Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur
Sir David Attenborough tells the story of the discovery in Argentina of the largest animal to ever walk the earth, a new species of the plant-eating titanosaur.
David Attenborough tells the story of the discovery and reconstruction in Argentina of the world's largest-known dinosaur, a brand new species of titanosaur. Measuring 37m long - close to four London buses put end to end - and weighing 70 metric tons, it now holds the record as the biggest animal ever to walk the earth.
In 2014, a shepherd spotted the tip of a gigantic fossil bone sticking out of a rock in La Flecha Farm in the Chubut Province in the Argentinian desert. Palaeontologists soon uncovered a massive 2.4m long thigh bone (femur), the largest ever found. By the end of the dig they had uncovered more than 220 bones. As the programme reveals, these all belong to a new species of the giant plant-eating titanosaur.
Filmed over the next two years, the documentary follows the twists and turns of this forensic investigation. Attenborough witnesses the uncovering and examination of these stupendous fossils and the dramatic construction of the complete skeleton. And using state-of-the-art graphics, the film also reveals the internal secrets of this dinosaur and what it means to be a giant.
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Clips
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When David met the titanosaur... in virtual reality
Duration: 01:30
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The heart of a titanosaur
Duration: 02:09
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The largest thigh-bone ever found
Duration: 00:41
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The bone that astonished the scientific world
Duration: 01:07
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | David Attenborough |
Producer | Charlotte Scott |
Director | Charlotte Scott |
Executive Producer | Miles Barton |
Executive Producer | Mike Gunton |
Participant | Ben Garrod |
Participant | Diego Pol |
Broadcasts
- Sun 24 Jan 2016 18:30
- Tue 26 Jan 2016 22:45BBC One except Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland HD, Scotland, Scotland HD, Wales & 1 more
- Tue 26 Jan 2016 23:15BBC One Wales HD & Wales only
- Tue 26 Jan 2016 23:35BBC One Northern Ireland HD & Northern Ireland only
- Thu 11 Feb 2016 00:40BBC Two except Northern Ireland & Scotland
- Thu 11 Feb 2016 01:05BBC Two Northern Ireland
- Thu 11 Feb 2016 01:15BBC Two Scotland
- Sun 8 May 2016 16:35
- Sun 23 Oct 2016 16:50
- Thu 9 Mar 2017 22:00
- Thu 13 Dec 2018 21:00
- Sat 14 Dec 2019 20:10BBC Two except Scotland
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