attenbrougt2

1
00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:24,199
The remains of a dragon
have just been discovered

2
00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:27,919
in the cliffs of Dorset on the
south-east coast of England...

3
00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:32,680
one that has been hidden in the
rocks for 200 million years.

4
00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:39,839
It was an enormous marine
reptile that ruled the seas

5
00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,400
at the same time as the
dinosaurs ruled the land.

6
00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,560
Scientifically, it's called an ichthyosaur.

7
00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:54,759
Since Jurassic times,

8
00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,440
its fossilized bones have been
locked away in these cliffs.

9
00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:04,039
But now we have a chance to
reveal it and its story.

10
00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:06,160
Lots and lots of bone in there.

11
00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:14,359
The bones are so well preserved,
it may be able to give us

12
00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:17,920
new insights into the lives of
these remarkable creatures.

13
00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:21,719
Together with a team of scientists,

14
00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:26,200
we will reconstruct the skeleton and
compare it to animals alive today.

15
00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,799
We'll try to understand how it looked.

16
00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,240
We have actual preservation of
the skin of our ichthyosaur.

17
00:01:36,241 --> 00:01:37,600
How extraordinary!

18
00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,360
And how it survived in the open ocean.

19
00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:47,320
Could this be a completely
new species of ichthyosaur?

20
00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:51,399
Our search for evidence will lead us

21
00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:55,600
into an intriguing forensic
investigation into how it died.

22
00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,400
I think you're looking at a 200
million year old murder mystery.

23
00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:07,399
Solving that mystery will throw
light on the extraordinary world

24
00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:12,760
in the Jurassic seas that once
existed just off our shores.

25
00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,679
The story of this extraordinary dragon

26
00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,879
starts here in Dorset on the
south coast of England,

27
00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,599
one of the most important
geological sites in the world...

28
00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:34,560
the Jurassic Coast.

29
00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:44,480
It stretches for almost 100
miles from Devon to Dorset.

30
00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:49,839
And it was here that the early geologists

31
00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,319
first collected evidence that
once the world was ruled

32
00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:58,040
by monstrous reptiles, quite unlike
anything alive on Earth today.

33
00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,599
Evidence of creatures that
existed all that time ago

34
00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,040
can still be found on these beaches.

35
00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,919
Fossil collectors have been coming
here for literally centuries

36
00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:22,279
and these rapidly eroding
cliffs are providing them

37
00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:26,280
with a continuous supply of
exciting things to find.

38
00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,319
I started looking for
fossils when I was a boy

39
00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,399
and I've never lost the
feeling of excitement

40
00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,240
and anticipation of what
one might discover.

41
00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:47,879
The commonest fossils here are
coiled shells called ammonites

42
00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,279
and you can find them all over the place.

43
00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,839
There's one here on this boulder.

44
00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:56,079
You can see the whorls there,

45
00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,639
but it's mostly been worn away by the sea.

46
00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,519
But sometimes if you're lucky,
you can find nodules like this

47
00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:03,999
and if you look at them,

48
00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:10,759
you can see there's the edge there
of an ammonite and if I hit it...

49
00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,880
If I put on protective glasses
and I hit it, it should...

50
00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:19,079
HE LAUGHS

51
00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:21,239
How about that?

52
00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:23,280
Wow!

53
00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:25,640
What a find!

54
00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:31,759
Ammonites, in fact, are
quite common on this beach,

55
00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:35,439
but every now and again,
something truly rare

56
00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:41,439
and spectacular is found here
and quite often by this man...

57
00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,720
one of the most skilled
fossil hunters I know.

58
00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:50,639
Chris Moore has been collecting
fossils here for more than 30 years.

59
00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,839
Recently, he came across a boulder

60
00:04:53,840 --> 00:04:57,080
which he thought might
contain something unusual.

61
00:04:58,560 --> 00:04:59,879
Back in his workshop,

62
00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:03,559
he exposed a mosaic of small,
beautifully preserved bones

63
00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:07,199
which he knew straight
away were the front fins,

64
00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:09,560
the paddles, of an ichthyosaur.

65
00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,960
But they were unlike any
he had ever seen before.

66
00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:26,040
I still collect fossils.

67
00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,119
I even have the remains of an ichthyosaur...

68
00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,800
a small one of a kind
that's relatively common.

69
00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:42,319
This was collected by Chris
about ten years ago in Dorset.

70
00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,599
I never found anything
as beautiful as this.

71
00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,360
It's got jaws and it's got
teeth and it's got paddles.

72
00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,079
And Dorset was the very first place

73
00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:57,599
where they found a really complete
skeleton of one of these creatures.

74
00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,439
This is a picture of it,

75
00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:05,919
published for the very first time in 1814.

76
00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:10,559
People thought it was some kind
of monster, but what was it?

77
00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:15,999
They thought it was a kind of cross
between a reptile and a fish

78
00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:22,680
so they called it an ichthyosaur
- A fish lizard or sea dragon.

79
00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:27,879
Since that time, many fossil
fragments of ichthyosaurs

80
00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:30,560
have been discovered on the Jurassic Coast.

81
00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,120
But complete skeletons are very rare.

82
00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,159
The particular one that
Chris has just found

83
00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:44,840
is significantly different from any
that's ever been found here before.

84
00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,959
It's not easy to get to the
beach where it was discovered.

85
00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:56,520
At high tide, the only
way to do so is by boat.

86
00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:05,159
I asked Chris where the rest of
the skeleton might still lie.

87
00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,679
It's in the very top limestone bed

88
00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,119
where the cliffs are at the lowest point.

89
00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,639
It's got about two metres on top of clay

90
00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:15,320
and we'll have to clear this material off

91
00:07:15,321 --> 00:07:17,079
till we get to the limestone bed.

92
00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:18,479
It' a lot of hard work.

93
00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,679
It's a lot of digging, yeah, and
also we have to do it, really,

94
00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,319
before the winter turns again
and the weather gets bad

95
00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:27,839
because there's a chance
that the next landslip

96
00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:30,560
will just push it off onto
the beach and destroy it.

97
00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:37,520
In Jurassic times, sea
covered all this area.

98
00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:42,119
On its floor, sediments
washed down from the land

99
00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,800
turned into layers of shales and limestone.

100
00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,319
The land rose, the sea retreated

101
00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:52,119
and now in the rocks,

102
00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,119
you can find the remains of the creatures

103
00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:57,160
that once lived in those ancient waters.

104
00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,759
As well as the remains of ammonites,
there are the bones of fish,

105
00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:06,280
such as sharks.

106
00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:14,520
But the top predators at this time
were reptiles - ichthyosaurs.

107
00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:23,400
They dominated the seas for
more than 150 million years.

108
00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:36,479
After getting permission to dig,

109
00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:40,319
the team clamber down the
cliff to the particular layer

110
00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,759
where the rest of our ichthyosaur
skeleton should be lying.

