Everybody’s got one. Everybody’s got that bone. A tiny tail to thrash from side to side. Everybody’s got that bone. A reminder of an active past. Four tiny bones at the base of your behind. Come on baby shake, come on baby shake. Come and shake your back bone. Come on baby shake, come on baby shake. Come and shake your back bone. The conquest of the waters. The fathers of the vertebrae. A leaf shaped beast half buried in the sand. Then we get the Lampreys, And armour plated proto-fish. Jawless hags that rummage through the dead. Come on baby shake, come on baby shake. Come and shake your back bone. Come on baby shake, come on baby shake. Come and shake your back bone. Come and shake your back bone. Come and shake your back bone. Growing from the inside - a ridged and light weight frame. The advantages of an endoskeleton. Everybody’s got one. Everybody’s got that bone. A tiny tail to thrash from side to side. Come on baby shake, come on baby shake. Come and shake your back bone. Come on baby shake, come on baby shake. Come and shake your back bone. Come and shake your back bone. Come and shake your back bone.

The reptiles were the first vertebrates to adapt to a completely terrestrial life. Without a need to return to water to breed, they also laid their tough leathery eggs on dry land. Inside, their young could develop safely until such a time when fully-formed miniatures broke through their shells, ready to face the fight. Out looking for blood, In a water tight skin - I warm up in the sun. Got a fin on my back, and a mouth full of teeth. I warm up in the sun and move on... A Dimetredon - a mammalian reptilian. The number one killer of the Permian. The start of the Mesozoic era is marked by the greatest mass extinction the planet has ever seen. A series of natural catastrophes send the Earth’s temperature rocketing and almost 95% of all animal and plant life is snuffed out. Eventually a new order of reptiles emerge to colonise the air, the land and the seas. I’m an Ichthyosaur in the Triassic waves, Observe I behave - like a modern day whale, Giving birth to live young, in the seas where the Nothosaurs, hunt. And those Plesiosaurs, and those Mososaurs - marine reptiles with dagger-like teeth along their gaping jaws Along with the great marine reptiles and the flying pterosaurs, The Mesozoic was the age marked with the emergence of the greatest reptile dynasty of all – It was the age of the Dinosaurs. These amazing creatures adapted to fill every niche and came in many shapes & sizes - Amongst them, the most gigantic land animals that ever walked the Earth. Diplodocus dung on the Jurassic plains. The Sauropods range. Tough, fibrous leaves, And inadequate teeth You need a stomach that’s the size of a house. I’m a Brachiosaur, and at near 200 tons, There are countless complications during intercourse For the next 100 million years, the dinosaurs dominated the land. A warm, steady climate allowed them to flourish; however, not even fearsome predators like the great Tyrannosaurus could escape their nemesis, a giant meteor hurtling towards the planet from outer space. The triceratops beak - like a huge pair of shears. With molars at the rear The tyrannosaurs lunge with their bone crushing jaws But they know not to mess with the horns Of Triceratops - it’s the golden age of dinosaurs - We came, we saw, We conquered and then….meteor!

For 115million years, another important group of animals clung doggedly on to survival in the shadow of the giant dinosaurs – small and nocturnal; these warm-blooded and furry little opportunists finally seized their chance to fill the ecological vacuum left by the monster reptiles. The secret of their success was a nourishing substance unique to their kind - Milk. Along with the care and protection of their parents, this super-food would aid the swift development of their young and give them an invaluable head start in life. These creatures are known as the Mammals and their decedents would come to colonise every environment on the planet, dominating the earth for the rest of our story. Many years ago - About 65 million There came to an end the tyranny reptilian. Hiding in their burrows under ground Down there the families safe and sound Drink up, Drink your milk! Drink up, Drink your milk! Warm blooded killers with a fiery reputation With fur covered bodies for perfect insulation. Several kinds of teeth to crush their prey, Feeling with the whiskers on their face. Drink up, Drink your milk! Drink up, Drink your milk! A blind pink morsel - no bigger than a bee. Clambers through the fur to its mother’s teat. In the safety of the pouch, life is great Development is swift for the young neonate Chorus: Drink up, drink yer milk! With cunning egg thieves all around, A new solution had to be found. To the problem of raising a family. The answer lay in the womb of the mother. A life-giving organ called the placenta Would help their babies grow in peace. The world’s climate was like a rollercoaster. With plummeting temperatures all over The race to adapt was fierce. Continents would shift and collide. The vast majority of those that survived We’re the placental pioneers.

We are mammalian We are variations on a theme We are all descended from the same shrew-like being And those that gain advantage will succeed. After a catastrophe there will be a few survivors that will breed, With the strength that saved them in their genes. And those that gain advantage will succeed. So live, reproduce & die Ride the trials of life We are history There are fresh mutations in our genes And our descendents will soon perceive Evolution runs on greed! So live, reproduce & die Ride the trials of life We are mammalian