03x09 - One Big Frog/Caving with Vlad

[bunniefuu]

- Hello, folks.

It's me, the conductor.

Today, the pteranodons ride a raft

To meet beelzebufo, a really big frog.

Let's hop to it, shall we?

So come on along with me

On the dinosaur train.

All aboard!

- ♪ Dinosaur train ♪

[Train whistle toots]

- ♪ Once upon a time ♪

♪ There was a mom ♪

♪ Her name was mrs. Pteranodon ♪

♪ Sitting on her nest ♪

♪ She heard a scratch and then said ♪

- Oh, boy, my eggs are hatching!

- ♪ One by one, her kids popped free ♪

♪ Baby pteranodons, one, two, three ♪

- I'll name you tiny, shiny, and don.

- ♪ But tiny said ♪

- Wait, there's one more, mom.

- ♪ The last little baby ♪

♪ Was a different size ♪

♪ With teeth and a tail ♪

♪ And big green eyes ♪

♪ He didn't look anything ♪

♪ Like the rest ♪

- What am I doing in a pteranodon nest?

- ♪ But dear old mrs. Pteranodon said ♪

- Oh, this is your family, and I'm your mom.

You may be different, but we're all creatures.

All dinosaurs have different features.

Come on, buddy. We'll take a vacation.

I'll get us a ticket at pteranodon station.

We'll travel the world in sunshine and rain

And meet all the species on the...

- ♪ Dinosaur train ♪

- ♪ Dinosaur train ♪

- ♪ Dinosaur train ♪

- ♪ Dinosaur train ♪

- ♪ We're gonna ride ♪

- ♪ Ride, ride, ride, ride ♪

[Train whistle toots]

- ♪ The dinosaur train ♪

- [Roaring]

- Roar!

I'm an argentinosaurus,

One of the biggest dinosaurs.

- Look out!

I'm a quetzalcoatlus, one of the biggest pterosaurs.

Look at my huge wings.

- Look, look!

I'm a shonisaurus, biggest marine reptile ever!

Great game you made up, don.

- Thanks.

I love playing "I'm the biggest."

And guess what.

I'm the world's biggest frog.

All: biggest frog?

- Ribbit.

- But, don, even the biggest frog

Is probably pretty tiny.

Every frog we ever met was tiny.

- And she knows tiny.

- Roar! Watch out!

I'm the biggest butterfly that ever lived!

[All laughing]

- Hey, dad, don says he's the biggest frog ever,

But that can't be very big, can it?

- Hmm.

I guess I don't know.

- I do.

And I bet he's huge, bigger than a small dinosaur.

And the biggest frog ever likes to eat a lot,

Whatever it wants, because it's so big and mean.

All: yikes!

- And imagine how long his tongue would be.

It sh**t out-- [makes whip cracking sound]--

And grabs his food.

Ugh, a big, slimy frog tongue got me!

All: ew!

- And then he hops really far with every big jump,

Even over huge dinosaurs.

Boing!

- [Chuckles] where do you get all this, don?

- Right here, dad. Made it up.

But I'm sure it's all true.

- You know who would know all about the biggest frog

And answer our questions?

Both: the conductor!

All: can we go on the dinosaur train, dad?

Please?

- [Chuckles]

To the dinosaur train!

All: yay!

- Be back for dinner, hon.

- And the biggest frog

Is even bigger than some small dinosaurs.

And he's real mean 'cause he eats anything

And everything that moves.

And the big frog hops and jumps everywhere,

Even over huge dinosaurs.

When he sees his prey...

[All make whip cracking sound]

His long, sticky tongue gets 'em.

- Whoo! - Mercy!

Be still my troodon heart.

What a terrifying legend.

- Do you know anything about the biggest frog, mr. Conductor?

- Well, I actually do have some knowledge

Of this elusive species.

Let's see; biggest dinosaur, biggest marine reptile,

Biggest pterosaur.

Oh, here we go. Biggest frog.

All: wow!

- Meet beelzebufo.

All: beelzebufo!

- A unique name for a unique creature.

It lives right here in the cretaceous.

And the biggest of the big

Is a rarely seen frog I know named benny.

- Is beelzebufo rarely seen because he's mean and dangerous?

- Well, his appearance is part of it.

Beelzebufo has hard, armor-like plates on its body

That helps it keep away predators.

- Whoa! That mouth is huge!

- Beelzebufo has a very large mouth and strong jaws.

And this frog is a carnivore.

It eats many different types of prey.

- Imagine: a huge carnivorous frog.