111
00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:45,398
I'm going to need at least another metre,

112
00:08:45,399 --> 00:08:46,960
cos I need to drop down to the next bit.

113
00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,039
It's dangerous work.

114
00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,880
These cliffs occasionally
collapse without warning.

115
00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,839
To make sure that they don't
damage any of the fossils,

116
00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,800
the team do all the digging by hand.

117
00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:12,600
There's just loads of roots.

118
00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:17,639
Tonnes of clay have to be
removed before they even reach

119
00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:19,799
the layer of limestone where they hope

120
00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:21,879
the rest of the bones still lie.

121
00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:23,400
Wayhey!

122
00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:28,599
It was on this very coast

123
00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:32,720
that the first complete skeleton
of an ichthyosaur was discovered.

124
00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:36,439
It was found in the 19th century

125
00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,920
by a remarkable woman called Mary Anning.

126
00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,839
Mary lived in the little
town of Lyme Regis,

127
00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:49,320
the daughter of a cabinet maker
who collected fossils as a hobby.

128
00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,479
When Mary was only 11, her father died

129
00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,439
so she and her brother started
selling fossils to visitors

130
00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:00,720
to support their widowed mother.

131
00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:14,520
Lyme Regis Museum now devotes a
whole gallery to her and her finds.

132
00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:22,919
Mary had an extraordinary talent
for finding fossils and in 1811,

133
00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:26,599
she discovered this gigantic creature,

134
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,320
the like of which no-one
had ever seen before.

135
00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:33,399
Dinosaurs had not yet been discovered.

136
00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,679
No-one had any idea that
way back in pre-history,

137
00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:39,839
there were such gigantic creatures,

138
00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:42,240
so this caused a sensation.

139
00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:48,479
It was then that the
popular name "sea dragon"

140
00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:50,920
was given to these prehistoric monsters.

141
00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,559
Scientists speculated on how they lived

142
00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:59,919
and artists tried to imagine
what they must have looked like

143
00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:02,440
and how they behaved.

144
00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:14,800
Back at the cliff face, Chris
and his team are hard at it.

145
00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:19,040
But they haven't found any more bones.

146
00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:31,199
This is a massive piece. Tombstone!

147
00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:32,719
Right, ready?

148
00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:36,279
Chris is convinced that the skeleton
to which the paddles belonged

149
00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,799
must be somewhere here and
they check every rock.

150
00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:42,120
Beautiful shale!

151
00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:53,759
- Lovely!
- Anything interesting?
- Moment of truth...

152
00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,439
Nothing.

153
00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:58,680
- Just push it off.
- Yeah.

154
00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:05,159
Is there anything showing?

155
00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:06,999
Nothing else here.

156
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,520
Oh, gosh, that's hard work.

157
00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:16,319
I hope there's something here.

158
00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,040
I almost don't want to look!

159
00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:21,679
- Ah!
- What have you found?

160
00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:25,919
- There's a bone.
- Loads of bone going all the way... There's bone there.

161
00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,680
- There's something here!
- HE LAUGHS

162
00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:34,599
At long last, the team's
efforts are rewarded.

163
00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,319
We've got some bones here!

164
00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:40,559
- There's loads of bones.
- Fantastic!

165
00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:42,239
Ah! What's this?

166
00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:44,279
Is that a vertebrae?

167
00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,039
But the bones are not in the position

168
00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:49,359
the team had expected to find them.

169
00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:52,639
Instead of lying across
the face of the cliff,

170
00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,799
the skeleton seems to be
bending back into it.

171
00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,759
We're going to have to
go down through there.

172
00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:01,440
It means much more work.

173
00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,680
And to make matters worse,
a storm is brewing.

174
00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:09,359
The rain is just starting,

175
00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:11,720
but I think we've got to
make a bit of a run for it.

176
00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:25,879
We won't be working any more in this
for the moment. It's torrential.

177
00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:28,039
Beautiful rainbow, though.

178
00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:32,040
A rainbow will be little
comfort if the storm persists.

179
00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:36,519
Rough seas and heavy downpours
can cause landslips,

180
00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:40,240
which could easily destroy any
chance of retrieving the bones.

181
00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:48,599
It was after just such a storm
that Chris found the front limbs,

182
00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:51,160
the paddles of our sea dragon.

183
00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:56,519
They convinced him that the
fossil was something special.

184
00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,839
VOICEOVER: You can see why
when you compare them

185
00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:01,998
VOICEOVER: to the paddles
of the kind of ichthyosaur

186
00:14:01,999 --> 00:14:03,640
VOICEOVER: that's usually found here.

187
00:14:03,641 --> 00:14:08,159
This is an adult and this is
the paddle of this creature

188
00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,960
and if you compare it to this one...

189
00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:21,159
- Oh, it's huge. Oh, yeah.
- I've never seen anything quite like it.

190
00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,559
There are half a dozen rows of
digits there and how many there?

191
00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,359
I think there's at least
nine or ten crossways

192
00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,679
and obviously, you know,
many more in length.

193
00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:33,439
It's getting on for twice
the number of digits.

194
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,599
- And the whole shape of the fin is completely...
- Quite different.

195
00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:38,359
And must be new, therefore?

196
00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:43,119
- I think so. I've never seen anything quite like it.
- How exciting!

197
00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:45,239
VOICEOVER: It's extremely rare to find

198
00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:47,999
VOICEOVER: a new species
of ichthyosaur these days.

199
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:53,519
Only nine have been discovered
here in the last 200 years.

200
00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,799
But can these strange
paddles tell us something

201
00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,440
about how this odd ichthyosaur lived?

202
00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:05,400
To try and find out, we are going to
construct a three-dimensional model.

203
00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:11,679
To do that, we first need to
have the paddles scanned.

204
00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:15,680
So, Chris is taking them
to Southampton University.

205
00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,719
Here, the engineering department
has one of the largest

206
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,600
high resolution scanners in the country.

207
00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:30,960
It's not every day someone walks in

208
00:15:30,961 --> 00:15:34,360
with a 200-million-year-old sea reptile.

209
00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:44,319
The machine can scan objects of
all different shapes and sizes

210
00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:48,480
from ancient coins to the
components of spacecraft.

211
00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:57,719
To create a picture, the scanner
takes thousands of X-ray images

212
00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:01,400
in cross sections through
the fossil as it rotates.

213
00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:11,080
It's not long before the
first images appear.

214
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,600
That's amazing. It looks really clear.

215
00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,079
You can even see the bones
laying underneath the paddle.

216
00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:22,038
At the moment, we're
just doing one section.

217
00:16:22,039 --> 00:16:24,200
We're going to do multiple
scans down the specimen

218
00:16:24,201 --> 00:16:26,839
and build it all back together
into a three-dimensional volume.

219
00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:31,560
The scans of the paddles are
sent to Bristol University.

220
00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:36,919
Here, scientists can isolate the
image of each bone within the rock

221
00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:41,520
and then assemble them to create a
detailed three-dimensional model.

