back, before leading her herd down the hill.
At this point, Drew finally snapped into action. "Everyone," he yelled, "We need to get into position – head to the bottom of the path! If we can beat them there, we can get them through the portal! And if we're lucky, the allosaurus might follow them through! It's a crazy plan, but sometimes, crazy works!"
Galvanized into action, the entire team hurriedly rushed over towards the mountain, eager to reach the bottom of the path before the sauropods made it there and could scatter. As they got closer to their destination, the bellowing of the sauropods and hisses of the allosaurus pack got louder and louder as both groups got closer and closer to the bottom of the mountain. The one especially grievously wounded old male apatosaurus started bellowing especially loud in clear agony as he began to succumb to his wounds. These noises only motivated the rescue team to further quicken the pace, desperate to avoid losing their chance at a potential rescue.
By sheer luck, the five adventurers arrived at the bottom of the path right as the stampeding combined herd was only minutes away from reaching it themselves. Heart in his mouth, Drew whipped out his portal remote and summoned the portal. When the portal opened, all the sauropods started barrelling right through, too preoccupied with escaping the predators to care about this new object. Unfortunately, the severely wounded old male apatosaurus had lagged, and another bite to the flank caused it to lose its footing and collapse hard on its side. The sauropod looked towards its pursuers, its orange eyes widening in panic at the sight of the carnivores bearing down on it.
The last despairing bellow of the Apatosaurus shattered the air as the entire allosaurus dove on the stricken sauropod like wolves to a dying moose. Within seconds, the alpha allosaurus sliced out the apatosaurus' throat, killing it instantly; at which point the entire pack, now joined by younger animals, then started feasting. For a few, long seconds, the team gaped in equal parts shock, horror, and awe at the vicious spectacle.
"Hooboy," said Jack. He looked at the rest of the team. "I'm certainly not inviting these guys to a holiday dinner!" Alice facepalmed, sighing heavily at her brother's joke. The rest of the team could only shake their heads side to side while gazing numbly at the feasting allosaurus pack.
Eventually, the allosaurus began to move away from the carcass. At this point, Drew knew it was now or never. He drew out an airhorn and blew into it at full volume. The alpha female instantly straightened up and growled, whilst Drew blew the airhorn again. The allosaurus turned its head, only to then hiss again at the sight of the five humans before charging towards them. Her mate, who'd dealt the blow that had brought down the apatosaurus, noticing her leave, turned his head and noticed the humans as the rest of the pack followed suit. Fortunately, Drew was quick to act, opening the portal in time to account for the entire pack. Once the last had gone through, Drew closed the portal. Panting and gasping, he looked back at the rest of the team. "Everybody good?"
The rest of the team all nodded their heads, exhausted. "We're good, Fearless Leader." Jack gasped immediately after saying this. "We're good."
The silence was broken with the sound of a sauropod bellow as well as the rhino-like grunting of stegosaurs. The team all looked into each other's eyes. "Think you can handle more right now?" Drew asked. "Or should we rest a little?" Leon sighed, "Drew, we're with you. Let's get this done."
Following the bellows, the team saw a herd of relatively smaller sauropods, about forty feet long, and a group of smaller stegosaurs, with more rounded plates. Leon knew what they were, "Haplocanthosaurus and Hesperosaurus, a smaller kind of sauropod and a smaller kind of stegosaur." Leaving a trail of vegetation, they managed to lead them through the portal – once the last one had gone through, Drew closed the portal. Jack sighed, exhausted, "Am I right in saying that we've only got the Brachiosaurus left – and we're done?" Drew was about to say something when, suddenly, a low trumpeting bellow echoed through the air. The team turned to see a herd of sauropods walk towards the shores of the watering hole
From their appearance, it was clear that these were not the diplodocids they'd seen for most of the mission; most obviously, their front legs were much longer than their back ones, giving them a front-heavy appearance. This meant they were taller than the Diplodocus; the largest individuals' head was almost fifty feet off the ground. They had reddish-brown skin, with black patches. On each individual's head was a little bump. On the top part of the neck, and the end of the tail, there were small spines, like an iguana.
