BBC Announces Date for TV Programme About “World’s Biggest Dinosaur”

Exciting news for dinosaur fans of all ages.  The BBC has ended the embargo on a new documentary programme outlining the discovery and study of over two hundred giant dinosaur bones found in Argentina.  The fossils represent a new species of enormous long-necked dinosaur (titanosaur) and when finally named and scientifically described, this could be the largest dinosaur known to science, surpassing the likes of Argentinosaurus (A. huinculensis) and Futalognkosaurus dukei, fossils of which also come from Argentina.

Sir David Attenborough Lies Alongside a Giant Femur (Thigh Bone)

Potentially the biggest terrestrial animal known to science.

Picture credit: BBC

The picture above provides a sense of scale for the huge animal, Sir David Attenborough is lying next to right femur (thigh bone) which measures 2.4 metres long.  This is the largest thigh bone ever found from a terrestrial animal.  Femora circumference data suggests a body mass in excess of seventy tonnes.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s report on the discovery of the fossil bones: The Biggest Dinosaur of All! A New South American Contender.

A Graveyard of Giant Dinosaurs

The television programme will be shown on BBC1 at 6.30pm on Sunday, 24th January.  It tells the story of how the fossils (over 220 of them have been excavated and catalogued), were found and follows the scientific research from excavation, preparation and cleaning right up to the unveiling of a life-sized model of the new type of titanosaur.  With such a large number of bones to examine, the scientists have been able to build up quite a detailed picture of this dinosaur.  The fossilised bones represent a total of seven individual dinosaurs, the largest of which was the one that the Canadian and Argentinian team of model makers based their reconstruction on.

To conclude the programme, Sir David will unveil the new reconstruction of this enormous herbivore.  The model measures 37 metres long, that’s almost the equivalent of tacking the playing surface of Wimbledon’s Centre Court onto the length of a basketball court.  For comparison, “Dippy” the Diplodocus replica housed at the Natural History Museum (London), is only 26 metres long.  The reconstruction of Argentinosaurus huinculensis, housed in the Museo Municipal Carmen Funes, Plaza Huincul (Neuquén Province, Argentina) is around 35 metres in length.

The Reconstruction of A. huinculensis (Museo Municipal Carmen Funes)

The largest dinosaur yet described, but under threat.

Picture credit: Museo Municipal Carmen Funes, Plaza Huincul

Giant Dinosaur

Recalling the problems associated with the excavation of such huge fossils, Dr Diego Pol, lead scientist heading up the research team based at the Museum of Palaeontology Egidio Feruglio, (Trelew, Argentina) stated:

“It was like a palaeontological crime scene, a unique thing that you don’t find anywhere else in the world with the potential of discovering all kinds of new facts about titanosaurs.  According to our estimates this animal weighed 70 tonnes.  A comparison of the back bones shows that this animal was ten per cent larger than Argentinosaurus, the previous record holder.  So we have discovered the largest dinosaur ever known.”

The date when this animal roamed differs in the press release from that stated earlier when Everything Dinosaur first published details of the fossil discovery.  The BBC press release suggests that this giant dinosaur roamed around 101 million years ago, whilst our data suggests that it lived slightly later, around 95 million years ago (Cenomanian faunal stage of the Cretaceous).

The heart of this huge beast would have weighed something like 200 kilogrammes and with a circumference estimated at two metres it would have pumped ninety litres of blood round the body with one huge beat.  That’s more liquid than the average amount of water that people have a bath in.

“Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur” will broadcast on BBC1 on Sunday 24 January at 6.30pm.  It will be available on the BBC catch up services and we at Everything Dinosaur are eagerly looking forward to watching the programme.

Sir David Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur Thigh Bone

That is a very big thigh bone!

Picture credit: BBC

Safari Ltd have introduced a range of titanosaur models and figures: Safari Ltd. Wild Safari Prehistoric Animal Models.

Not the End of the Story

A formal scientific paper will be published shortly and this new dinosaur will be given a scientific name, it is likely to be a record breaker and regarded as the largest land living animal known to science.  However, readers of this blog know that Everything Dinosaur takes a keen interest in such matters, check out the link below that hints at the presence of even larger dinosaurs within the fossil record:

 One hundred tonne titanosaurs?: Giant Fossil Titanosaur Tooth Hints at “Enormosaurus”.