Attenborough says pliosaur cranium revealed ‘romance’ of fossil looking

Sir David Attenborough has mentioned that the invention of an infinite sea monster has  revealed to him the ‘romance’ of fossil looking.

The 97-year-old opened up about his love-affair with looking for historic relics forward of his new BBC documentary in regards to the current discovery of a pliosaur cranium which was discovered off the coast of England earlier this 12 months.

The historic creature scoured the seas practically 150 million years in the past and was often known as the ‘apex predator within the ocean’, with some specialists satisfied that it might even overpower a Tyrannosaurus Rex. 

Sir David has been an avid fossil collector since he was a teen, however admitted that he had by no means come throughout such a singular discover earlier than. 

The wildlife presenter added that he had discovered a ‘romance’ with discovering fossils and described it as a ‘pleasure’ that he had ‘by no means obtained over’. 

Sir David mentioned his enjoyment of fossil looking is pushed by a ‘very primary curiosity but additionally a way of privilege’. 

He went on: ‘You can inform in lots of circumstances as a result of truly, there’s a little brown line on a rock that leads you to imagine there’s something in there. And you’ll be able to calculate had been it is best to hit it with a view to get it to separate! 

‘Occasionally, and it’s occurred to me, often you will notice in full element that the rock has break up alongside the junction between a shell and the mud, and it simply opens, and there it’s, completely good. 

‘It would not require any additional excavation, it would not require messing. There’s this excellent creature that no one has seen earlier than you in 150 million years. If you’re younger or outdated, it’s a pleasure! 

‘I’ve by no means obtained over it actually. It’s very romantic. I imply, individuals speak about science, the chilly, calculating eye of science, which after all you need to have, however it would not stop you from having romance as nicely.

Talking about how he obtained into fossil looking, Sir David added: ‘It’s simple to do while you’re eight-year-old, you already know, it is that little romance which I by no means misplaced. I used to go at weekends. 

‘The factor is in Leicestershire was that they’d Ironstone workings, which had been finally labored out so there have been these empty quarries. 

‘You might get in your bicycle and trip for 15 miles or so and get misplaced on this nice expanse of rock. 

‘All these boulders that no one had ever hit! You’d suppose, “surely the next one! If I hit that one I’ll find something nobody has seen before.’

Sir David’s new BBC documentary, Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster, will follow the wildlife presenter as he investigates the discovery of huge skull.

He will be joined by a team of expert scientists and palaeontologists as they embark on an excavation and restoration of the rare discovery, which they believe could be a new species of pliosaur.

The ancient pliosaur was the ‘ultimate killing machine,’ able to navigate the ocean at high speed and kill its prey with a single bite.

The skull has around 130 long and razor-sharp teeth. Each tooth has fine ridges at the back to pierce its prey’s flesh and prepare itself for a swift second attack.

It’s prey was dolphin-like creatures and other pliosaurs, scientists told the BBC.

Pliosaurs had jaws more than twice as powerful as today’s saltwater crocodiles.

Sir David said that he spoke to experts who told him that the Pliosaur would have been able to overpower a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

He said: ‘There’s an American expert, Dr Andre, and he was blown away by it. He said, “it was the most terrifying animal in the seas”.

‘I requested him maybe a relatively infantile query as a result of it was very huge, and it is greater than the Tyrannosaurus rex by great distance, so I requested this schoolboy query. 

‘I mentioned: “Now, supposing Tyrannosaurus rex met this extraordinary pliosaur, who would win?” And this chap was American and Tyrannosaurus Rex is an American dinosaur, so I expected his answer to be that. 

‘He said: “Well, I think it probably was this pliosaur that won.”

The exciting discovery was made when fossil enthusiast Phil Jacobs was walking along the rocky beaches of Kimmeridge Bay last year when one morning he discovered a jaw of a giant pliosaur.

The site is renowned for its fossils and features some of the most important geological discoveries on the Jurassic Coast.

Many of these were found by Dr Steve Etches MBE, who has spent more than 30 years amassing over 2,000 specimens.

Mr Etches was subsequently called in to assess the find and he speculated that the rest of the skull could still be encased in the cliff above.

He gathered a team of experts to excavate the rest of the fossil including fellow fossil hunter Chris Moore, who runs a small family fossil business in Charmouth.

While the avid fossil hunters have worked with each other for decades, they describe this particular fossil as the biggest discovery they have ever faced.

Dr Etches said: ‘There’s nothing comparable to it today.

‘It’s a big carnivorous reptile and one of the largest that ever lived in the sea. It’s even bigger than a T-Rex, these are larger and more ferocious.’

After the skull was safely extracted, it was taken to Mr Etches’ workshop nearby where restoration work began. It took several months to bring it back to life.

This including moulding crowns for the skull from remains of the iconic trihedral shape pliosaur tooth which Mr Moore found in the cliff.

With the help of paleobiologists, visual effects sequences and digital scans, viewers will witness the peak of scientific research as they’re given a detailed insight into the life of this pliosaur seeing how it looked, moved and hunted its prey.

Attenborough and the Sea Monster will air at 8pm on New Year’s Day on BBC One and iPlayer.