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Downloaded from
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NARRATOR: Before
humans ruled the world,
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planet Earth was
a land of giants.
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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Snakes the length of buses.
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JASON: I am still to
this day completely
amazed by this animal.
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NARRATOR: Ocean killers
with jaws big enough to
swallow a person whole.
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HUBER: These jaws were able to
rip out this big chunk of car.
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NARRATOR: And predators
that dwarf T-Rex.
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PAUL: We're talking something
of enormous length that could
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slice you with one motion.
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NARRATOR: But, of all the
creatures that have ever lived,
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which is the biggest?
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Using the latest discoveries
and cutting edge science,
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we're going to reveal a top
ten of the biggest beasts ever
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that have walked the earth,
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swum the seas and
soared the skies.
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MIKE (off-screen):
This is awesome!
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NARRATOR: Analyzing the
ultimate giant beasts across
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the animal kingdom,
species by species,
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and using length as
our ultimate guide,
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we countdown from ten.
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And first on our list is a
creature you'd never expect,
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a terrifying beast,
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the biggest insect
that ever lived.
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Long before the dinosaurs,
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a winged giant
terrorized the skies.
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Flying at over
20 miles per hour,
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and with jaws that could cut
small reptiles to pieces,
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its common name
is the griffinfly.
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A clue to this ancient mega
bug was discovered in 1940 in
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Noble County, Oklahoma, in
the southern United States.
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Today, it's the job of insect
expert Brian Farrell to take
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care of that clue,
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a fragile fossil that's
275 million years old.
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BRIAN: This really is
a spectacular fossil.
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NARRATOR: This fossil
is the largest insect
wing ever discovered.
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BRIAN: To get an idea of
just how big this insect was.
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This is a reasonably
large sized modern
dragonfly for comparison.
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It's about one fifth
the size, at most,
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of this meganeuropsis.
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NARRATOR: Looking
at this single wing,
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it's clear just how big
the griffinfly could get.
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It had four wings,
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the biggest pair spanning
two and a half feet across,
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that makes it six times larger
than many modern dragonflies.
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If it was around today, it
would be a match for a hawk,
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and span the outstretched
arm of a six foot man.
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From smaller but more
complete fossils,
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experts have discovered that
griffinflies didn't merely
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look like today's dragonflies,
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their anatomy was
incredibly similar.
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So it's likely that they
behave the same way too,
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as deadly hunters.
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Anthony Leonardo is a world
expert in dragonfly flight.
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He's unlocking the secrets of
what's makes these flying aces
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such expert killer beasts.
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They have four wings that
can beat independently.
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ANTHONY: If you look
at the wings closely,
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you can see that
they're quite amazing.
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The dragonfly can fly
forwards, backwards,
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upside down.
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It can also pull these
incredibly sharp 6G turns.
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NARRATOR: They also
have eyes with virtually
360 degree vision,
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powerful legs for grabbing
insect prey, and killer jaws.
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ANTHONY (off-screen):
They have these massive
mandibles and these kind of
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pinching crunchers, and they
very quickly cut and slice all
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this prey up into little bits
that the animal then swallows.
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NARRATOR: But how did the
griffinfly get so big,
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and why are modern
dragonflies so much smaller?
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The answer lies in the way
all other insects breathe.
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ANTHONY (off-screen):
Insects don't have lungs.
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On the outside of the
dragonfly's body are little
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openings called spiracles, and
these are little holes that
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open and close, and they
basically are little pumps
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letting air into the
dragonfly's body and then
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pushing it back out.
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NARRATOR: Once
through the spiracles,
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the air moves through a
network of tubes called trachea.
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This way, oxygen is fed
directly to every single
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cell of the body.
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The problem is, there
are so many tubes there's
little room left for muscle,
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and that's what stops today's
dragonflies getting any larger.
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So how did they ever
reach the monstrous
size of the griffinfly?
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How did they pack enough
muscle into their bodies to
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power giant wings?
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One paleobiologist at
Midwestern University,
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John Vandenbrooks believes
he has the answer.
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He's doing experiments to
uncover the secrets to what
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makes a bigger bug.
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John thinks that growing
bigger was all down to the
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amount of oxygen in
the air they breathed.
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JOHN: Oxygen was much
higher in the past.
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Today oxygen's about 21% of
the atmosphere around you.
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In the past it
was as high as 31%.
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NARRATOR: An extra 10%
might not sound like much,
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but that's 50% more oxygen
than we breathe today.
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JOHN: So perhaps that increase
in oxygen in the atmosphere is
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what led the possibility that
those insects could get as
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large as they did.
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NARRATOR: To investigate,
John decided to do
something radical.
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change the oxygen the
bugs could breathe.
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First, he takes cockroaches
and breeds them at far lower
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levels of oxygen than today.
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JOHN: In this top chamber, we
have cockroaches reared under
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lower oxygen levels, about 12%,
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and you can see how
large this individual is.
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NARRATOR: It may look
large, but it's actually
small for the species.
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John then rears other
roaches at the oxygen
levels of the past.
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JOHN: Comparatively, the
cockroaches reared down here
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are being reared in a high
oxygen level of about 31%
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and you can see now
how large this individual is,
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much, much larger than
those reared at the
lower oxygen levels.
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And it's even more pronounced
if we're able to compare the
two animals.
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NARRATOR: The results are
clear and astonishing.
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More oxygen means bugs can
have a smaller internal
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breathing system.
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JOHN (off-screen): We
can now definitively say,
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as oxygen goes up that it
actually allows for the animal
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to put more things
inside its body,
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so it can have more muscle
and it can become one of these
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really large, vicious
predators that we see
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300 million years ago.
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NARRATOR: Had we been
around to witness it,
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the griffinfly would have
been a truly terrifying sight.
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This was the biggest insect
ever to fly Earth's skies,
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but our next beast
is far, far bigger.
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Fast forward from griffinfly
to 27 million years ago.
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Then the skies were ruled
by a feathered giant.
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With wings as wide as
a two lane highway,
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and a cruise speed
faster than Usain Bolt,
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it could travel to every
corner of the planet.
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(cawing).
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The evidence of this giant
first came to light in
South Carolina in the USA.
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In 2010, paleontologist Dan
Ksepka discovered a collection
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of bones in a storeroom
at the Charleston Museum.
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KSEPKA (off-screen):
When we pulled open the
drawer and I saw this for
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the first time it was just
absolutely spectacular.
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NARRATOR: Laying
the bones out,
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Dan could see this
was no ordinary find.
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KSEPKA (off-screen):
It has this skull with
these bony toothed jaw
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that almost looks
like a crocodile.
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NARRATOR: But it wasn't
any kind of reptile.
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What Dan had discovered
was the largest flying
bird of all time,
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a new species they
called pelagornis sandersi.
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KSEPKA (off-screen):
This massive element
here is the humerus.
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This is the first bone
of the wing skeleton,
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so it's equivalent
to the upper arm bone
in a human skeleton.
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This bone, in particular, is
longer than my entire arm,
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so we have a
remarkably long wing.
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NARRATOR: The giant bird's
body was six feet long.