222
00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,439
The team is particularly
excited by the shape

223
00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:52,160
and structure of these paddles
and I've come to find out why.

224
00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,799
We've got a complete paddle here
taken from the bones itself,

225
00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:01,119
fully reconstructed, rearticulated

226
00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,879
so this is as close as we can get
to what it would have looked like.

227
00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:07,479
We can actually start using
this paddle to try and tell us

228
00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:09,119
what species it might have been.

229
00:17:09,120 --> 00:17:11,159
Because of the size of the paddle

230
00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:13,799
and the way that some of these
bones articulate with each other,

231
00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,119
it's different to other ichthyosaurus

232
00:17:16,120 --> 00:17:18,239
and so this could be a new species.

233
00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:20,839
- That would be great.
- It would be jolly exciting.

234
00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:25,319
VOICEOVER: We won't know for sure
until we find the rest of the body,

235
00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:27,399
but can the paddles tell us something

236
00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,199
about the way in which this creature swam?

237
00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:32,519
There are a lot of bones in this paddle,

238
00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,199
which would have been
good for holding steady

239
00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,959
and also for allowing it to
be manoeuvrable in the water.

240
00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,079
- There would have been cartilage
round that, wouldn't there? - Yes.

241
00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:42,558
All of the gaps between the bones

242
00:17:42,559 --> 00:17:44,398
would have been filled in with cartilage

243
00:17:44,399 --> 00:17:46,360
and even further around the paddle itself,

244
00:17:46,361 --> 00:17:48,919
giving it a paddle-like shape,
giving it a cross section

245
00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:50,399
a bit like an aerofoil

246
00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:52,840
so that it could cut
straight through the water.

247
00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,759
- Could they fold them in to the side?
- Probably not.

248
00:17:57,760 --> 00:17:59,678
Looking at the muscles
and where they attach,

249
00:17:59,679 --> 00:18:01,518
it suggests these are moving up and down,

250
00:18:01,519 --> 00:18:02,878
helping it to turn very quickly

251
00:18:02,879 --> 00:18:04,800
or keeping it on the straight and narrow

252
00:18:04,801 --> 00:18:07,440
when it wants to be a little more sedate.

253
00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:14,799
The shape of the paddles
and the way they moved

254
00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:20,120
seems very like the way an animal
alive today uses its paddles.

255
00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:24,119
That animal usually lives
in tropical waters

256
00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:26,120
like these in the Caribbean.

257
00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:29,679
The sea here is warm

258
00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:31,799
with temperatures much
like they would have been

259
00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:33,920
in Jurassic times around Britain.

260
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:37,399
And the animal in question...

261
00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:40,280
is the dolphin.

262
00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:48,920
Dolphins, of course, are mammals,
not reptiles like ichthyosaurs.

263
00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:54,680
Nonetheless, the two groups have
bodies shaped in very similar ways.

264
00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,719
The front fins or paddles of both

265
00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:01,678
would have helped to steady themselves

266
00:19:01,679 --> 00:19:03,640
as they turn and cut through the water.

267
00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:09,000
And both have similar dorsal fins.

268
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:13,799
So, although they lived
200 million years apart,

269
00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:19,079
dolphins and ichthyosaurs share
many physical characteristics

270
00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:23,279
and that's because they
evolved in similar ways

271
00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:26,280
as a response to a similar environment.

272
00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:37,159
Like dolphins,

273
00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:41,279
ichthyosaurs evolved from ancestors
that had once lived on land.

274
00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:44,359
As they became adapted to life in water,

275
00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:46,599
they lost the ability to walk,

276
00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:48,879
their bodies became more streamlined

277
00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,920
and their forelimbs turned into
paddles to help them swim.

278
00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:59,840
But ichthyosaurs do differ from
dolphins in two striking ways.

279
00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,559
Dolphins have tails that
are flattened horizontally

280
00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:14,200
and they drive themselves forward
by beating their tails up and down.

281
00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,479
But we know from their fossils
that ichthyosaur tails

282
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:22,079
were flattened vertically
like those of sharks,

283
00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,919
so they must have swum
in the same sort of way

284
00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,720
by sweeping their tails from side to side.

285
00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:37,599
Ichthyosaurs, unlike dolphins,
also had back paddles.

286
00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:41,360
They, too, would have helped
stabilise them as they swam.

287
00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,519
And what's more, the
paddles of our ichthyosaur

288
00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:51,839
are particularly large and long,

289
00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:56,000
rather like those of the
oceanic whitetip shark.

290
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:04,679
That shape helps the whitetip
to cruise for long distances

291
00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,480
with very little expenditure of
energy in their search for food.

292
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:18,959
So, it could be that our ichthyosaur
was also a long-distance traveller

293
00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:23,519
and only an infrequent visitor
to the Lyme Regis seas,

294
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:28,600
which could be why no-one has ever
found one of these here before.

295
00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:39,680
Back at the dig site, the
rain has stopped at last.

296
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:46,680
But the storm is a reminder
that winter is on its way.

297
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,879
The team must try to extract
the rest of the dragon's body

298
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:53,440
before worse weather arrives.

299
00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:56,639
That's how hard the rock is.

300
00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:58,839
It's actually smashed
the end off the chisel.

301
00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:01,080
So, you can see what we're dealing with.

302
00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:16,239
At last, they find signs of
the rest of the skeleton.

303
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:19,359
- Lots and lots of bone in there.
- Yeah.

304
00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:22,199
Ribs and all sorts of stuff.

305
00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:26,159
And there's another particularly
exciting discovery.

306
00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,359
- Is there skin?
- Yeah, look.
- Oh, really?

307
00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:32,479
They've found signs of fossilized skin.

308
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:34,159
Rare, isn't it?

309
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:35,720
Yeah, very rare.

310
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:41,159
The blocks that contain bones and skin

311
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,079
can't be thrown down like the other rocks.

312
00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:48,800
They must be carefully strapped
up and gently lowered.

313
00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:52,439
That's the first block down.

314
00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:55,720
A few more to go, but if they go
like that, I'll be very pleased.

315
00:22:57,360 --> 00:23:02,520
Two weeks after they started work, I
go down again to check on progress.

316
00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:09,239
- How's it going?
- Well, quite well so far.
- A lot shifted.

317
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:12,480
- Yeah, about 20 tonnes of it, I think.
- Really?
- Yes.

318
00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:15,959
How's it doing? Is it caught?

319
00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,799
- No, it's OK.
- It's OK? Yeah.

320
00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:20,719
What do you reckon's in it?

321
00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:24,679
This block's got vertebrae,
the other part of the ribcage

322
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,080
and it's definitely got the
back paddles in there.

323
00:23:27,081 --> 00:23:29,879
You can see a cross section through them.

324
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:33,119
VOICEOVER: While the team continue
lowering the huge blocks,

325
00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:35,959
VOICEOVER: Chris shows me what
they've already collected.

