Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster

Editorial

BBC One London

BBC One is a TV channel that started broadcasting on the 20th April 1964. It replaced BBC Television.

BBC One

BBC 1

BBC1

BBC One (London)

London

BBC Two

BBC One Cambridgeshire HD

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One Oxfordshire HD

BBC One Channel Islands HD

BBC One Nightlight

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West HD

BBC One Yorkshire HD

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One North West

BBC One South HD

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One East Midlands HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Oxfordshire

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West HD

BBC One North East & Cumbria HD

BBC One West Midlands HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs HD

BBC One East HD

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One South East HD

BBC One South West

BBC One North West HD

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Cambridgeshire

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

BBC One West

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region. Separated as BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One London HD

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

BBC One Wales

Wales

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

David Attenborough

Tom Jarvis

Michael Gunton

Victoria Bobin

Documentaries

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

BBC One - Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster

Sir David Attenborough investigates a unique discovery: the skull of a giant sea monster.

Sir David Attenborough investigates the discovery of a lifetime: the giant skull of a prehistoric sea monster, known as a pliosaur – the Tyrannosaurus rex of the seas!

One hundred and fifty million years ago, dinosaurs ruled the land, but the oceans were dominated by a mysterious sea monster. Meet the pliosaur, the Tyrannosaurus rex of the seas! Now, a giant skull has been found in the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast.

The film follows Sir David Attenborough as he investigates the discovery of a lifetime. He is joining two of the UK’s most intrepid fossil hunters, Steve Etches and Chris Moore, on their perilous expedition to excavate the skull from its resting place 12 metres up on the cliff face. Sir David has been an avid fossil collector since he was a young boy but has never come across a find quite like this.

The first piece of this Jurassic puzzle was discovered purely by chance. A fossil enthusiast walking on a beach near Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset, one morning spotted what looked like a large piece of driftwood. But he soon realised it was something far more remarkable! It was the snout – just the tip – of an enormous pliosaur skull. Fossil expert Steve Etches was called in, and knew that the find was hugely significant. He also suspected the rest of the skull was still in the cliff, so he quickly embarked on the huge challenge to extract it.

Using the latest technology to help unravel the skull’s mysteries, an international team of scientists and palaeontologists search for clues about how this fearsome beast not only looked but how it behaved, and the strategies it used to hunt its prey. 

Sir David visits the University of Southampton, where a CT scan of the snout reveals an astonishing network of blood vessels and sensory pits, which would have helped the pliosaur to hunt even in the deepest, darkest water. And at Bristol University, Sir David discusses a 3D model made of the pliosaur skull, and finds out that the pliosaur had a bite force of around 32,000 newtons: twice that of a saltwater crocodile, which has the strongest bite of any animal on the planet today. 

Cutting-edge visual effect sequences bring the sea monster to life, showcasing its astonishing size – thought to be an incredible 12 metres long – and its phenomenal strength. A momentous new discovery, scientists now believe this could be a completely new species of pliosaur.

Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster combines groundbreaking science, fascinating natural history, gripping storytelling and state-of-the-art CGI to explore the tale of the most formidable predator of the Jurassic world – one that hunted in the seas just off the coast of Britain.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster

Contributors

Genres

Formats

BBC One London

About BBC One