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With a 24 feet wingspan, the
largest bird alive today,
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the wandering albatross,
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could fit easily under
one of its wings.
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Pelagornis's wingspan rivaled
that of a Harrier Jump Jet.
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Everything about the
skeleton tells us this
bird must have flown,
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but how could something
this big possibly have
stayed airborne?
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A closer look at the bones
provide Dan with a vital clue.
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Like flying birds
today, its bones are
hollow and super thin.
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KSEPKA: The bone wall is
about a millimeter thick,
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and so this animal
would have been very
lightweight for its size.
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There's less weight
to support in flight.
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NARRATOR: It rivaled the
wingspan of a fighter jet,
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but this giant bird
weighed only 48 pounds,
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less than a third of the
weight of an adult human.
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Light as it was, one
bone still casts doubt
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on its ability to fly.
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KSEPKA: This
bone, the scapula,
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is the equivalent to our own
shoulder blade and you can
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see it's, it's just so small.
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It's actually almost comically
small and this certainly
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reveals that this bird was
not a high powered flapper.
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NARRATOR: If it wasn't
flapping its wings,
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how did pelagornis fly?
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Flight biomechanics
expert, Mike Habib,
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believes the answer
lies with this.
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MIKE: I'm out here to try hang
gliding for the first time.
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I'm really excited.
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I'm hoping this'll give me
some idea of what being a
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pelagornis would be like.
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NARRATOR: A hang
glider has a similar
wingspan to pelagornis.
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It's also lightweight,
has a hollow,
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tubular skeleton and
a large, rigid wing.
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MIKE (off-screen): The
physics don't change,
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so an airplane wing or
hang glider wing looks
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fundamentally very
similar to an animal wing,
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even though they're
made of different stuff.
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NARRATOR: The only way
Mike, or pelagornis,
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could get airborne would
be to run into the wind.
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MIKE (off-screen):
Hoping that I, I run
properly and we launch and
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I don't have to be one
of these people that gets
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dragged along on their face.
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MAN: Are you
ready to take off?
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MIKE: Ready to take off, okay.
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MIKE (off-screen):
This is awesome!
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Ah man!
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This is giving me a little bit
of a glimpse of what it would
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be like to be a giant
flying animal in the past.
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This is an amazing
feat of engineering,
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and it's a great
way of soaring,
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but pelagornis
did a lot better.
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NARRATOR: 27
million years ago,
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nature produced a glider that
was about four times more
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efficient than
this hang glider.
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In fact, pelagornis was a
better glider than anything
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that has ever lived or that
technology has ever produced.
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MIKE: So we were in the
air for a good ten minutes.
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A nice long flight, but
pelagornis would have been
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one of the champions
of long distance flight.
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Probably could stay in the
air for weeks at a time,
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maybe even months at a time.
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NARRATOR: Staying aloft
for long periods was
essential for pelagornis.
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Its bony teeth, ideal
for catching fish,
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reveal it was a sea bird.
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KSEPKA (off-screen): 27 million
years ago, pelagornis was living
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in this open sea environment.
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Pelagornis could probably
travel across thousands of
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miles of ocean
without much thought.
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NARRATOR: So how did
pelagornis manage such an
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00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,960
extraordinary feat?
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Dan thinks the clue may lie
with the modern master of
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00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:50,120
ocean flight, the
wandering albatross.
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Albatrosses make use of the
way air flowing over the oceans
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can change speed.
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They perform a daredevil
maneuver called dynamic soaring.
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Dan believes, if pelagornis
was to survive out at sea,
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00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:07,480
it must have done
the same thing.
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KSEPKA: So, if we
look at the waves,
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the wind above the waves is
going more slowly than the
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00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:15,960
wind higher up, at a higher
altitude above the waves,
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00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,080
especially out
on the open seas,
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and dynamic soaring birds can
use this to their advantage.
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00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,160
NARRATOR: They swoop down
to the ocean surface then
234
00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:28,800
pull up at the last second.
235
00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:32,360
Pulling up gives a bird
enough momentum to rise up
236
00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,520
and catch faster
moving air currents.
237
00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,040
Flying in loops like this,
pelagornis would have been
238
00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:44,960
able to cover vast distances
and grab fish from the surface
239
00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:49,360
whilst burning
very little energy.
240
00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:54,640
This was the biggest and
most efficient flying bird
241
00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:57,280
in the history of the planet.
242
00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:01,120
It ruled the ocean skies.
243
00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,960
Pelagornis was at the limit of
how big birds could grow and
244
00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:13,360
still get into the air, but
if you think that's big,
245
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:17,600
coming up at number eight
is an absolute whopper!
246
00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:31,720
NARRATOR: Imagine walking
into a modern zoo where they'd
247
00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:35,840
somehow managed to
resurrect the largest
mammal to walk the earth.
248
00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:42,680
What you'd see is this: 20
tons of hide bound flesh,
249
00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:46,600
standing more than
two stories tall.
250
00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:53,400
Evidence of this ancient
mega mammal emerged in the
251
00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,320
20th century in what
is now Pakistan.
252
00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:02,760
But today, this evidence
is far from Asia.
253
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:05,840
Paleontologist,
Mikael Fortelius,
254
00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:07,960
is investigating an
extraordinary collection of
255
00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:11,760
the beast's bones in London's
Natural History Museum.
256
00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:14,440
MIKAEL: Easy.
257
00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:18,480
NARRATOR: This colossal
skull is testimony to
its sheer size.
258
00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:23,000
MIKAEL: The head sits
on a very long neck.
259
00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:27,240
There's never been
anything similar to this.
260
00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:30,800
NARRATOR: Put all
the bones together,
261
00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:32,440
and you get something that
looks like a cross between
262
00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,560
a giraffe and an elephant.
263
00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:39,160
It's called paraceratherium.
264
00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:44,000
It was so big a six
feet man could easily
fit between its legs.
265
00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,680
It stood 25 feet high.
266
00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,520
It was nearly twice as tall
and three times as heavy as
267
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:58,720
the biggest land mammal today,
the African elephant and,
268
00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:01,480
at 26 feet from nose to tail,
269
00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:05,440
it was as long as an
Abrams battle tank.
270
00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:13,080
Now the obvious question has
to be, why did it get so big?
271
00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:19,280
But there's an
added complication,
272
00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:22,080
while some scientists believe
that paraceratherium lived in
273
00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,120
thick forests, Mikael
Fortelius thinks this
274
00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:29,480
creature's habitat was harsh,
275
00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:33,320
afflicted by dry seasons when
276
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:37,800
water was scarce and
vegetation sparse.
277
00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:43,240
How does an animal
become a giant when
food is in short supply?
278
00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:49,320
Mikael Fortelius believes
the answer lies in the teeth.
279
00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:53,400
MIKAEL: Looking at the teeth
will allow us to understand
280
00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:58,000
why this animal
got so very large.
281
00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:01,560
The teeth are worn in
a way that only happens
282
00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:04,040
when you're eating leaves.
283
00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:05,640
NARRATOR: And,
for eating leaves,
284
00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:09,600
sheer height would give this
animal a massive advantage.