- You won't have to imagine for long.

We're close to beelzebufo river station.

From there, you'll take a raft up to benny beelzebufo's home.

- Dad, can we try and meet benny beelzebufo?

- Aw, a chance to meet the biggest frog ever?

I say let's do it!

[All cheering]

- Hooray.

- Next stop: beelzebufo river station

In the cretaceous time period.

Just across the platform is the dock, folks.

And bucky's the best guide on the river.

Have a nice trip.

See you soon!

All: bye!

- Hey, it's bucky masiakasaurus!

- I'd recognize those teeth anywhere.

All: hi, bucky!

- Hi-de-ho, pteranodon pals!

What can I do you for?

- We want to meet benny beelzebufo.

Can you take us to see him?

- [Gasps] - benny?

- Benny, man?

You don't just see him, man.

You have to go find him, man!

But if you really want to, I'll help you try.

Hop aboard. - Ribbit.

[All cheering]

- We're river rafting, kids.

- Bucky, does benny not get many visitors because he's mean?

- Nah, he's just a big, quiet guy who keeps to himself.

He doesn't like a lot of distractions.

- Are we distractions?

- You'll see when you find his leaf.

- His leaf?

- Benny makes a home on a big floating leaf.

- But he's really big, right?

- Biggest frog I've ever seen.

Well, pteranodon family, all ashore.

Benny lives near here, and, uh, this is as far as I go.

- Thanks, bucky.

So anybody see anything?

- It's kind of misty. Can't see him.

Maybe we should head back to bucky's raft.

- Um, bucky left.

- Bye!

- But don't worry, shiny.

Benny must be around here somewhere.

- That's what I'm afraid of.

- Benny! Oh, benny!

- Is--is that him?

- Nope. Just some floating plants.

But what's that?

- Just a fish and a floating leaf.

- Ooh, is that benny's leaf?

- Shh. Look, over there.

Feature check: plates on his body...

- A huge mouth...

- Definitely a big frog.

- Um, I thought he'd be much bigger.

- Hello, are you benny beelzebufo?

- [Croaks] who's asking?

- I'm tiny pteranodon, and this is my family.

We came a long way on the dinosaur train and river raft

To meet a beelzebufo named benny.

- Well, you're in luck. I am benny beelzebufo.

All: yes, we found you!

- So what brings you up my river?

Who sent you?

- I sent us. I'm don.

We've met some of the biggest creatures

From all over the mesozoic, but not the biggest frog.

- The conductor on the dinosaur train

Told us some things about you, like how big you are...

- For a frog.

- He's right. Beelzebufo is the largest frog.

And they say I might be the biggest beelzebufo of 'em all.

- Is the rest of the legend true?

- Legend? What legend, kid?

- Oh, the one I made up.

- Oh, oh, oh. I'm gonna have to hear this.

- Well, you can eat whatever you want anytime.

You're a really fast hopper.

You have the longest tongue ever.

Oh, and no one comes near you

Because you don't want anyone to.

- Anything else?

- And you can hop really high, even over huge dinosaurs.

- Uh-oh. I think we made benny mad.

- Nah, nah. I'm not mad.

I've heard some wild ideas about beelzebufo over the years,

But you kids have the best imaginations ever.

- So do you always want to be alone?

- Well, I do spend a lot of time alone.

But it's just easier for me to hunt for food that way.

Heck, I love visitors.

- But not to eat, right?

- [Croaks]

Don't worry. I don't eat visitors.

Why don't I show you my leaf home?

But first, I'm ready for lunch.

Who's hungry?

All: I am!

- So what do you pteranodons eat?

- We eat fish, mostly. Mm-mm.

- I'm a t.rex, so I eat meat.

- Ah, fellow carnivore.

We're always ready to eat, right?

Being the biggest frog, I know I am.

- This will be great.

We'll hop through the woods, leap over rocks,

Oh, and benny will catch stuff with his tongue.

- Yeah! We're ready for action.

- I hope we can keep up with you, benny.

Let's go hunt for lunch.

- [Inhales slowly]

Actually, I am hunting.

All: you are?

- I am.

I use what I call my "sit still and wait" method

For catching food.

- Sit still and wait?

That doesn't sound very action-y.

- Nope, but it does require great calm

And tremendous patience and staying very still,

Like this.

- [Coughing]

[Chuckles]

- That was amazing! - Good job!

- Did you see the size of that mouth?

- That's the thing.

I don't have a long tongue like most frogs,

Just this big mouth.

Shh. More food.

