Sir David Attenborough discovers dino fossil of 12-metre pliosaur that could bite through a car
31.12.2023 - 19:51
/ ok.co.uk
Sir David Attenborough’s new documentary takes him back to his childhood – not to mention transporting viewers 150 million years back in time, as the discovery of an ancient fossil unlocks the secrets of a prehistoric mega creature. “I have been collecting fossils since I was a boy, and I haven’t yet got tired of it,” reveals Sir David. “Finding even the smallest fossil can be a thrill.
But discovering something much larger can be an unforgettable moment.” And they don’t come much bigger than this one. A chance find on a Dorset beach sees palaeontologists realise they have the fossilised snout of a pliosaur, a giant prehistoric sea predator. But that isn’t all.
The fossil has fallen from the eroded cliff face above the beach, which means the full skull is buried up in the cliff.
“Pliosaurs were the biggest and most formidable hunters in the Jurassic seas,” says Sir David. “The marine equivalent of the T-rex. Finding a complete specimen is rare.
The skull of this one is over two metres long and armed with massive fangs.
It’s undamaged and promises to reveal all kinds of details about these terrifying hunters.” Soon, the race is on to save the fossil from the crumbling cliff face. Steve Etches, one of the UK’s most intrepid fossil hunters, makes a plan to excavate the skull. “The location of the skull, high up on a disintegrating cliff face, makes it very difficult to reach and even harder to work on,” explains Sir David.
In the show, the team has only three weeks before the good weather runs out. Rain turns the loose stone on the cliffs to mud and makes excavation too risky.
The job is done by hand, with power tools, and tinfoil protects the fossil while superglue strengthens crumbling parts. A local farmer and fellow fossil
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