Electrophytes are expanded on, describing their electrical shocks as a means to hunt Jetdarters.

In the book, it's mostly inert and defenseless even as many shoreline creatures feed on its gelatinous matrix.

The Amoebic Sea is portrayed as an active predator in the documentary.

The documentary depicts a mutualistic relationship instead, with the plants providing the Groveback with sugars and receiving water in return.

The plants growing on the Groveback are depicted in the book as commensals, dying once the Groveback begins to move again.

Littoralopes are shown as having black armor in the documentary: they just have pale, leathery skin in the book.

Prongheads are only depicted in a single picture in the book, but the documentary portrays their predatory behaviors in hunting Gyrosprinters, as well as their social behavior in packs.

The book describes the Emperor Sea Strider as being 600 feet or 183 meters in height, but the documentary scales it down to a more realistic 80 feet or 24 meters (it's still described as being the biggest creature on Darwin IV or Earth).

Adaptation Expansion: Alien Planet changes and re-works quite a number of details:.Adaptation Distillation: Expedition's storyline regarding Gaia's Lament and the Yma giving humanity interstellar travel is adapted out in Alien Planet in favour of Earth scientists merely discovering Darwin IV and sending probes to explore it.They are also preyed upon by the Amoebic Sea itself, while in the book the sea is entirely inert. Adaptation Deviation: The baby Emperor Sea Striders fly via jet propulsion in the book, but have flapping wings in the documentary.In the special, they mistake a disc camera for a threat, and this leads them to destroy the probes. Adaptational Villainy: The Eosapiens are not 'villains' per se, but they do more harm to the main characters in Alien Planet.In the book, it was perfectly defenseless and is essentially a feast for all the animals that live at its shore. The Amoebic Sea is portrayed as an active predator that hunts flyers, such as the young of the Emperor Sea Strider.The Littoralopes gain some cool-looking black armor for Alien Planet.The author's website for the book can be found here, and the Discovery Channel's website for the movie is here. It was adapted into a TV movie called Alien Planet by the Discovery Channel in 2005, featuring guest appearances by Stephen Hawking, George Lucas, Michio Kaku and Jack Horner. Voyage to Darwin IV by Wayne Barlowe in 1990, is a illustrated Speculative Documentary about an expedition to the fictitious planet 'Darwin IV' and its life forms.

Expedition - Being an Account in Words and Artwork of the 2358 A.D.

Voyage to darwin iv