326
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:38,639
So, lots over here.

327
00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:42,639
- Ah, well, I can see something there.
- Ah!

328
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:44,720
- That's more obvious, yeah.
- Yeah.

329
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,519
Here, you can see,
glinting in the sunlight,

330
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,399
sections through the backbone,
the vertebral column.

331
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:53,879
Wow!

332
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:58,119
And these are the ribs that are
still attached to the vertebrae

333
00:23:58,120 --> 00:23:59,999
and these are the neurals

334
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:01,320
that come off the backbone.

335
00:24:01,321 --> 00:24:03,320
The spines off the top of the back.

336
00:24:03,321 --> 00:24:07,199
- Yeah, but they've actually got skin preserved on them.
- No, really? - Yeah.

337
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,999
- Can you see that here?
- Well, that's the very black.

338
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,639
You can see it on the impression as well.

339
00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:16,959
VOICEOVER: This is great news,
but something puzzles me.

340
00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:19,719
Would the head have been
on this side or that side?

341
00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:23,040
Most likely here in this next slab.

342
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,319
- And it's not there?
- Not so far.

343
00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:29,439
Oh, boy!

344
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:31,479
How many more tonnes to go?

345
00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,240
HE SIGHS, THEY LAUGH

346
00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:38,520
- Only a few!
- THEY LAUGH

347
00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:42,280
OK.

348
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:52,879
Once the blocks are down on the beach,

349
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:56,399
the team remove as much
excess limestone as possible

350
00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:57,999
to make them lighter.

351
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,199
Even then, they're extremely heavy

352
00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:03,519
so to get them back to Lyme Regis,

353
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:07,360
they're loaded onto a pontoon
and towed back by boat.

354
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:30,719
So, for the first time
in 200 million years,

355
00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:35,000
our strange ichthyosaur once
again takes to the water.

356
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:48,439
The dig may be over,

357
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,439
but the investigation
is only just beginning.

358
00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,039
WHIRRING

359
00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:58,479
Now, the work becomes more delicate,
involving not sledgehammers,

360
00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:00,679
but small vibrating chisels

361
00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,760
that chip off the limestone in tiny flakes.

362
00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:12,240
It's detailed work that will
take months to complete.

363
00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,160
It's like a jigsaw puzzle
of things you can't see.

364
00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:20,760
It's almost forensic.

365
00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:25,559
You don't know the story, you don't
know what's inside the block

366
00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:27,640
until you reveal it.

367
00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:33,719
I've never seen in all my years an
ichthyosaur that looked like this

368
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,879
so every other part of the
skeleton that we reveal

369
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:40,679
is very exciting cos you're never
quite sure what's going on,

370
00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:45,080
what it's going to look like and
it is, it's very different.

371
00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:50,359
Day after day and week after week,

372
00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:55,200
Chris and his team work patiently
to expose more of the skeleton.

373
00:26:56,200 --> 00:27:01,560
And as they do so, the bones
reveal something very intriguing.

374
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:07,640
I've come down to Chris'
workshop to take a look.

375
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:13,720
It's a bit of squeeze past the plesiosaur.

376
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,880
VOICEOVER: It really is an Aladdin's cave.

377
00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:21,920
VOICEOVER; After weeks of work,

378
00:27:21,921 --> 00:27:25,000
VOICEOVER: Chris has exposed
the backbones and ribs.

379
00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:28,959
So, this is it so far.

380
00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:32,399
VOICEOVER: And in doing so, he's
made a startling discovery.

381
00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:34,639
It looks like it's been attacked.

382
00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,119
- Gosh!
- There's breakages all through the ribcage.

383
00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:41,319
If you follow one rib, you
go along here, down to here,

384
00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:45,599
then this piece corresponds to
this, which then goes over to here

385
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:50,279
so one rib is now broken into three pieces.

386
00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:54,559
How extraordinary! But
what's happened here?

387
00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:59,759
Here, the vertebral column's
been actually pulled away.

388
00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:03,639
I'm fairly positive it was
done in life and the paddles,

389
00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:05,679
the flippers have been ripped off.

390
00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:07,760
Where would they go?

391
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:18,519
But they're in a very odd
position, aren't they?

392
00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:21,119
I mean, they're pointing
in the wrong direction.

393
00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:24,119
They should be basically in this position

394
00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:25,839
and facing the other way up

395
00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:29,159
and they've been ripped
off and turned over.

396
00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:30,760
Gosh!

397
00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:33,200
Well, where was the head?

398
00:28:33,201 --> 00:28:35,559
The head should be here.

399
00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:39,719
- That's the very last vertebrae.
- Back of the neck?
- Yeah.

400
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:43,599
So, the head's been torn off
and there's no evidence.

401
00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:47,559
There's no teeth or pieces of bone.
It's completely gone.

402
00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:52,559
- So, it's a murder.
- Yes!
- Really?

403
00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:53,800
Yeah, I think it was killed.

404
00:28:53,801 --> 00:28:57,519
- Did this predator crunch the head, do you think?
- Who knows?

405
00:28:57,520 --> 00:28:59,439
It's 200 millions years ago,

406
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:02,279
so it's a bit of guesswork,
really, isn't it?

407
00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,920
So, it's a murder story
without a complete body yet.

408
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:12,880
To find out more, we need to
reveal the rest of the skeleton.

409
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:17,760
So it's all hands on deck.

410
00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,520
They've even roped me in.

411
00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:48,000
This is more difficult than it looks.

412
00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:54,040
Very good!

413
00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:59,400
Could you start on three days a week?

414
00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:03,360
- Is it all right?
- It's good, yeah.
- I haven't gone too close to the bone?

415
00:30:03,361 --> 00:30:05,960
- No, no.
- Phew, that's a relief!

416
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:10,920
But what of the missing head?

417
00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:13,639
If it was ripped off,

418
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,639
Chris thinks he might
still be able to find it

419
00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:18,599
somewhere on the beach,

420
00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:20,719
so at every opportunity,

421
00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:24,720
he scours the area where
the first block was found.

422
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:31,479
The best time to look is after a storm

423
00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:33,919
when a strong sea has
moved sand and shingle

424
00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,640
and perhaps revealed the rocks beneath.

425
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:55,479
To try and deduce just how our
ichthyosaur met its fate,

426
00:30:55,480 --> 00:31:00,119
we've sent images of the fossil
to someone who specialises

427
00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:04,280
in investigating the cause of
death in prehistoric animals.

428
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:08,879
You sent me some photographs and I
had a look at some of these breaks.

429
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:11,839
Now, first of all, I noticed this, here.

430
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:15,079
If you look, you can just see this
bulbous piece on the rib here.

431
00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:17,639
This is where the rib has
healed after a break

432
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:20,599
and the animal's gone
on to live another day.

433
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:25,119
There's a bite mark here that runs
all the way up the paddle bones.