285
00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:11,840
Like a giraffe, it could get
to food that's beyond the
286
00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,280
reach of most animals.
287
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,760
So that explains
paraceratherium's height,
288
00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:22,000
but not its massive bulk.
289
00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:25,760
Fortelius believes that the
explanation for that can be
290
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,480
found in the harsh
environment itself,
291
00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,520
that the animal grew big
because of, not in spite of,
292
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:34,240
its tough surroundings.
293
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:40,640
MIKAEL: If you're small, just
one day without water is a
294
00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:43,880
terrible thing and may kill
you, but the larger you are,
295
00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,080
the more buffered you are,
the more you can deal with
296
00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:49,680
harshness in this sense.
297
00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,320
You can go without
food, without water.
298
00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:56,280
I think that's what was
driving the size increase.
299
00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,800
NARRATOR: Not everyone agrees
with Fortelius's theory,
300
00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:02,920
but there's no
doubt that, somehow,
301
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,920
paraceratherium thrived.
302
00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:12,800
And it must have consumed
vast quantities of
vegetation every day.
303
00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,280
To find enough food,
it needed to range over
304
00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:20,200
hundreds of square miles.
305
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:23,400
And that may be the reason
for what is, perhaps,
306
00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:28,320
the most remarkable thing
about this amazing animal,
307
00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:30,960
its feet.
308
00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:34,360
Biomechanics expert,
John Hutchinson, has analyzed
309
00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:36,440
paraceratherium's
foot bones
310
00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,600
and produced a 3D model.
311
00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:42,640
He's struck by just how much
it resembles that of one of
312
00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:47,080
today's giants:
the rhinoceros.
313
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:51,280
In fact, weighing in at
only one sixth of its size,
314
00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:55,400
the rhino is paraceratherium's
closest living relative.
315
00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,120
And Hutchinson's
research shows that,
316
00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,840
in terms of size to weight,
its feet must bear the
317
00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:03,400
heaviest loads.
318
00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,280
HUTCHINSON: Rhinoceros, the
pressure of its feet are way
319
00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:11,760
higher than in a horse,
a human, even an elephant.
320
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,600
Rhinos already today are
living at an extreme in
terms of foot pressure,
321
00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:19,200
and paraceratherium
seems to have pushed
that extreme further.
322
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,880
NARRATOR: On the feet
of both the rhino and
its ancient cousin,
323
00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:29,400
there are three
gigantic, hoof-like nails.
324
00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:34,240
There's also a fatty
pad designed to act
as a shock absorber.
325
00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:39,360
The paraceratherium's foot is
proportionally more slender
326
00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,920
than a rhino's, meaning it
has to bear even more stress.
327
00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:48,800
HUTCHINSON: My calculations
suggest that paraceratherium
328
00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:53,000
might have borne as much as
50% more pressure on its
329
00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:56,880
feet than a rhinoceros does.
330
00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,560
NARRATOR: In fact, this was
the heaviest mammal ever to
331
00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:05,360
walk the earth and John's
calculations suggest one
332
00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:07,640
extraordinary fact.
333
00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,440
HUTCHINSON: Paraceratherium
would have put more pressure
334
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:16,680
on its feet than an
average tank's treads
would put on the ground.
335
00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,320
That's pretty staggering.
336
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:24,160
NARRATOR: This was the
biggest land mammal ever and,
337
00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:26,880
with footsteps this heavy,
you'd have been well advised
338
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:29,760
to stay out of its path.
339
00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:34,560
So far, on Top Ten
Biggest Beasts Ever,
340
00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:39,080
we've met a deadly dragonfly
the size of a hawk,
341
00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:43,800
a giant bird the
size of a plane,
342
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:49,400
and a mega mammal twice the
size of an African elephant.
343
00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,040
But next up is an
even bigger beast
344
00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:57,320
that could launch
into the skies.
345
00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:09,640
♪ ♪
346
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,440
NARRATOR: This is the closest
Earth has ever got to a real
347
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:16,000
life winged dragon.
348
00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:22,840
70 million years ago, while
the dinosaurs ruled the Earth,
349
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,960
the skies were
ruled by pterosaurs.
350
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:31,720
Their name means winged lizards,
351
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,200
and paleontologist, Gareth Dyke,
352
00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:38,040
has spent more than ten years
of his life hunting them.
353
00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:42,920
GARETH: Pterosaurs are
interesting because they're
354
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,760
the first group of vertebrates
to evolve powered flight,
355
00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:49,600
long before birds
and long before bats.
356
00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,120
NARRATOR: The hunt has
brought him to Romania,
357
00:23:56,200 --> 00:24:00,640
to the region of Transylvania,
358
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:06,560
better known as the home of that
legendary monster: Dracula.
359
00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:15,960
GARETH: 70 million years ago
the climate in this area
360
00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:17,760
was much different.
361
00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:20,760
Big islands in a tropical
sea with lush vegetation,
362
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:24,600
lots of animal and plant life,
and quite high temperatures.
363
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:28,240
It couldn't be more different
to the weather today.
364
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,160
NARRATOR: These red
sandstone cliffs hold a
huge number of fossils.
365
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:37,160
As the rock erodes, more
and more are revealed.
366
00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:39,280
GARETH: So what we have here
are some of the bones of
367
00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:41,400
pterosaurs that we've
collected from this area in
368
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:43,200
the last few years.
369
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:46,480
This one, for example, it's
about six centimeters in length,
370
00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:48,160
so it would have come from
an animal that would have
371
00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:51,640
had a wingspan of one
or two meters, six feet.
372
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:55,040
Average size for pterosaurs.
373
00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,680
NARRATOR: But then, in 2008,
Gareth's colleagues climbed
374
00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:04,520
down the cliffs and discovered
something extraordinary.
375
00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:07,880
GARETH (off-screen):
This neck vertebra from
the same part of the neck
376
00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,280
in a giant pterosaur.
377
00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:12,400
It's quite short,
quite robust,
378
00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:16,600
but gigantic compared to
a normal sized pterosaur
379
00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:18,800
vertebra that
you can see here,
380
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,440
and you can see immediately
that we're looking at animals
381
00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:24,360
of gigantic proportions.
382
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:27,880
NARRATOR: When the neck bone
was mapped onto a model of the
383
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,960
pterosaur skeleton, it became
clear that this was one of the
384
00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:35,360
largest members of
the pterosaur family
ever discovered,
385
00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:40,600
comparable to giant
specimens found in the USA.
386
00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:47,640
At up to 16 feet tall,
these massive pterosaurs
could stand nearly
387
00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,840
three times taller
than a human,
388
00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:54,360
tall enough to look
a giraffe in the eye.
389
00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,760
Their front limbs were
also vast wings that,
390
00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,600
when unfurled, could stretch
up to 36 feet across,
391
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,920
the same as a modern Lear jet.
392
00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:09,080
It had a beak more
than five feet long,
393
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:12,640
perfectly suited to
preying off other animals,
394
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:17,160
and no living creature has
ever had a larger wingspan.