They didn't need to know what these were – Brachiosaurus. "They're magnificent", Alice said, quietly, as so not to disturb the giants. Jack, grinning, turned to Drew and said, "So, fearless leader, these are our targets?" As the giants moved closer into view, all creatures nearby had gone silent.
Suddenly, a large, dark shape moved stealthily through the denuded trees, moving so fast it was a blur and the entire herd of sauropods suddenly went on edge. The leader of the herd sniffed the air, and bellowed a loud, trumpeting call.
A theropod loped out of the denuded trees, towards the Brachiosaurus. It looked like the Allosaurus they had seen earlier, only it was much bigger – over forty feet long – as well as being darker in coloration. Leon said, almost mute with shock, "Saurophaganax – a sauropod-hunter and the apex predator here. That's what got the Apatosaurus we found." Jack gave Leon a flabbergasted look, "How the hell did you figure that out?"
"Remember the bite mark on his back? It wasn't a Ceratosaurus bite – from the size and gape, there was only one animal it could be. I think that Saurophaganax attacked the Apatosaurus, ripped a chunk out of him and attempted to let shock and blood loss do the rest." As the Saurophaganax moved closer, the brachiosaurs began stamping the ground and bellowing. Suddenly, the team saw the outline of another moving through the denuded trees… and another.. and another…
All in all, the team counted at least six Saurophaganax circling the Brachiosaurus. The Saurophaganax advanced towards the Brachiosaurus, scanning the herd for sick, weak or young individuals. The herd bunched together, keeping the younger animals in the middle, whilst the larger adults began stamping their feet and bellowing to drive off the predators. The Saurophaganax, undaunted, snapped and hissed at the brachiosaurus. Eventually, the Brachiosaurus began to turn and leave; however, the Saurophaganax followed them. It only took a large male charging them to get them to back off. Dismayed, the theropods walked off to the lake and began drinking. The team saw the Brachiosaurus herd standing some distance away, drinking from the watering hole.
Suddenly, Drew turned to the Saurophaganax and began blaring his airhorn. The theropods turned to him and snarled – at Drew's cue, the rest of the team began blaring their airhorns. The team, on Drew's lead, began slowly moving backwards, blaring theirs horn again. When the predators had gotten close enough, they charged towards them; the team dived out of the way and Drew activated the portal remote; the theropods all dove through the portal into the present.
Now, they turned their attention to the Brachiosaurus. "OK," said Jack. "How are we gonna get this lot through the portal?"
Drew smiled, "What we did before." Stealthily walking up to the brachiosaurus herd, the team left a trail of vegetation leading to a single pile. Once the sauropods had gotten close enough, the team tossed the vegetation through the portal, which they followed, with an elegant, almost stately walk. Drew smiled, "Let's go home." The team looked at each other, got into the Jeep, and drove back through the portal back to the present."
Soon the Jurassic creatures were all transferred to their new homes. The smaller animals had been provided a small forest to clamber and hunt in, whilst the lake-dwelling animals had been given a pool. A flabbergasted Khatin had confirmed that most of the pterosaurs that they had brought back, as well as some of the smaller animals belonged to species unknown in the fossil record.
The Allosaurus, Saurophaganax and Ceratosaurus had been transferred to large paddocks, with ample space to roam. They were all roaming their new territories and waiting for their next meal.
The large herds of herbivores would all share a paddock. The smaller herbivores – the ornithopods, stegosaurs and ankylosaurs – had been transported using containment trucks. The sauropods, however, were too big to transport using the trucks; so, instead, using food and recordings of their calls, the sauropods were being herded towards their new home by park Jeeps. The exception was the young male Apatosaurus, still recovering from surgery, who was in the veterinary pens – however, he would be introduced to the herd when he had recovered fully. Prehistoric Park was beginning to fill up.
"Well, I can see you've started well." a voice asked him. Drew turned round to see Theodore standing behind him and looking intently at a Brachiosaurus standing nearby. Drew's eyes widened, "You didn't tell me you were visiting." The old man gave a mischievous grin in reply, "I wanted to keep it a surprise; keep everyone on their toes." He sat down on the bench next to him, "So, how was it?" Drew smiled and said "Epic; everything was so magnificent! We're all looking forward to whatever's next."