Ah, tasty.

- Wow, your sit-still-and-wait method works really well.

- Hey, I got an idea.

How about we all try to hunt the benny way?

All: yeah, can we?

- Okay, I'll teach you.

Everyone find a comfortable place to squat.

Okay, everybody take a deep breath.

[All inhale]

- Whoa!

I'ma going for a swim!

Whoo! Okay, that was close.

- As I was saying, take a deep breath.

- [Inhales, coughs]

Sorry. Inhaled a bug.

Go on. No, I'm good.

- Now clear your minds.

I chant a little mantra to myself.

If I'm on a rock, I chant, "I am the rock."

All: I am the rock.

I am the rock.

- I am the log. I am the log.

- I am the ground. I am the--ah, gah!

Shoo, fly!

- Oy, oy, oy.

You guys got a lot to learn

About the sit-still-and-wait method.

- [Squawks] not as easy as it sounds.

- Hey, I think I see a fish.

I got one! I got one!

- You got one all right, a stick.

- At least I caught something.

- Here comes something else.

- That's my home.

And it is something else.

Best leaf around.

Hop on. I'll give you the grand tour.

- Well... Uh...

- Thanks for the invitation, benny.

It just seems like your wonderful leaf

Might not hold all of us.

- Ah, I see what you mean.

I'm lucky it holds me.

But there's plenty of other leaves in the neighborhood

To try out.

- Hmm, now, this one isn't bad.

Wha-- whoa!

Okay, I think I'm gonna need a sturdier leaf.

- [Laughing] I guess I'm just in time.

Ahoy, pteranodons!

I think you found benny.

All: bucky!

- It's getting near train time. Thought we ought to head back.

- I'm so glad you found us, bucky.

- It's hard to float on the river beelzebufo-style.

- Ha, yep.

Well, let's all float down to the station together.

- Where, oh, where can that pteranodon family be?

What in the cretaceous?

All: benny beelzebufo?

- Hi, mr. Conductor.

- Well, bless my scales and feathers.

The pteranodon family floating with benny beelzebufo

Down his very own river.

Now I have seen everything.

- Ribbit. We learned so much about benny.

He's the largest frog ever, has a huge mouth,

Isn't mean at all,

And he floats around on his own huge leaf.

- Amazing.

- Well, all aboard!

And you can tell me all about it.

All: bye, bucky!

Thanks!

Bye, benny! Nice to meet you!

- [Croaks]

You too, pteranodons.

Float easy now.

Bye.

- Hi there.

I'm dr. Scott the paleontologist.

Did you know that frogs

Lived way back in the age of dinosaurs?

And some of them were huge compared to today's frogs.

The biggest known frog is beelzebufo,

Found on the island of madagascar.

Okay, beelzebufo wasn't giant compared to buddy or tiny,

But it did grow to over inches long

And weighed almost pounds.

Most frogs today are less than inches long.

Paleontologists think that

Beelzebufo's closest relative today

Is the south american horned frog.

Like beelzebufo, the horned frog has a very wide mouth

And powerful jaws.

Most frogs are carnivores, meaning they eat other animals.

The horned frog eats bugs, mice, and even other frogs.

The ancient beelzebufo was also a carnivore

And tried to eat anything it could,

Perhaps even small dinosaurs.

Wow! What a mouth.

Beelzebufo likely didn't have a long, sticky tongue

To catch its prey.

Instead, it probably sat still for a long time,

Waited for its prey to walk by,

And then grabbed the animal with its mouth.

Do you think you could stay still for hours and hours?

I'm not sure I could.

Okay, remember, get outside, get into nature,

And make your own discoveries.

- Hello, folks.

It's me, the conductor.

Today, the pteranodon family rides the night train

To visit their nocturnal gliding friend

Vlad volaticotherium.

So come on along with me

On the dinosaur train.

All aboard!

- [Squawks] I'm so excited!

- I know!

Both: we get to ride the night train!

- This is gonna be so great.

- [Breathing heavily]

- Right, shiny?

- Mm, I don't know, buddy.

I think it's a little scary being out here at night.

Everything sounds more spooky.

- Huh. That's just the wind, shiny.

[Train whistle toots]

- [Squawks] that wasn't the wind!

What was it?

Both: the night train!

- Okay, team, it's almost here,

So let's count heads.

Buddy, tiny, shiny-- wait, where's don?

Both: don!

Where's don?

- [Squawks] here he is, sound asleep.

- I'm awake.

Hey, look, it's the night train.