395
00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:22,040
While it seems obvious
that giant pterosaurs flew,
396
00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:24,560
they're so large experts
have puzzled over how they
397
00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:27,640
ever got off the ground.
398
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:31,520
We already know
that pelagornis,
399
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:33,520
with its 24 feet wingspan,
400
00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:37,440
was as big as a bird
could get and still fly,
401
00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:41,080
the difficulty of just getting
off the ground at this size
402
00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:44,360
stopped flying
birds getting any bigger.
403
00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:48,200
So how did a 550
pound pterosaur,
404
00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:52,600
with a 36 feet wingspan,
get into the air?
405
00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,000
Flight biomechanics
expert, Mike Habib,
406
00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,200
has made it his
mission to find out.
407
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:05,000
He has been studying the
bones of one particular giant
408
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:09,360
pterosaur, Quetzalcoatlus.
409
00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,280
Discovered in Texas, this
species is of similar giant
410
00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:19,280
size to the one found
in Transylvania.
411
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:25,480
Mike focused his attention
on the pterosaur's wing.
412
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,040
MIKE: This is the skeleton
of Quetzalcoatlus.
413
00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:31,480
You can see the massive
bones of the wing.
414
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:33,160
This is called the humerus;
415
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,040
it's the bone of the upper arm.
416
00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:38,960
NARRATOR: Mike conducted a
forensic analysis of the bones.
417
00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:43,080
MIKE (off-screen):
I used CT scans to
look inside of the bones,
418
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:46,640
and I found that most
of the bones of the
wing were very hollow.
419
00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:49,360
The bone wall is only
three millimeters thick.
420
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:51,960
It's mostly air by volume.
421
00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:54,520
NARRATOR: This makes
the skeleton very light.
422
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:56,720
But, inside the
upper arm bone,
423
00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,440
a dense internal scaffold
reinforces the bone,
424
00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:02,480
especially near the shoulder,
and that's not something you
425
00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,160
see in a bird wing.
426
00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:08,400
This bone is far stronger
than needed for flight,
427
00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:12,720
stronger even than
needed for walking.
428
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:18,000
So why would the pterosaur
possibly need such
powerful forelimbs?
429
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:21,760
Then Mike noticed
another clue,
430
00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:25,040
a giant groove in the bone.
431
00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:29,800
This could mean only one
thing, a huge tendon.
432
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,880
MIKE (off-screen): A
giant tendon would run in,
along the groove here,
433
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,240
and then wrap around
the wing pivot joint,
434
00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:40,680
and end up at the
tip of the wing.
435
00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:47,520
The tendon would have
been about as big
around as my wrist.
436
00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:50,280
NARRATOR: The supersize of
this tendon led Mike to form
437
00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:53,280
a unique theory.
438
00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:57,400
The pterosaurs were using
the tendon's elastic power
439
00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,840
to catapult themselves
into the air.
440
00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:03,480
MIKE: Tendons, and the
muscles attached to them,
441
00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:06,160
have a certain amount
of springiness.
442
00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:09,000
You can stretch them
and then they snap back,
443
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:12,160
basically a giant crossbow.
444
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:14,600
NARRATOR: Mike used the
skeleton to model how this
445
00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:17,440
might work.
446
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,360
MIKE: A giant
pterosaur like this one,
447
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:23,680
to take off would start by
crouching on tis back legs,
448
00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,000
then it would unload
the legs first,
449
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:29,640
vaulting over the giant wing,
and then it would push against
450
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:32,440
the ground, using up all that
stored energy and pushing
451
00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:36,520
itself as fast as
possible into the air.
452
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:39,400
NARRATOR: There is still one
living creature that uses this
453
00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,480
kind of vaulting launch.
454
00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:46,440
It's plain to see when you
watch a vampire bat take off.
455
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:51,720
But vampire bats only
weigh two ounces.
456
00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:57,120
So, could the same
principal work on the scale
of a giant pterosaur?
457
00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:03,400
Mike has come to a local
firing range to find out.
458
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,240
MIKE: So what we have here is
a modern crossbow and it's a
459
00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:12,920
very effective way of
talking about pterosaurs.
460
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,640
Giant pterosaurs
would be stretching its
tendons by crouching,
461
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:19,000
and the crouch phase
would be much slower
462
00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:20,640
than the launch phase.
463
00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:22,200
So it puts the
energy in slowly,
464
00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:23,800
and then lets it out quick.
465
00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:27,760
So I'm going to put in the
energy here nice and slow.
466
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:31,040
You'll notice that the limbs
on the crossbow are bending.
467
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:35,480
That's the energy being stored
in the flexing of the limbs.
468
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:37,960
There's a lot of
energy in here,
469
00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,560
and when I let out to fire the
bolt, it's going to go really,
470
00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:43,920
really fast.
471
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:47,000
NARRATOR: This catapult
crossbow stores so much energy
472
00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:52,000
it can fire a bolt at up
to 218 miles per hour.
473
00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:59,440
MIKE: Wow! It's a lot
of energy in this bow.
474
00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:01,880
It doesn't have much
kick, because it's
really well engineered,
475
00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:07,680
but you can tell that bolt's
coming out of it real fast.
476
00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:11,280
NARRATOR: The crossbow can
fire this lightweight bolt
477
00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:13,800
hundreds of feet
through the air.
478
00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,240
MIKE (off-screen):
Not a bad shot.
479
00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:18,560
NARRATOR: But how do these
mechanics scale up to a
480
00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:22,640
550 pound pterosaur?
481
00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:25,680
MIKE: By storing all this
energy in his giant tendon,
482
00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:28,400
big pterosaurs would have
been able to take off like a
483
00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:31,440
rocket, launching a mass about
the same as a grizzly bear
484
00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:34,960
into the air in
under half a second.
485
00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:38,920
NARRATOR: Mike calculate that
pterosaurs only needed to get
486
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,320
six feet off the ground.
487
00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:45,800
That would give them just
enough room to unfurl their
488
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:49,920
vast wings and beat
for the first time.
489
00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:55,600
Then, when they're airborne,
just like giant birds,
490
00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:59,440
they glide.
491
00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:10,480
These giants were the largest
flying creatures ever,
492
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,160
but they would have been no
match for the next beast on
493
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:19,080
our list, a snake
of astonishing size.
494
00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:33,920
NARRATOR: This is the story of
a creature that looks like it
495
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,200
belongs in a
Hollywood B movie.
496
00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:47,400
It begins in 2004, in the
Colombian region of Cerrejon.
497
00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:56,000
A vast mining operation had
expose a fossilized forest
498
00:32:56,080 --> 00:33:00,600
dating to just after the
extinction of the dinosaurs.
499
00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:06,720
Paleontologist Jonathan Bloch
led an expedition to the site.
500
00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:10,240
He returned with
something extraordinary.
501
00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:12,760
JONATHAN (off-screen):
This is what we found.
502
00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:14,800
This is a
recognizable vertebra.
503
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:16,720
When we originally
discovered this,
504
00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:20,560
we thought maybe it was the
vertebra of a crocodile.
505
00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:24,120
NARRATOR: But this
was no crocodile.