434
00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:26,998
You can see that it's healed as well.

435
00:31:26,999 --> 00:31:28,920
Yeah, it's definitely an old injury.

436
00:31:28,921 --> 00:31:32,719
- This animal's had a little bit of a bad start in life.
- Yeah.

437
00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:36,359
But some of the other breaks
tell a different story.

438
00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,759
If you look down here and
especially this one,

439
00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:42,959
this fracture here mirrors
that fracture there

440
00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:46,999
and then we can see a
whole line of fractures

441
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,559
where there's no new bone growth.

442
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:52,759
Something has actually
crushed this ribcage.

443
00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:55,279
So look here at these neural spines.

444
00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:57,439
These are absolutely perfect

445
00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:01,719
and then from here, they're
broken all the way down to here.

446
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,119
This is the last one that's
broken and then here,

447
00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:05,679
they're perfect again.

448
00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:09,399
So, there to there is damaged.

449
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,839
On the ribs, there to there
is damaged and here, too,

450
00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:15,239
and also on some of these belly ribs

451
00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:19,079
so I think there's a bite
which goes right across here.

452
00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:24,679
That probably reflects the width of
the skull of the animal that bit it.

453
00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:27,639
Yeah, yeah. So it came
in across here, almost.

454
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:29,239
Somewhere like that, yeah.

455
00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:33,039
There was a massive bite, it
caused catastrophic injury

456
00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:35,959
and, remember, the ribcage
is protecting lungs.

457
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:40,839
This was an air-breathing
marine animal and as a swimmer,

458
00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,159
these lungs are vital not just for
breathing, but for its buoyancy.

459
00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:47,999
So, once this ribcage is punctured
and the lungs are punctured,

460
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:49,399
this animal is dead.

461
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:50,560
It can't breathe

462
00:32:50,561 --> 00:32:53,239
and also it's going to sink straight
down to the sea floor as well.

463
00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:57,799
It's quite likely that the
animal that killed this animal,

464
00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:59,919
presumably it was looking for food,

465
00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:01,479
it didn't get to eat it.

466
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:03,559
Oh, no, I think it just killed it.

467
00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:05,560
It didn't eat it, or else
it wouldn't be so intact.

468
00:33:05,561 --> 00:33:08,599
So this probably all took
place in the surface water,

469
00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:10,679
but as soon as it's done this injury,

470
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,959
this thing just sank like a stone
straight down to the sea floor

471
00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:17,719
and then it was lost to the
animal that was trying to eat it.

472
00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:21,920
So, it looks as if Chris'
attack theory might be right.

473
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,039
But what type of creature
could possibly have inflicted

474
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:29,000
so much damage to our sea dragon?

475
00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:35,320
A rather unusual fossil in Chris'
collection might give us a clue.

476
00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:48,399
This is fossilised ichthyosaur
droppings called a coprolite

477
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:50,799
and what makes it particularly interesting

478
00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:56,760
is that within this piece of
dung, you can see fish scales.

479
00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:04,159
So, that shows that
ichthyosaurs were fish eaters,

480
00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:09,879
but more than that, this one
is even more interesting

481
00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:17,239
because in this piece of dung, there
are teeth - ichthyosaur teeth.

482
00:34:17,240 --> 00:34:23,599
So, the animal that produced this
was almost certainly a cannibal.

483
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:27,400
It ate other ichthyosaur species.

484
00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:33,040
Could it be that our dragon was
killed by one of its own kind?

485
00:34:40,720 --> 00:34:42,639
To find out more,

486
00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:46,600
I've come to the Natural History
Museum of Stuttgart in Germany.

487
00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:52,919
Here, they have one of the most impressive

488
00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:57,000
and varied collections of
ichthyosaurs in the world.

489
00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:02,519
They came in all shapes and sizes,

490
00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:07,999
but of all the ichthyosaurs that
existed 200 million years ago,

491
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:12,200
there was one which was
particularly fearsome.

492
00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:24,319
This is temnodontosaurus,

493
00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:27,879
one of the biggest of the sea
dragons so far discovered.

494
00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,799
They grew up to 10m long

495
00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:34,439
and individual bones have
been discovered which suggest

496
00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:38,000
that they could grow even bigger than that.

497
00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:42,279
The remains of these
terrifying sea monsters

498
00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:45,719
were discovered in a quarry
just outside Stuttgart.

499
00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:51,320
These are the biggest complete
temnodontosaurus fossils ever found.

500
00:35:54,040 --> 00:36:01,319
This huge predator had the
largest eye known of any animal,

501
00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:04,759
which would have given it
extremely acute eyesight.

502
00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:07,959
Not only that, but the eye was surrounded

503
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:11,119
by a ring of scutes - bony plates...

504
00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:14,720
to protect it from the
water pressure at depth.

505
00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:19,319
So, with eyes the size of footballs,

506
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:24,280
this monster was able to hunt at
all depths of the Jurassic ocean.

507
00:36:33,560 --> 00:36:38,079
It also had rows of sharp teeth

508
00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:40,920
that would have allowed it to
rip apart almost anything.

509
00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:49,120
These teeth are shaped like blades,
well suited for cutting into flesh.

510
00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:55,359
And here's another specimen
of temnodontosaurus

511
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:59,240
that is proof positive that
it really was a hunter.

512
00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:04,279
Here is its stomach and inside its stomach,

513
00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:08,159
you can see these tiny
little circular bones,

514
00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:13,200
which are the backbones, the
vertebrae, of a baby ichthyosaur.

515
00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:18,519
So we now know that temnodontosaurus

516
00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:21,119
could devour young ichthyosaurs,

517
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:23,639
but would one have been capable

518
00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:27,080
of eating an adult ichthyosaur like ours?

519
00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:32,399
Fossils of temnodontosaurus have
been found in other regions,

520
00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:35,200
including our own Jurassic Coast.

521
00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:42,200
So, this monster could
well be our prime suspect.

522
00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:45,999
To build our case further,

523
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:49,559
we're going to analyse another
specimen of the same species

524
00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:52,520
that was found on the Jurassic Coast.

525
00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:58,119
This is the skull of a temnodontosaurus

526
00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:01,759
and as you can see, it's huge.

527
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,679
This specimen was found by Mary Anning

528
00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:08,359
on the Dorset coast in the 19th century

529
00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:11,119
and we are hoping that
we may be able to use it

530
00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:13,679
with the latest techniques

531
00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:19,039
to tell us just how powerful
these great jaws could be.

532
00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:22,879
So, for the first time ever,
our team of scientists

533
00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:24,999
are going to attempt to calculate

534
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:28,800
the bite strength of a temnodontosaurus.

535
00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:32,800
The first step is to scan the skull.

536
00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:38,159
Not as easy as it sounds.

537
00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:40,039
Very few scanners are big enough,

538
00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:42,839
but there's one here at the
Royal Veterinary College,

539
00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:45,800
where they're more accustomed
to scanning horses.

