Sir David Attenborough discovers a skull of a ferocious Jurassic predator in new BBC show
Sir David Attenborough discovers incredible ‘virtually undamaged’ skull of ferocious Jurassic predator in his latest BBC show
Sir David Attenborough has unearthed the skull of a ferocious Jurassic predator in his latest BBC film.
The documentary narrator, 96, explored the history of the incredible Tyrannosaurus rex of the oceans that terrorized Dorset’s Jurassic coast millions of years ago.
The creature had a huge six-foot jaw packed with huge dagger-like teeth and Sir David revealed that after all these years, the skull is ‘virtually undamaged’.
He said, “Pliosaurs were the largest and most formidable hunters in the Jurassic seas—the marine equivalent, you might say, of T-rex.
“The skull of this one is over six feet long in its own right and armed with huge fangs.
Sir David Attenborough has unearthed the skull of a ferocious Jurassic predator in his latest BBC film
The documentary narrator, 96, explored the history of the oceans’ incredible Tyrannosaurus rex that terrorized Dorset’s Jurassic coast millions of years ago
‘Skulls, which can tell us the most about an animal, can easily be smashed before they become fossilized.
“But this one is virtually undamaged and promises to reveal all sorts of new details about these terrifying hunters who preyed on Lyme Regis’ better-known ichthyosaurs.”
Sir David will work with palaeontologists to better understand this monster for the BBC1 program filmed on location in the UK.
By better understanding the new species of pliosaurus, by using its skull, the experts can discover what the beast looked like, behaved and hunted.
Executive producer Mike Gunton said: ‘Sir David’s eyes lit up when we told him about this find. He couldn’t wait to join the dig and take a first look.’
Jack Bootle, head of specialist factual program commissioning at the BBC, added: “This film promises to be an exciting journey through time to a time when monsters ruled the seas around Britain.”
Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster was created by BBC Studios Natural History Unit.
It comes after Sir David was crowned the greatest British TV presenter of all time according to a poll last month.
Sir David said: ‘Pliosaurs were the largest and most formidable hunters in the Jurassic seas – the marine equivalent of T-rex. The skull of this one is over two meters long on its own and armed with huge fangs’
Sir David will work with palaeontologists to better understand this monster for the BBC1 program to be filmed on location in the UK
The TV presenter won 28 percent of the vote with a total of 30 household names on the list.
Second in the Perspectus Global poll is the late Sir Terry Wogan, whose broadcasting career began in the 1960s and included his BBC chat show Wogan in the 1980s and 1990s, and his Radio 2 breakfast show, which saw millions of TOGs (Terry’s Old Guys and Girls).
Sir Bruce Forsyth took third, with a string of prime-time Saturday night hits including The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right, Bruce’s Price is Right and co-host of Strictly Come Dancing.
Ant and Dec, who have won the title of Best TV Presenter 21 times at the National TV Awards, came eighth.
When asked what makes a great TV presenter, 47 per cent of Brits thought it was someone who seemed sincere.