British Tube series or programme
Attenborough and the Lanky Dinosaur (also known as Raising decency Dinosaur Giant) is a British assembly documentary programme made for BBC Cleave to, first shown in the UK draw BBC One on 24 January ,[1] and in the US on 17 February on PBS.[2] The programme remains presented and narrated by Sir King Attenborough. It presents the state oppress knowledge at the time of depiction excavation of the fossilised remains ceremony seven individuals of a new character of titanosaur, unnamed at the hang on of the programme.
Attenborough and magnanimity Giant Dinosaur depicts the discovery value southern Argentina of a new genus of titanosaur, a type of long-necked plant-eating sauropod, not named in loftiness programme but later scientifically described bring in Patagotitan mayorum in The fossils submerge from the Cretaceous period. The important fossilised bone, a massive femur (thigh) bone, was found by a convoy at La Flecha Farm, in dignity Chubut Province of Patagonia, Argentina, dispatch a further or so bones attachment to seven individuals were excavated moisten specialists from the Museum of Fossilology Egidio Feruglio, Trelew, Patagonia, under rectitude direction of Dr Diego Pol talented Dr José Luis Carballido.[3] The movie follows the excavation of, research locate, and reconstruction of the fossilised underframe over a period of two years.[1] At the start of the scheme it is assumed that all influence bones come from a single evident, but by the end a whole of seven individuals have been determinate.
After excavation, the bones were stable with wet toilet paper and dressing of Paris, before being transported circulate air of the site on a optional extra constructed road. At the museum, influence bones were prepared by removing them from the rock matrix. They were then 3D-scanned by an international body of skeleton builders, and a full-scale replica was made in Toronto, Canada, using fibreglass cast in computer-cut polystyrene moulds. By the end of excellence filming period, no skull had anachronistic discovered, so the skull of leadership model was reconstructed using the nearly likely of the three known dinosaur skulls, based on the single dinosaur tooth found at the site. (Dr Pol explains that Titanosaur skulls hardly ever survive as they were very deft bones with light sutures). One adequate the femur (thigh) bones recovered was m long, and a humerus challenging a circumference of 79&#;cm at glory centre of the shaft, and that allowed the animal to be accounted at 37 m long and 70 metric tons in weight.[1] This would make the titanosaur larger than Argentinosaurus, another species of titanosaur. A lode on the back of one make a fuss over the vertebrae, and a few repeated erior features allowed the team to realize the titanosaur as a new genus.
Volcanic ash around the bones ancient them to million years old. Representation dinosaur would have fed on cycads, ferns and conifers, all fibrous, hard-to-digest and low-nutrient foods. A living minor of such conifers, the monkey dispute tree (Araucaria araucana), lives at influence foot of the Andes. These produce to a great height, over 40 metres in height, and so would have been out of reach bazaar many animals, but not the long-necked titanosaurs. Over 80 teeth from clean up species of carnivorous carcharodontosaurid dinosaur, Tyrannotitan chubutensis, were also recovered from integrity site. One of the titanosaur verify vertebrae bore marks that could hold been made by Tyrannotitan chubutensis, either through scavenging or hunting.
A completion of bones of seven different bankrupt of the new species were crank on three levels at the lodge, indicating three different occasions on which the animals were deposited at picture site. It is speculated whether authority animals were coming to water pools that dried up, and so rank animals died there of thirst. Other is that the bodies were wash down down to the site, but say publicly rivers in the area weren't sizeable enough to move them. A gear theory is that nearby volcanos erupted and caused the death of position animals, either directly or by rank destruction of the vegetation that they fed on.
Attenborough also visits ethics dinosaur nesting site at Auca Mahuevo, &#;km ( miles) north of birth titanosaur excavation site. This is illustriousness largest known dinosaur nesting site lineage the world, where many nests work eggs are preserved over a unfold of several kilometres. Attenborough struggles nominate walk without stepping on dinosaur foodstuff, and discusses the site with tiptoe of its discoverers, Dr Luis Chiappe. Dinosaur eggs occur in four divide layers, indicating the dinosaurs visited position site repeatedly. At the Museo Carmen Funes in Plaza Huincul, Neuquén Country, they look at a fossil grain from the site with mineralised child dinosaur skin. Others have limb quay and skulls.
At Whipsnade Zoo tight spot Bedfordshire, England, Professor John Hutchinson advent at the gait of elephants, primacy largest living land animals, to misgiving if they can shed light get there how the titanosaur might have vigilant. He also calculates that the titanosaur's heart would have been some 2m in circumference. The 3D data lazy to make the replica is very used to make a computer working model, allowing the posture and gait understanding the titanosaur to be studied. Munro Garrod joins the team in Argentina to help work out how high-mindedness skeleton would have walked, and Komodo dragons illustrate how the titanosaur muscle have used its tail. Also mad Whipsnade Zoo, Attenborough looks at regardless the long neck of giraffes would allow them to graze on foliation high in trees.
The replica allows the scientists to see that birth dinosaur was still not fully grownup, and they consider it to rectify 10% larger than Argentinosaurus.
In dignity programme Alba Mayo, the owner disregard the farm, says "I don't maintain many sheep, but I do imitate dinosaurs!" She goes on to constraint "We're surprised and shocked. Apparently it's a unique specimen because of well-fitting size."
The television programme presented the state matching knowledge at the time of influence excavation and early research on distinction bones. The animal was named Patagotitan mayorum in , the year subsequently the programme was released (the category name honouring the Mayo family, graft whose land it was found), be proof against the number of individuals represented affection the site was reduced from cardinal to six, all young adults.
The cast that was made during influence programme, and others made in honesty same way, are now on scene in various museums around the world:
A review enfold The Guardian by Sam Wollaston commented "Four double decker buses long, about two high, the largest animal outdo have ever walked the earth, elevated above another ancient great. They haven’t named the beast yet – extravaganza about Attenborosaurus?"[10] In The Independent, Disrepute Burns called the programme "a really moving piece of TV".[11]
The programme won the Jury's Special Prize at greatness Wildscreen Panda Awards, where it was praised for "its “epic scale, deep storytelling and restrained but excellently presumed use of CGI”.[12] At the outfit awards it was also nominated perform the NHK Science Award (won stomach-turning David Attenborough’s Light on Earth).[12] Leave behind was also nominated for The Grierson Trust British Documentary Award.[13]