540
00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:57,600
The temnodontosaurus skull is 2m
long and weighs more than 200kg.

541
00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:01,559
Luckily, it's in two pieces.

542
00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:05,920
Otherwise it couldn't be fitted
into even this huge scanner.

543
00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:09,720
OK. One, two, three and up.

544
00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:25,239
These scans will help the team

545
00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:28,919
to not only reconstruct the
temnodontosaurus' skull,

546
00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:32,599
but also work out the
size of its jaw muscles.

547
00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:36,279
They can then assess the power
of this huge predator's bite

548
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:41,040
and see if it was strong enough
to kill our ichthyosaur.

549
00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:44,719
Temnodontosaurs are unusual

550
00:39:44,720 --> 00:39:48,799
in that they had huge, sharp
teeth for cutting through flesh,

551
00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:52,559
but how did other ichthyosaurs
catch their prey?

552
00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:57,400
To get a clue, I've come to see a
modern day predator in action.

553
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:15,320
That is a gharial crocodile from Indonesia.

554
00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:20,639
Its jaws, as you can see,
are not wide and flat

555
00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:22,919
like an African crocodile's,

556
00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:26,319
but long and thin and
because of that shape,

557
00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:28,599
there's very little resistance to the water

558
00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:32,880
so they can snatch fish, which
they do very effectively.

559
00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:39,000
They're very formidable animals indeed.

560
00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:59,319
Ichthyosaurs must have fed in
much the same way as that.

561
00:40:59,320 --> 00:41:03,439
Their jaws were very similar
to those of the gharial...

562
00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:08,679
simple studs to grip the
prey, no need to chew it

563
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:11,239
because the jaws at the
back were quite big enough

564
00:41:11,240 --> 00:41:14,039
to enable the animal to
swallow their prey whole,

565
00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:16,200
just as the gharial does.

566
00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:25,159
Gharials regularly shed their teeth

567
00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:28,239
and here's one I've just
picked out of this pool.

568
00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:33,439
You can see that they're very simple
teeth, just like ichthyosaur teeth.

569
00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:37,680
But that's all you need if all you
have to do is to grab a fish.

570
00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:51,399
So, it's likely that our ichthyosaur
had teeth and jaws specially adapted

571
00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:54,439
to catch small, slippery fish and squid,

572
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:58,000
just like a gharial crocodile.

573
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:07,160
Back in Lyme Regis, the work on the
bones has taken a dramatic turn.

574
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:13,399
Chris has found that
there is fossilized skin

575
00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:15,999
over nearly the whole skeleton.

576
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,600
It seems to be virtually
covering the whole thing.

577
00:42:20,080 --> 00:42:23,399
It's rare to find any sign
whatever of skin on fossils,

578
00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:25,160
let alone so much of it.

579
00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:30,239
Fiann Smithwick, an expert
on fossilized skin,

580
00:42:30,240 --> 00:42:33,039
has come to take a sample back to his lab.

581
00:42:33,040 --> 00:42:35,079
We can look and see if there's any evidence

582
00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:37,119
of the original pigment
preserved in the skin.

583
00:42:37,120 --> 00:42:41,479
- Oh, that's a lovely piece.
- That's really good. That'll be perfect.

584
00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:45,159
Fiann hopes that this
remarkably preserved sample

585
00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:49,120
might tell us what the skin looked
like and even what colour it was.

586
00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:52,719
At the University of Bristol,

587
00:42:52,720 --> 00:42:57,519
he places a tiny sample of the
fossilized skin in a machine

588
00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:01,360
that coats its surface with
minute particles of gold.

589
00:43:13,240 --> 00:43:17,680
They will reflect the rays of a
scanning electron microscope.

590
00:43:21,160 --> 00:43:24,039
It's astonishing that you can actually see

591
00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:26,920
the remains of skin on
such an ancient fossil.

592
00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:35,119
But this microscope can
also magnify its structure

593
00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:37,560
tens of thousands of times.

594
00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:49,639
Here, we have an exceptional level
of preservation of the skin

595
00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:52,399
of our ichthyosaur, despite
being 200 million years old,

596
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:54,080
so the structures we're looking at here

597
00:43:54,081 --> 00:43:56,599
are around half a micrometre across

598
00:43:56,600 --> 00:43:58,719
and a micrometre is one
millionth of a metre

599
00:43:58,720 --> 00:44:01,599
and you see here these little granules

600
00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:04,479
and these are preserved melanosomes.

601
00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:08,719
Now, melanosomes contain the pigment
that you have in mammal hair,

602
00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:12,319
in bird feathers and in reptile
skin and the abundance of them

603
00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:14,080
and the distribution of them can tell us

604
00:44:14,081 --> 00:44:16,159
about the overall colour
patterns of the animal.

605
00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:18,719
So, having a high abundance means
you're likely to be darker

606
00:44:18,720 --> 00:44:21,200
and having a low abundance means
you're likely to be lighter.

607
00:44:21,201 --> 00:44:24,399
This area has come from the back.

608
00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:26,439
There's a large abundance
of these melanosomes.

609
00:44:26,440 --> 00:44:27,758
There's a lot of pigment here

610
00:44:27,759 --> 00:44:29,040
and when we look at samples

611
00:44:29,041 --> 00:44:31,399
that have come from the
bottom of the animal,

612
00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:34,559
we don't see this pigment
in this level of abundance

613
00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:38,159
so it most likely had a much
darker back than it did a belly

614
00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:40,399
and this conforms to a
type of colour pattern

615
00:44:40,400 --> 00:44:42,640
known as countershading in modern animals.

616
00:44:44,360 --> 00:44:48,479
You can see countershading in
lots of sea animals today.

617
00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:50,800
Great white sharks, for example.

618
00:44:56,560 --> 00:45:00,159
Both predators and prey
are coloured in this way.

619
00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:04,360
It makes them more difficult to
see both from above and below.

620
00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:09,120
So, this is the first time
that we've actually seen

621
00:45:09,121 --> 00:45:11,959
evidence of a countershaded
pattern in an ichthyosaur.

622
00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:15,079
So, that really is a step
forward in our knowledge.

623
00:45:15,080 --> 00:45:16,759
It is and it can tell us

624
00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:19,439
a huge amount about the way
the animal might have lived.

625
00:45:19,440 --> 00:45:20,959
Just from looking at that picture?

626
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:24,600
- Just from looking at these melanosomes.
- Great!

627
00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:32,359
Today, countershaded animals
tend to live in open water

628
00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:34,240
where there's good visibility.

629
00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:39,439
Ichthyosaurs also lived in the open seas

630
00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:41,559
so being camouflaged in this way

631
00:45:41,560 --> 00:45:43,800
would have been very valuable to them.

632
00:45:49,240 --> 00:45:53,399
The latest scientific research
suggests that countershading

633
00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:57,119
might also protect against
ultraviolet light

634
00:45:57,120 --> 00:46:00,120
and even help to regulate body temperature.