506
00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:27,440
John had identified the
vertebra of the largest snake
507
00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:32,760
ever to roam the
earth, titanoboa.
508
00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:36,120
JONATHAN: This is the largest
vertebra from the backbone of
509
00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:38,200
a 17 foot long anaconda,
510
00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:41,640
which is the most massive
snake alive today.
511
00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:46,280
NARRATOR: When you compare
the anaconda vertebra to
512
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:48,800
the 60 million year-old fossil,
513
00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:52,560
titanoboa's true size
becomes clear.
514
00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:57,120
JONATHAN: That comparison is
really incredibly dramatic.
515
00:33:57,200 --> 00:33:59,760
It even still takes
my breath away.
516
00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:03,960
NARRATOR: Using the
anatomy of today's giant
snakes as a guide,
517
00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:06,760
Bloch's team set about
reconstructing titanoboa's
518
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:11,000
skeleton, piecing
together the fragments.
519
00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:16,400
They called in fossil
snake expert, Jason Head,
520
00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:19,080
to verify their findings.
521
00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:23,320
JASON: The numbers that
we kept getting were so
522
00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:25,880
incredible in terms
of its weight and its
length and its girth,
523
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,600
at first I was suspicious we
were doing the math right.
524
00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:35,640
NARRATOR: At two and
a half feet across,
525
00:34:35,720 --> 00:34:39,640
titanoboa would struggle to
fit through your front door.
526
00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:43,240
Weighing in at over a ton, it
would be four times heavier
527
00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:47,520
than the largest
snakes alive today.
528
00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:49,960
And, at 45 feet,
529
00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:53,440
it would be as long as
an American school bus.
530
00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:58,640
JASON: So we're looking at
a lower jaw that would have
531
00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:02,040
been, you know, this long,
about four times the size of a
532
00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:04,440
large giant python today.
533
00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:06,520
Titanoboa theoretically could
have probably opened its mouth
534
00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:08,560
wide enough for you or I
to actually stand in it.
535
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:10,280
JONATHAN: Right.
536
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:13,200
NARRATOR: What's clear is
that this snake was simply too
537
00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:16,120
large to live on land.
538
00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:18,120
JONATHAN (off-screen): Because
it was such a massive snake,
539
00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:20,080
it would have had trouble
supporting its own weight.
540
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:22,200
This animal probably would
have had to spend most,
541
00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,720
if not all of its
time in the water.
542
00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:29,960
NARRATOR: And it would have
found plenty to prey on.
543
00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:34,280
JASON: In its ecosystem,
titanoboa lived with
giant crocodilians,
544
00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:36,760
lived with giant turtles
and these giant fishes,
545
00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:40,000
and it probably could
have eaten all of them.
546
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:45,760
NARRATOR: It's some
60 million years since
titanoboa became extinct,
547
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:49,080
so it's a little
difficult to meet one now.
548
00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:53,520
But, again, experts can use
today's snakes to get close.
549
00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:00,800
This is a reticulated
python, the longest
species alive today.
550
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,000
JASON (off-screen):
These are the closest
living relatives to titanoboa,
551
00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:08,880
and a lot of their anatomy
is similar to titanoboa and,
552
00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:11,440
from that, we infer
very similar behaviors:
553
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:13,600
constriction,
ambush predation.
554
00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:17,480
In the case of anacondas,
living in aquatic environments.
555
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:20,160
Oh, (choking).
556
00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:21,840
NARRATOR: At this moment
in our interview,
557
00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:25,640
Goldie the python chooses
to flex her muscles.
558
00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:26,880
JASON: That's better!
559
00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,680
NARRATOR: This
isn't an attempt to
treat Jason as prey,
560
00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,520
it's simply her
normal movement.
561
00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:33,560
JASON: Is she in
a good mood still?
562
00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:36,520
NARRATOR: But when actually
on the hunt, she'd deadly.
563
00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:39,080
JASON: When boas and pythons
constrict their prey,
564
00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:41,840
they're putting so
much pressure on the
circulatory system
565
00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:44,800
of the prey animal that they
actually induce a heart attack.
566
00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:48,400
They can stop the heart
by squeezing so hard.
567
00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:51,080
NARRATOR: Snakes have been
recorded constricting at
568
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:55,280
25 pounds per square inch.
569
00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:58,920
Delivered by a snake
titanoboa's size,
570
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:03,640
that would easily be enough
to crush as big as a rhino.
571
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:08,440
To find out what this
kind of force looks like,
572
00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:11,880
snake expert Rhys Jones is
overseeing a little test,
573
00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:15,680
using a collection
of heavy machinery.
574
00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:20,400
RHYS: We've got an experiment
set up which will help us to
575
00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:24,160
try and visualize exactly
the type of forces needed to
576
00:37:24,240 --> 00:37:27,160
overcome these
huge prey items.
577
00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:28,920
So what we've got here,
we've got a truck.
578
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:30,800
This is fixed in place.
579
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:33,560
This big yellow rope here is
representative of our snake
580
00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:35,200
and it's got, as you see,
581
00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:38,080
two coils here
around this oil drum.
582
00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:40,880
The oil drum is
representing our prey item.
583
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:43,280
It's full of
water, it's sealed.
584
00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:47,520
That's going to take
some pressure to be
able to crush that,
585
00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:50,800
so we're going
to need muscle.
586
00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:55,840
NARRATOR: Cue a seven
ton tractor with a
190 horsepower engine.
587
00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:02,280
This versus a sealed barrel
ought to be a tough test.
588
00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:13,040
As the tractor pulls on,
the pressure passes 25psi;
589
00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:16,480
that's the pressure of
today's largest snakes.
590
00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:21,240
But titanoboa had four
times the muscle mass,
591
00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:23,880
and estimates say it could
pull off crushing forces of up
592
00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:29,320
to 110 pounds per square inch,
the same pressure as having an
593
00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:33,080
eight ton truck
parked on your chest.
594
00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:41,160
(explosion).
595
00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:50,120
RHYS: Oh look!
It's just squeezed it
like a toy, hasn't it?
596
00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:51,760
That is just incredible.
597
00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:55,200
I think our snake pretty
much nailed it, don't you?
598
00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:01,080
NARRATOR: It only took
55psi to burst the barrel,
599
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:04,000
half what titanoboa
might have done,
600
00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:09,480
more than enough to crush the
life out of any living thing.
601
00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:12,360
RHYS: I mean look at the
damage to this oil drum.
602
00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:14,960
Can you imagine if
that type of pressure
was applied to you?
603
00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:17,680
You wouldn't last two seconds.
604
00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:20,880
NARRATOR: Titanoboa's
phenomenal crushing force
605
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:26,480
made it the apex predator on
Earth for ten million years.
606
00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:35,120
(groaning).
607
00:39:39,320 --> 00:39:44,240
Titanoboa was the largest
snake in Earth's history.
608
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:48,760
Nearly twice the wingspan
of the biggest flying bird,
609
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:52,840
and nine feet longer
than the wingspan of
610
00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:55,480
the largest flying creature.
611
00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:58,880
But, as massive as
this predator was,
612
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:03,480
next up is a beast even
bigger and more terrifying.