"That's the spirit.", Theodore grinned, "and, don't you worry, it'll come sooner rather than later…"
* Allosaurus fragilis (13; 7 adults, 6 youngsters; 5 males, 8 females)
* Apatosaurus ajax (21; 14 adults, 7 youngsters; 9 males, 12 females)
* Barosaurus lentus (13; 10 adults, 3 youngsters; 4 males, 9 females)
* Brachiosaurus altithorax (19; 15 adults, 4 youngsters; 9 males, 10 females)
* Brontosaurus excelsus (9; all adults; 4 males, 5 females)
* Camarasaurus supremus (17; 10 adults, 7 youngsters; 8 males, 9 females)
* Camptosaurus dispar (19; 13 adults, 6 youngsters; 4 males, 16 females)
* Cathetosaurus lewisi (10; 7 adults, 3 youngsters; 2 males, 8 females)
* Ceratosaurus nasicornis (4; all adults; 1 male, 3 females)
* Diablophis gilmorei (2; all adults; 1 male, 1 female)
* Diplodocus carnegii (14; 9 adults, 5 youngsters; 4 males, 10 females)
* Diplodocus hallorum/Seismosaurus (8; 6 adults, 2 youngsters; 3 males, 5 females)
* Dryosaurus altus (18; 10 adults, 8 youngsters; 9 males, 9 females)
* Eilenodon robustus (4; all adults; 2 male, 2 female)
* Fruitafossor windscheffeli (23; 16 adults, 7 kits; 13 males, 10 females)
* Fruitadens haagarorum (14; all adults; 7 male, 7 female)
* Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum (10; 7 adult, 3 youngsters; 4 males, 6 females)
* Haplocanthosaurus delfsi (12; all adults; 5 males, 7 females)
* Harpactognathus gentryii (13; all adults; 7 male, 6 female)
* Hesperosaurus mjosi (9; all adults; 4 males, 5 females)
* Kepodactylus insperatus (13; all adults; 6 male, 7 female)
* Marshosaurus bicentismus (2; all adults; 1 male, 1 female)
* Mesadactylus ornithosphyos (Nathan decides)
* Mymoorapelta maysi (9; 8 adults, 1 youngster; 3 male, 6 female)
* Nanosaurus agilis (11; 7 adults, 4 youngsters; 6 male, 5 female)
* Opisthias rarus (6; all adults; 2 males, 4 females)
* Ornitholestes hermanni (4; all adults; 2 males, 2 females)
* Rhadinosteus parvus (Nathan decides)
* Saurophaganax maximus (6; all adults; 3 males, 3 females)
* Stegosaurus stenops (12; 9 adults, 3 youngsters; 4 male, 8 female)
* Stokesosaurus cleelandi (8; all adults; 3 male, 5 female)
* A few speculative Morrison pterosaurs
* Paurodon (8; all adults; 3 males, 5 females)
* Various Morrison small dryolestids (Dryolestes, Laolestes, Tathiodon)
* Docodon (10; 6 adults, 4 youngsters; 5 male, 5 female)
* Triconolestes (20; all adults; 10 males, 11 females)
* Various other Morison triconodonts (Amphidon, Trioracodon, Comodon, Priacodon)
* Fruitachampsa callisoni (16; all adults; 8 female, 8 male)
* Hallopus victor (16; all adults; 8 female, 8 male)
* Hoplosuchus kayi (16; all adults)
* Macelognathus vagans (Nathan decides)
* Diplosaurus feliz (8; all adults; 2 males, 6 females)
* Amphicotylus lucasii (8; all adults; 2 males, 6 females)
* Assorted Morrison lizards, amphibians, fish and christoderes
Next time on Prehistoric Park Reimagined
The team go back to the Jurassic to bring back one of the smallest dinosaurs
(Drew, Leon and Adrian look at a large group of tiny theropods surrounding them)
But have some big surprises along the way
(Two giant theropods charge a group of herbivores)
Whilst back at the park, a lonely little sauropod may prove more important than he realises
(The young male Apatosaurus looks curiously around his recovery pen as Kyle, Nikolai and Yolanda watch him)
All next time on Prehistoric Park: All Creatures Great And Small!