635
00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:06,239
As an air-breathing creature,

636
00:46:06,240 --> 00:46:11,199
our ichthyosaur would have had to
spend much time near the surface.

637
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:15,200
So countershading could have been a
benefit for that reason as well.

638
00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:25,319
There are, of course,

639
00:46:25,320 --> 00:46:31,000
many marine reptiles still living
in the oceans today, like turtles.

640
00:46:33,480 --> 00:46:36,799
The biggest of them is the leatherback,

641
00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:39,239
whose ancestors, in fact, were around

642
00:46:39,240 --> 00:46:41,640
at the same time as the ichthyosaurs.

643
00:46:42,760 --> 00:46:46,079
Today, they come ashore
to nest in many places,

644
00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:47,800
including the Caribbean.

645
00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:54,959
This huge leatherback
turtle is laying her eggs.

646
00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:59,679
She's hauled her way up
from the sea and dug a hole

647
00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:03,480
and now she's depositing about 100 of them.

648
00:47:05,160 --> 00:47:07,079
She'll then fill in the hole

649
00:47:07,080 --> 00:47:11,640
and then work her way down back to the sea.

650
00:47:13,240 --> 00:47:15,960
It's clearly a very laborious process.

651
00:47:17,600 --> 00:47:21,719
And that's the challenge facing all
reptiles that live in the sea...

652
00:47:21,720 --> 00:47:25,200
having to come onto land to lay eggs.

653
00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:32,159
Ichthyosaurs were reptiles
and they lived in the sea,

654
00:47:32,160 --> 00:47:35,399
but they were so well
adapted to a life at sea,

655
00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:39,239
that they gave birth to live young

656
00:47:39,240 --> 00:47:41,279
and that would have saved the sea dragons

657
00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:44,320
making the dangerous journey onto land.

658
00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:51,119
There is remarkable evidence
that ichthyosaurs gave birth

659
00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:53,920
to live young in the Stuttgart museum.

660
00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:27,199
And here is a truly extraordinary,
beautiful, almost poignant fossil...

661
00:48:27,200 --> 00:48:32,880
proof positive that ichthyosaurs
gave birth to live young.

662
00:48:34,120 --> 00:48:39,719
Here is the baby, just at the moment
that it's leaving the birth canal.

663
00:48:39,720 --> 00:48:44,799
It comes out tail first and
as soon as it was freed,

664
00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:49,039
it would have risen to the surface
to take its first breath.

665
00:48:49,040 --> 00:48:52,399
But something happened before that did

666
00:48:52,400 --> 00:48:55,160
and here is the proof.

667
00:48:56,720 --> 00:49:00,960
Whatever it was, death
must have been instant.

668
00:49:03,840 --> 00:49:06,919
So, ichthyosaurs gave birth to live babies,

669
00:49:06,920 --> 00:49:09,800
just as many sharks do today.

670
00:49:30,440 --> 00:49:33,239
After several weeks of research,

671
00:49:33,240 --> 00:49:35,719
the team at Bristol University have managed

672
00:49:35,720 --> 00:49:39,999
to reconstruct the skull
of the temnodontosaurus

673
00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:43,080
so that they can analyse
the power of its jaws.

674
00:49:44,400 --> 00:49:47,479
How do you assess the strength
of this animal's bite?

675
00:49:47,480 --> 00:49:49,320
Well, the first thing that we need to know

676
00:49:49,321 --> 00:49:52,159
is the volume of muscle that could
fit into the back of the skull.

677
00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:53,838
So the muscles are attaching round here

678
00:49:53,839 --> 00:49:55,400
and also there's a group of muscles

679
00:49:55,401 --> 00:49:57,479
that are attaching further forward here

680
00:49:57,480 --> 00:49:59,479
and if we know how much
muscle volume there is,

681
00:49:59,480 --> 00:50:01,840
we can estimate how much force
that muscle can generate.

682
00:50:01,841 --> 00:50:03,359
And what did you discover?

683
00:50:03,360 --> 00:50:06,239
We found out that our upper
estimate of bite force

684
00:50:06,240 --> 00:50:09,879
was around 30,000 Newtons and to
put that in a modern day context,

685
00:50:09,880 --> 00:50:13,799
that's twice as powerful as the
largest saltwater crocodile

686
00:50:13,800 --> 00:50:16,280
- that's been measured.
- Twice as powerful?
- Yeah.

687
00:50:16,281 --> 00:50:19,640
- So that's enormous, yeah.
- Yeah, it's a very powerful bite force.

688
00:50:28,200 --> 00:50:30,959
So, this must have been the animal

689
00:50:30,960 --> 00:50:33,919
with the most powerful bite
of its time, mustn't it?

690
00:50:33,920 --> 00:50:35,559
That's absolutely right, yeah.

691
00:50:35,560 --> 00:50:37,119
Of its time, it would have been.

692
00:50:37,120 --> 00:50:39,159
Not only did it have a powerful bite,

693
00:50:39,160 --> 00:50:42,039
its jaw-closing muscles also attach
quite close to the jaw joint.

694
00:50:42,040 --> 00:50:44,199
Now, normally in animals
where that happens,

695
00:50:44,200 --> 00:50:46,999
they have quite a fast,
but less forceful bite,

696
00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:49,519
but the fact that this
animal is actually so big

697
00:50:49,520 --> 00:50:51,119
means that it has a fast bite,

698
00:50:51,120 --> 00:50:52,880
but also by virtue of its sheer size,

699
00:50:52,881 --> 00:50:55,079
it also has quite a
powerful bite as well, too,

700
00:50:55,080 --> 00:50:57,000
so it basically has the
best of both worlds.

701
00:50:57,001 --> 00:51:00,559
- So, this was the king of the Jurassic sea.
- Or queen!

702
00:51:00,560 --> 00:51:01,920
Sorry!

703
00:51:04,280 --> 00:51:06,600
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

704
00:51:08,080 --> 00:51:12,799
So, it seems fairly likely that
temnodontosaurus was strong enough

705
00:51:12,800 --> 00:51:17,640
not only to kill our sea dragon,
but to rip its head clean off.

706
00:51:20,760 --> 00:51:23,120
It must have been a terrifying battle.

707
00:52:02,840 --> 00:52:05,599
Our investigations have given us

708
00:52:05,600 --> 00:52:10,040
a pretty good idea of how
our sea dragon died.

709
00:52:12,240 --> 00:52:14,319
But can the reconstruction work

710
00:52:14,320 --> 00:52:19,760
carried out at Bristol University
tell us more about its life?

711
00:52:21,640 --> 00:52:25,599
All the blocks containing the
fossil have now been scanned.

712
00:52:25,600 --> 00:52:26,999
With those scans,

713
00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:30,359
the team were able to
separate the individual bones

714
00:52:30,360 --> 00:52:32,679
and then put them back together to create

715
00:52:32,680 --> 00:52:36,960
a 3D image of the ichthyosaur's
body before it was attacked.