613
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:15,320
NARRATOR: At first glance,
this beast looks like a cross
614
00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:19,680
between a giant turtle
and a mega crocodile.
615
00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:25,200
But what this submarine
sized sea monster really was,
616
00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:27,880
and how it became
apex predator,
617
00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:32,080
has become a 100 million
year old mystery.
618
00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:37,320
In 2003, new evidence
came to light
619
00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:40,280
on the south coast of the UK.
620
00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:47,040
If you're looking for fossils,
the Jurassic coast of Dorset
621
00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:51,000
is one of the most fertile
hunting grounds on Earth.
622
00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:56,000
Kevan Sheehan has been coming
here for more than 40 years.
623
00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:01,200
KEVAN (off-screen): I
saw three pieces of what I
thought was fossilized wood.
624
00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:03,120
I got really excited
because I thought wow,
625
00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:07,560
there's got to be more of
this, and then, joy of joys,
626
00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:11,080
there's this huge
piece of bone stuck,
627
00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:14,600
It's almost like a meteorite
has gone bang into the cliff.
628
00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:19,600
NARRATOR: Embedded in
the cliff were dozens
of pieces of fossil.
629
00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:22,640
Reassembled, they made
something incredible.
630
00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:29,800
The most complete skull ever
discovered of a pliosaurus.
631
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:32,600
Paleontologist,
Richard Forrest,
632
00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:36,200
is an expert on these
ancient monsters.
633
00:41:36,280 --> 00:41:38,880
RICHARD: This is a
giant killing machine.
634
00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:41,920
This pliosaur was
the top predator,
635
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:43,880
it was the peak
of the pyramid.
636
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:47,720
They were basically just
big, powerful brutes that
637
00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:50,440
devastated anything
in their way.
638
00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:52,600
It's an awesome animal.
639
00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:56,600
NARRATOR: The biggest known
pliosaurus had flippers
640
00:41:56,680 --> 00:41:59,160
nine feet long.
641
00:41:59,240 --> 00:42:02,360
That's like a basketball
player at full stretch.
642
00:42:02,440 --> 00:42:05,600
If it swam in today's waters
it would have been bigger than
643
00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:09,240
a Navy patrol boat,
that's 45 feet.
644
00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:12,560
In terms of weight,
645
00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:15,240
it would have taken
about 44 compact cars
646
00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:18,280
to balance out one pliosaurus.
647
00:42:23,040 --> 00:42:26,640
The strongest biter alive today
is the saltwater crocodile,
648
00:42:26,720 --> 00:42:29,880
with a bite force of 1.8 tons.
649
00:42:30,600 --> 00:42:34,560
Pliosaurus had a bite
nearly ten times stronger.
650
00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:38,480
It was the T-Rex of the ocean.
651
00:42:38,560 --> 00:42:40,360
RICHARD (off-screen): We have
these great teeth at the front,
652
00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:42,960
which is where it grabs the
prey; that's what catches it.
653
00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:45,200
Then it moves a
bit further back,
654
00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:46,840
then another set of teeth,
655
00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:49,440
and these are the ones that
cut the prey up into pieces.
656
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:52,400
Then we have these teeth,
which are hooked backwards,
657
00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:56,560
so once the prey gets to
there, there's no way out.
658
00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:02,240
NARRATOR: But that
throws up questions.
659
00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:03,960
If you're going
to bite something,
660
00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:06,680
you've got to be able
to catch it first.
661
00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:09,440
So how does a 45 feet
predator the size of a
662
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:12,960
large shipping container
keep up with its prey?
663
00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:17,080
The secret must lie in their
four boat-size flippers.
664
00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:23,760
The closest match to a
pliosaurus flipper today
665
00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:27,920
belongs to a creature
altogether less frightening.
666
00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:31,240
Penguins may look funny
when they waddle on land,
667
00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:34,560
but underwater
they're like rockets,
668
00:43:34,640 --> 00:43:38,840
whizzing around at speeds
of up to 20 miles per hour.
669
00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:44,880
Biomechanics expert,
Flavio Noca, is trying to
670
00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:48,720
understand how they reach
these extraordinary speeds.
671
00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:51,680
Using a high speed camera,
672
00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:55,240
he films penguins moving
around underwater.
673
00:43:56,760 --> 00:43:58,880
FLAVIO: This camera is
actually able to go up to
674
00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:03,120
12,000 images per second.
675
00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:06,000
NARRATOR: That means that
every minute detail of flipper
676
00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:09,200
action is captured.
677
00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:13,560
Flavio's footage reveals that
penguins aren't swimming with
678
00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:16,960
their flippers, they are
flapping them like a bird.
679
00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:20,280
They're flying underwater.
680
00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:23,760
And, by twisting their
wings as they flap,
681
00:44:23,840 --> 00:44:26,560
penguins can propel themselves
forward on the upstroke as
682
00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:30,680
well as on the down stroke,
which is something most
683
00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:34,240
airborne birds can't do.
684
00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:38,800
The pliosaurus had, not
two, but four flippers,
685
00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:41,720
and they were gigantic.
686
00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:45,640
All signs point to this
mega monster being not
only one of the biggest,
687
00:44:45,720 --> 00:44:49,880
but also one of the fastest
predators in the ocean.
688
00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:54,480
Aerospace engineer,
Luke Muscutt,
689
00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:57,600
is investigating
how they moved.
690
00:44:57,680 --> 00:45:00,360
Using X-rays of fossils,
Luke has recreated a pair of
691
00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:03,920
pliosaur flippers
he calls wings.
692
00:45:04,800 --> 00:45:06,360
LUKE: Pliosaurs were
really good swimmers,
693
00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:08,280
and the aim of the game is
to chase down the prey and,
694
00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:10,400
obviously, to do that
you need to be very fast.
695
00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:13,040
You need to have a high thrust
and a high acceleration.
696
00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:16,920
NARRATOR: By suspending
the wings in a tank,
697
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:19,400
he's trying to determine how
the front and back wings work
698
00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:23,040
together to propel
the pliosaurus.
699
00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:29,000
Blue and red dyes reveal how
each wing moves the water.
700
00:45:30,240 --> 00:45:32,480
Luke moves the wings
together in different ways,
701
00:45:32,560 --> 00:45:36,640
and records the amount
of propulsion generated.
702
00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:40,240
He notices certain movements
have a remarkable effect on
703
00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:44,120
the back wing.
704
00:45:44,200 --> 00:45:46,560
LUKE (off-screen): So,
initial results suggest
that the hind wing can
705
00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:50,240
produce a thrust which is
about 50% higher than
706
00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:54,320
a wing operating on its own.
707
00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:57,200
NARRATOR: By harnessing
the wake of the front wing,
708
00:45:57,280 --> 00:46:00,000
the pliosaurus could generate
two and a half time as much
709
00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:04,040
thrust as it would with
just one set of wings.
710
00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:09,000
And that is how this mega
beast gained sudden and
711
00:46:09,080 --> 00:46:12,480
tremendous acceleration.
712
00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:16,240
Its prey wouldn't
have stood a chance.