[All cheering]

- Tickets! Tickets, please.

Well, hello, pteranodon family.

All: hello, mr. Conductor!

- [Yawns]

Hello, mr. The conductor.

- I'm proud of you all for staying up late

To ride the night train.

- Are you kidding? I love riding the night train.

- I do too, buddy.

After all, troodons are nocturnal.

We like to go out in the dark.

[All laughing]

- [Laughs nervously]

- So where are you headed?

Ooh, all the way back to the jurassic, eh?

- Yep!

We're going there to visit our friend vlad volaticotherium.

He's nocturnal too.

- Yeah, he's a mammal who can glide.

Whoa, oh, oh...

- Whoa, tiny.

I know you're excited to be out this late,

But let's stay in our seat, please.

- [Laughs]

But you're absolutely right, miss tiny.

Volaticotherium is a mammal who is small and light enough

To glide through the air.

- But how does he glide?

He doesn't have wings like us.

- Correct.

The stretchy skin between his arms and legs

Works like wings, so he can swoop around,

Snapping up bugs as he glides along.

- Vlad eats bugs? I eat bugs.

I want to see him swoop around and catch bugs.

- Oh, I'm sure you will, don, if we have time.

Whoo! Time?

Time? Time tunnel!

Time tunnel approaching!

Next stop: volaticotherium valley station

In the jurassic time period.

- Oh, we're almost there, don. Don?

Don!

- Oh, uh, I'm awake.

Wait, where are we?

- Volaticotherium valley station.

- Oh, hooray!

All: vlad!

- Pteranodon family! Hello!

Welcome to my humble valley.

It's so thoughtful of you to visit me in the nighttime.

- Well, we know that you're nocturnal.

- And that means you're mostly active at night.

- You're right, tiny and buddy.

I love being active at night.

- I'm a t.rex. We're diurnal.

That means we're active during the day.

- Pteranodons are active during the day too.

[Snoring]

That means we're sleepy at night.

[Yawns]

- Well, try to stay awake, my diurnal friends,

And I'll give you a tour of my home.

Follow me.

- [Laughs] let's go, team.

Follow the leader.

- So this is my path. These are my ferns.

And those are my favorite trees.

- Do you like to climb them?

- Yes, tiny.

I climb way up high.

Then I jump off and glide around them eating bugs.

- Eating bugs?

I eat bugs.

- But my favorite thing to do is to go caving.

- What's caving?

- "Caving" is a word for exploring caves.

- Oh, then I love caving.

- [Squawks] me too!

Let's go caving.

- Wait, we're going somewhere even darker?

- Don't worry, shiny. You'll be with me.

And I have great night vision.

[Laughs] - [laughs nervously]

- And you'll be with dad and me too, shiny.

- Mom's right. We'll be right here with you.

- I just don't get what's so great about caves.

- Well, since I like dark places,

I especially like them.

And I bet you'll like this cave too, shiny.

- I've been in caves before.

We have a big cave on the beach by our nest.

- But does your cave has stalactites and stalagmites?

- Um... Stalag what?

- What are they?

- Stalactites and stalagmites are beautiful,

Pointy rock formations.

I like to think of them as cave decorations.

And I like to show them off to my friends.

[Chuckles] and here we are.

All: ooh!

- Welcome to vlad's cave.

All: yay!

We get to explore vlad's cave!

- Hooray.

All: wow!

[Echoing]

- [Squawks] it's huge.

[Echoing]

Wow, do I really sound like that?

- What an echo.

Do it again.

- [Squawks] it's huge.

[Echoing]

- Hey, tiny! - Hey, buddy!

- La, la, loo!

[All laughing]

- Kids, don't get too far ahead of us.

- That's right. Stay within rawk-ing distance.

All: okay.

- [Squawks] - roar!

[All laughing]

- How do you like the cave so far, shiny?

- Well, I guess I just don't like caves.

To me, they're just dark and damp and kind of scary.

- Just wait until you see the next room in the cave.

I'll get it's not like any cave you've ever seen.

It's even shiny. Ha!

- Shiny?

- Vlad, where are those stalag--

The stalac--the styrac-- where are those pointy things?

- Glad you asked.

Please, follow me.

All: ooh!

- [Squawks] it's so beautiful, vlad,

And so shiny.

- Now aren't you glad you went caving with me?

- I am!

So are those the-- - yes.

The ones that look like they're dripping down from the ceiling,

Those are stalactites.

And these are stalagmites.

Remember, never touch them.

We just leave them be.

It's the first lesson of caving.