716
00:52:39,840 --> 00:52:41,239
They've added a head

717
00:52:41,240 --> 00:52:44,720
based on estimates of other
ichthyosaur species.

718
00:52:47,440 --> 00:52:49,519
That's magnificent.

719
00:52:49,520 --> 00:52:50,800
This is the whole animal

720
00:52:50,801 --> 00:52:55,079
and we estimate that it may have
been up to around 4.5m long.

721
00:52:55,080 --> 00:52:56,679
Is that bigger than most in Lyme?

722
00:52:56,680 --> 00:52:58,000
Yes, this is certainly bigger

723
00:52:58,001 --> 00:53:00,599
than most of the ichthyosaurs
that we see at Lyme Regis.

724
00:53:00,600 --> 00:53:02,639
It looks huge. It looks amazing.

725
00:53:02,640 --> 00:53:04,919
Here are the forelimbs right at the front

726
00:53:04,920 --> 00:53:08,159
and we've got hindlimbs here and at
the back, we've got a tail bend.

727
00:53:08,160 --> 00:53:10,319
This is supported by the backbone,

728
00:53:10,320 --> 00:53:12,559
which extends along the
whole length of the body.

729
00:53:12,560 --> 00:53:15,679
- But that bend is natural, isn't it?
That's not a break. - Yes.

730
00:53:15,680 --> 00:53:18,279
That gives strength to the
lower element of the tail

731
00:53:18,280 --> 00:53:19,440
for driving it forward.

732
00:53:19,441 --> 00:53:21,039
Much like a shark,

733
00:53:21,040 --> 00:53:24,439
the tail bend is the main
propulsive organ of the animal.

734
00:53:24,440 --> 00:53:27,039
So, could this be a new species?

735
00:53:27,040 --> 00:53:29,639
Yes, these pieces of evidence together

736
00:53:29,640 --> 00:53:33,239
suggest that it is going to be a new
species and it's jolly exciting.

737
00:53:33,240 --> 00:53:36,200
- They don't come along every day.
- Historic!
- Yes.

738
00:53:37,920 --> 00:53:40,559
This is wonderful news.

739
00:53:40,560 --> 00:53:43,399
A sighting by Chris on
the beach in Lyme Regis

740
00:53:43,400 --> 00:53:47,039
has led to the discovery of a
new species of ichthyosaur,

741
00:53:47,040 --> 00:53:50,560
adding to our knowledge of
these fascinating creatures.

742
00:53:51,720 --> 00:53:56,479
It's extraordinary how much you can
discover from one single fossil.

743
00:53:56,480 --> 00:53:59,639
Digital reconstruction has allowed us

744
00:53:59,640 --> 00:54:04,559
to rebuild this animal to reveal
how it looked and how it moved.

745
00:54:04,560 --> 00:54:07,239
We've discovered, for the first time,

746
00:54:07,240 --> 00:54:10,559
that this creature was countershaded.

747
00:54:10,560 --> 00:54:13,160
But that didn't stop it
from being attacked.

748
00:54:14,160 --> 00:54:16,599
By analysing its bones,

749
00:54:16,600 --> 00:54:19,879
we've been able to work out
that its most likely attacker

750
00:54:19,880 --> 00:54:21,599
was a temnodontosaurus,

751
00:54:21,600 --> 00:54:25,160
the most ferocious predator
of the seas at that time.

752
00:54:29,000 --> 00:54:33,239
It's been a fascinating journey
of discovery, but, for me,

753
00:54:33,240 --> 00:54:37,079
the real wonder is the bones themselves.

754
00:54:37,080 --> 00:54:41,280
I can't wait to see what they look
like when they're finally cleaned.

755
00:54:53,800 --> 00:54:58,599
After many months of painstaking
and patient preparation,

756
00:54:58,600 --> 00:55:02,159
Chris and his team have
finally completed their work

757
00:55:02,160 --> 00:55:04,800
on the fossil of our ancient sea dragon.

758
00:55:16,240 --> 00:55:18,000
Here it is finished.

759
00:55:20,440 --> 00:55:22,359
Wow!

760
00:55:22,360 --> 00:55:25,159
It's really beautiful, isn't it?

761
00:55:25,160 --> 00:55:28,719
- I mean, it is beautiful, that's for sure.
- Thank you.

762
00:55:28,720 --> 00:55:31,439
- It's a great specimen, isn't it?
- Lovely.

763
00:55:31,440 --> 00:55:36,039
And how many new species have been
discovered in the last 100 years?

764
00:55:36,040 --> 00:55:38,359
Very few, very, very few

765
00:55:38,360 --> 00:55:42,760
and it's thrilling to find something
that's just never been seen before.

766
00:55:45,040 --> 00:55:47,599
Well, it was a long time spent

767
00:55:47,600 --> 00:55:51,039
just revealing the body of this creature,

768
00:55:51,040 --> 00:55:54,519
but it's also revealed
this extraordinary story

769
00:55:54,520 --> 00:55:56,759
of life and death,

770
00:55:56,760 --> 00:56:00,759
predator-prey fighting it out in the seas

771
00:56:00,760 --> 00:56:04,479
200 million years ago just down there.

772
00:56:04,480 --> 00:56:07,319
Yeah, it's a fantastic story.

773
00:56:07,320 --> 00:56:10,800
Really, really thrilling and romantic.

774
00:56:13,560 --> 00:56:16,919
For Chris, this has been a labour of love

775
00:56:16,920 --> 00:56:21,999
and it's filled in another gap
in the palaeontological jigsaw...

776
00:56:22,000 --> 00:56:24,399
a story that all started

777
00:56:24,400 --> 00:56:28,919
with an odd-looking boulder
on a Dorset beach.

778
00:56:28,920 --> 00:56:30,439
It's extraordinary to think

779
00:56:30,440 --> 00:56:36,439
that some 200 million
years ago exactly here,

780
00:56:36,440 --> 00:56:42,199
the greatest predator of its time
was swimming around in the sea

781
00:56:42,200 --> 00:56:46,479
and that's what I really love
about fossils and fossil hunting.

782
00:56:46,480 --> 00:56:50,559
It gives you an
extraordinarily vivid insight

783
00:56:50,560 --> 00:56:55,439
into what the world was like
millions of years before

784
00:56:55,440 --> 00:56:58,440
human beings even appeared on this planet.

785
00:57:05,200 --> 00:57:10,159
Ichthyosaurs died out around
90 million years ago.

786
00:57:10,160 --> 00:57:12,399
No-one knows why,

787
00:57:12,400 --> 00:57:17,479
but standing here and having
excavated that spectacular fossil,

788
00:57:17,480 --> 00:57:19,999
it's not difficult to imagine a time

789
00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:24,400
when dragons really did rule the seas.