713
00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:27,280
Pliosaurus is just the latest
on our lineup of the
714
00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:30,560
Top Ten Biggest Beasts Ever.
715
00:46:33,000 --> 00:46:36,600
So far, we've
revealed, griffinfly,
716
00:46:36,680 --> 00:46:39,480
the biggest insect
in Earth's history.
717
00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:43,560
Pelagornis, the
largest flying bird.
718
00:46:44,320 --> 00:46:48,520
Paraceratherium, the greatest
mammal to walk the earth.
719
00:46:49,320 --> 00:46:54,160
Giant pterosaurs, the largest
flying creatures ever.
720
00:46:56,320 --> 00:47:00,360
Titanoboa, the largest
known snake of all time.
721
00:47:03,400 --> 00:47:08,320
And pliosaurus, the largest
predatory marine reptile.
722
00:47:09,640 --> 00:47:13,680
But coming up is a bizarre
dinosaur that beats them all.
723
00:47:22,120 --> 00:47:24,840
NARRATOR: New discoveries of
one of the strangest dinosaurs
724
00:47:24,920 --> 00:47:28,080
ever are rewriting
the textbooks.
725
00:47:28,960 --> 00:47:32,720
A monster dinosaur
with vicious teeth,
726
00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:35,520
claws almost as
big as a human arm.
727
00:47:35,600 --> 00:47:38,080
PAUL: We're talking something
of enormous length that could
728
00:47:38,160 --> 00:47:40,360
slice you with one motion.
729
00:47:40,440 --> 00:47:42,760
NARRATOR: And a
massive spiny sail.
730
00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:45,200
NIZAR: The spines are
taller than a person.
731
00:47:47,680 --> 00:47:51,600
Every now and then
we come across really
bizarre dinosaurs.
732
00:47:51,680 --> 00:47:55,160
In my book it's the most
bizarre dinosaur out there.
733
00:47:59,320 --> 00:48:01,720
NARRATOR: Paleontologist,
Nizar Ibrahim, was on
734
00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:06,760
expedition to the Sahara
Desert in Morocco in 2013.
735
00:48:09,800 --> 00:48:12,400
When he saw the beast's bones,
736
00:48:12,480 --> 00:48:16,480
he knew he had
something special.
737
00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:20,640
This was a Spinosaurus,
or spine lizard.
738
00:48:21,200 --> 00:48:24,640
It lived 100
million years ago.
739
00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:29,400
Everything about
Spinosaurus is vast.
740
00:48:29,480 --> 00:48:32,680
NIZAR: Seeing it in front
of you, you realize wow,
741
00:48:32,760 --> 00:48:35,440
this is one big predator.
742
00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:40,720
NARRATOR: That seven feet
spiny sail means Spinosaurus
743
00:48:40,800 --> 00:48:44,560
stands twice as
tall as a human.
744
00:48:44,640 --> 00:48:47,200
At 50 feet long
from snout to tail,
745
00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:50,400
it is ten feet
longer then T-Rex.
746
00:48:50,480 --> 00:48:54,160
it's so big it's the
size of a fire truck,
747
00:48:54,240 --> 00:48:58,400
weighting in at 22 tons, this
is the biggest predator to
748
00:48:58,480 --> 00:49:01,400
ever walk the earth.
749
00:49:03,040 --> 00:49:06,880
But Spinosaurus wasn't the only
dangerous dino on the block.
750
00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:09,800
100 million years ago,
751
00:49:09,880 --> 00:49:12,040
this desert was a
vast river system,
752
00:49:12,120 --> 00:49:14,600
bursting with other
giant predators.
753
00:49:15,360 --> 00:49:17,120
NIZAR: I call the it
the River of Giants,
754
00:49:17,200 --> 00:49:20,400
because it was home to giant
fish, giant flying reptiles,
755
00:49:20,480 --> 00:49:23,200
several T-Rex size
predatory dinosaurs.
756
00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:25,280
It was probably the most
dangerous place in the
757
00:49:25,360 --> 00:49:27,800
history of our planet.
758
00:49:27,880 --> 00:49:30,640
PAUL: It's jam-packed with all
these predators to the point
759
00:49:30,720 --> 00:49:32,840
where you say what
were they living on?
760
00:49:32,920 --> 00:49:36,040
Where were the herbivores to
support this many predators?
761
00:49:36,120 --> 00:49:38,520
NARRATOR: It was a mystery.
762
00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:41,360
With so few plant-eating
dinosaurs to feed on,
763
00:49:41,440 --> 00:49:45,120
what enabled Spinosaurus to
survive here and become the
764
00:49:45,200 --> 00:49:48,160
biggest predator of all?
765
00:49:49,560 --> 00:49:52,120
As Nizar and his team
looked closer at the bones,
766
00:49:52,200 --> 00:49:54,920
they began to find clues.
767
00:49:55,000 --> 00:49:57,440
Strange features that mark
this predator out from other
768
00:49:57,520 --> 00:50:00,960
dinosaurs, like T-Rex.
769
00:50:03,360 --> 00:50:05,280
NIZAR (off-screen):
This animal didn't look
anything like T-Rex or other
770
00:50:05,360 --> 00:50:08,000
predatory dinosaurs.
771
00:50:08,080 --> 00:50:11,000
It was like working on an
alien from outer space.
772
00:50:13,280 --> 00:50:16,880
NARRATOR: For starters, the
teeth were an unusual shape.
773
00:50:17,680 --> 00:50:19,520
NIZAR (off-screen):
Spinosaurus is really all
about grabbing prey and
774
00:50:19,600 --> 00:50:24,280
holding it in these massive
jaws with long, conical teeth.
775
00:50:24,360 --> 00:50:27,520
So these teeth are great
to grab slippery prey.
776
00:50:29,800 --> 00:50:32,040
NARRATOR: At over five
feet long, these jaws
777
00:50:32,120 --> 00:50:37,400
were capable of swallowing prey
the size of a person, whole.
778
00:50:41,000 --> 00:50:44,240
Next, Nizar noticed that,
for a predatory dinosaur,
779
00:50:44,320 --> 00:50:47,240
the front limbs
were unusually long.
780
00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:51,360
Though not all experts agree,
Nizar believes Spinosaurus
781
00:50:51,440 --> 00:50:54,400
may have even
walked on them,
782
00:50:54,480 --> 00:50:57,680
and the back feet
were just as strange.
783
00:51:01,520 --> 00:51:05,360
NIZAR: Now the
feet of Spinosaurus
are really bizarre.
784
00:51:05,440 --> 00:51:07,320
Typically in predatory
dinosaurs the claws would
785
00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:10,480
be recurved to grab prey
and pin it to the ground.
786
00:51:10,560 --> 00:51:13,160
In Spinosaurus, the
claws are almost flat,
787
00:51:13,240 --> 00:51:15,280
and they're quite wide.
788
00:51:15,360 --> 00:51:18,640
It almost looks like a paddle,
and I think it's quite likely
789
00:51:18,720 --> 00:51:21,120
that the feet of
Spinosaurus were webbed,
790
00:51:21,200 --> 00:51:24,200
just like in many
birds or crocodiles.
