Eventually the torrential rains arrive. Filling the river valley with new life. Insects hatch, ferns reappear and fish are drawn upstream. Smashing branches greets the arrival of a herd of Plateosaurus . They are huge creatures.
Adults measure over six metres in length and weigh up to four tonnes.
At the end of their long necks is a narrow head with a mouth full of serrated teeth designed for cropping the toughest vegetation. As the sun sets the only animals visible along the river, other than the phytosaurs, are the Plateosaurus and a few wary Coelophysis . This scene has echoes across the length and breadth of Pangaea. Dinosaurs are starting to dominate this land.