- Stalactites and stalagmites.

Those are such great words.

I'm gonna have a hard time remembering

Which is which, though.

- You know, I used to have the same problem.

But now I use a trick.

I just remember that a stalactite

Holds tight to the ceiling.

- Stalactite! I get it.

- But where do they come from?

How are they made?

- I have a hypothesis.

I think that whatever makes a stalactite

Is the same thing that makes a stalagmite.

- [Chuckles] an excellent hypothesis, buddy.

See, they are both made by water.

- They're made by water?

- Yes, as water drips from the ceiling,

It evaporates and leaves behind tiny bits of minerals.

Over time, these bits of minerals grow into a stalactite.

- They kind of remind me of icicles.

- That's right.

You can think of them as icicles made of rock.

- But what makes the stalagmites?

- The same thing. - Water?

- The water droplets drip down from the stalactites

And leave minerals where they land,

Causing stalagmites to grow up from the floor.

- I'm awake.

I was just resting my eyes.

Uh?

Wait, is it raining?

[All laugh]

- I think maybe it's time to head back to the train

So don and the rest of us

Can get home to pteranodon terrace and sleep.

All: aw.

Already?

- [Squawks] your father's right, kids.

Vlad probably has things to do, bugs to catch.

Vlad, thanks so much for this amazing tour of your cave.

- It was my pleasure, mrs. Pteranodon.

- Vlad, your cave is the neatest thing I've ever seen.

And it's the best place to take a nap.

- I'm so glad you liked it, don.

- Like it? I love it!

I want to live in a cave like this someday

And sleep upside down like a bat.

- So maybe you'd like to try catching bugs with me

On our way back to the station?

- [Squawks] would i?

- So what I do is pick out a tall tree,

Like this one.

And then I climb it.

Okay, then I open my arms and glide down looking for bugs.

Whoo!

- Ooh!

[Squawks]

Uh!

Whoa.

It's harder than I thought.

- Almost. Keep trying, don.

- [Gulps]

[All cheering]

- Mm, so that's how we volaticotheriums catch bugs.

- Mm! Jurassic bugs are delicious.

Let's do it again.

[Train whistle toots]

- That's enough bugs for one night, don.

Let's get back to the train, team.

- So how was your visit?

- It was the best!

Vlad's cave was so big and beautiful and colorful

And shiny.

I'm so glad I got to see it.

- And I'm so glad you did.

You're very brave and adventurous

And very shiny, shiny.

- [Laughs, snorts]

- All aboard!

All: bye, vlad!

- Farwell, pteranodon family.

Come again soon...

On the night train.

Yes! Ha-ha!

- ♪ Choo-choo ♪

- ♪ The troodon night train ♪

- ♪ Whoo-whoo ♪

- ♪ The troodon night train ♪

- ♪ Choo-choo ♪

- ♪ The troodon night train ♪

♪ All the troodons are coming out tonight ♪

- ♪ Choo-choo ♪

- ♪ The troodon night train ♪

- ♪ Whoo-whoo ♪

- ♪ The troodon night train ♪

- ♪ Choo-choo ♪

- ♪ The troodon night train ♪

Whoo-hoo!

[Laughing]

[All cheering]

- Hi there.

I'm dr. Scott the paleontologist.

I'm outside in the forest at night

Because this is a great place to talk about volaticotherium,

An amazing mammal that lived millions of years ago

During the jurassic time period.

Volaticotherium didn't have wings

But was able to glide

Because it had a large flap of skin

Stretched between the front and back legs on each side.

Although volaticotherium looks a little like a bat,

It's much more similar to another nocturnal animal

Alive today, the flying squirrel.

Just like volaticotherium,

Bats and flying squirrels are nocturnal.

They have excellent hearing,

And they zoom through the air.

Whoa! Whoa!

Just think, volaticotherium was gliding millions of years

Before the first flying squirrel or bat

And maybe even before the first birds.

Okay, keep watching for more dinosaur discoveries.

- We love playing games...

- Like all aboard.

- You can play too online at:

- And lots of other games.

- There's so much to learn about all kinds of dinosaurs.

Both:

- ♪ The dinosaur train ♪

- ♪ Dinosaur train ♪

- ♪ The dinosaur train ♪

- ♪ The dinosaur train ♪

- ♪ Dinosaur train ♪

- ♪ The dinosaur train ♪

- ♪ We're gonna ride ♪

- ♪ Ride, ride, ride, ride ♪

[Train whistle toots]

- ♪ The dinosaur train ♪