791
00:51:24,280 --> 00:51:27,040
PAUL: This has more to do
with paddling and swimming
792
00:51:27,120 --> 00:51:30,400
than running on land.
793
00:51:30,480 --> 00:51:33,480
NARRATOR: Everything was
pointing in one direction.
794
00:51:33,560 --> 00:51:38,000
This looked like a beast that
swam and hunted in water.
795
00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:40,440
PAUL: This was a dinosaur
that was doing something
796
00:51:40,520 --> 00:51:43,600
no other predatory
dinosaur was adapted to do.
797
00:51:43,680 --> 00:51:46,280
NIZAR: This is
a river monster.
798
00:51:46,360 --> 00:51:49,520
NARRATOR: This was an
extraordinary discovery.
799
00:51:49,600 --> 00:51:52,760
It suggested Spinosaurus
hunted fish, giving it
800
00:51:52,840 --> 00:51:56,640
a major advantage over the
other dinosaurs predators.
801
00:51:58,560 --> 00:52:03,400
But if Spinosaurus was
swimming, how did it hunt?
802
00:52:03,960 --> 00:52:06,160
How could something this
bulky chase down enough
803
00:52:06,240 --> 00:52:10,040
fast moving fish to
grow to monster size?
804
00:52:12,560 --> 00:52:15,960
To find out, the team
scanned the bones.
805
00:52:16,040 --> 00:52:18,440
A CT scanner allowed
scientists to record the
806
00:52:18,520 --> 00:52:22,440
fossils in 3D and
see inside them.
807
00:52:23,800 --> 00:52:26,440
Suddenly the skull from
another Spinosaurus started
808
00:52:26,520 --> 00:52:29,440
to reveal new secrets.
809
00:52:29,520 --> 00:52:32,520
NIZAR: This is the tip of
the snout of Spinosaurus.
810
00:52:32,600 --> 00:52:34,840
So, when you look at the
outside of the snout,
811
00:52:34,920 --> 00:52:39,200
you have all these openings
and it's really unusual.
812
00:52:40,680 --> 00:52:44,360
NARRATOR: The CT scan revealed
that, inside the skull,
813
00:52:44,440 --> 00:52:49,120
a complex network of
tubes runs from the
holes to the brain.
814
00:52:50,920 --> 00:52:53,560
NIZAR: it's really a
network of openings,
815
00:52:53,640 --> 00:52:56,520
and so clearly there's
something happening there.
816
00:52:56,600 --> 00:52:59,720
There's probably some
kind of sensory function.
817
00:53:00,240 --> 00:53:02,480
NARRATOR: It reminded Nizar
of some of today's deadliest
818
00:53:02,560 --> 00:53:08,240
predators, crocodilians.
819
00:53:15,240 --> 00:53:19,400
Crocs and alligators have
similar holes on their snouts.
820
00:53:19,480 --> 00:53:23,520
They're called foramina,
and, for many years,
821
00:53:23,600 --> 00:53:26,560
they too mystified experts.
822
00:53:28,480 --> 00:53:31,800
Neurobiologist, Daphne Soares,
made it her mission to find
823
00:53:31,880 --> 00:53:34,480
out what they were for.
824
00:53:35,400 --> 00:53:38,200
DAPHNE: Wow! As you can see,
these animals are really well
825
00:53:38,280 --> 00:53:41,520
adapted to living in the water.
826
00:53:44,880 --> 00:53:48,760
NARRATOR: Daphne devised
an unusual experiment.
827
00:53:48,840 --> 00:53:51,560
She put young
alligators into a tank,
828
00:53:51,640 --> 00:53:54,360
blocked up the foramina
on their snouts and then
829
00:53:54,440 --> 00:53:56,200
turned out the lights.
830
00:53:56,280 --> 00:53:58,320
DAPHNE: I have the animals
in complete darkness so they
831
00:53:58,400 --> 00:54:03,040
can't see, and their ears are
covered so they can't hear.
832
00:54:03,120 --> 00:54:05,800
NARRATOR: Then, to mimic the
movement of small prey falling
833
00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:09,480
in the water, Daphne hit
upon using water droplets.
834
00:54:11,320 --> 00:54:13,080
DAPHNE: And I'm using water
droplets because they don't
835
00:54:13,160 --> 00:54:15,640
smell like anything.
836
00:54:15,720 --> 00:54:18,280
NARRATOR: With all their
senses neutralized,
837
00:54:18,360 --> 00:54:21,840
the alligators
didn't react at all.
838
00:54:21,920 --> 00:54:24,080
Then Daphne unblocked
just the snout holes
839
00:54:24,160 --> 00:54:29,160
and repeated the drip test.
840
00:54:29,240 --> 00:54:31,600
Daphne's experiment revealed
that the openings in the
841
00:54:31,680 --> 00:54:35,120
‘gator's snout hid pressure
sensors that can pick up the
842
00:54:35,200 --> 00:54:38,920
tiniest motions in water.
843
00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:43,280
This super sense gives crocs
an astonishing reaction speed
844
00:54:43,360 --> 00:54:46,360
of five-hundredths of a second,
845
00:54:46,440 --> 00:54:49,880
as fast as a
Lamborghini gear shift.
846
00:54:50,880 --> 00:54:53,880
The holes in Spinosaurus's
skull likely hid similar
847
00:54:53,960 --> 00:54:56,280
pressure sensors.
848
00:54:56,360 --> 00:54:59,040
PAUL: This is the super sense
that allowed Spinosaurus to
849
00:54:59,120 --> 00:55:02,400
become the ultimate predator.
850
00:55:03,640 --> 00:55:05,760
NIZAR: You can just imagine
Spinosaurus plunging its huge
851
00:55:05,840 --> 00:55:08,920
jaws in the water and
detecting movement and
852
00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:12,040
then catching prey.
853
00:55:15,200 --> 00:55:17,720
NARRATOR: This super sense,
and the ability to hunt in
854
00:55:17,800 --> 00:55:21,520
water as well on land made
Spinosaurus the biggest
855
00:55:21,600 --> 00:55:25,160
predator to ever
walk the Earth.
856
00:55:25,880 --> 00:55:29,760
But coming up the next giant
beast is the biggest apex
857
00:55:29,840 --> 00:55:31,720
predator of all time.
858
00:55:40,480 --> 00:55:44,880
NARRATOR: Stalking the
oceans from 16 million to
three million years ago,
859
00:55:44,960 --> 00:55:49,240
the biggest apex
predator ever: megalodon.
860
00:55:49,760 --> 00:55:51,800
The name simply
means big tooth,
861
00:55:51,880 --> 00:55:55,960
and it seems to have been the
most voracious shark ever.
862
00:55:56,480 --> 00:55:58,520
STEPHEN: There was nothing
that was safe from megalodon.
863
00:55:58,600 --> 00:56:01,520
If it could catch
it, it could kill it.
864
00:56:01,960 --> 00:56:06,000
NARRATOR: Much about this
giant remains mysterious,
865
00:56:07,440 --> 00:56:11,440
but new clues are coming
to light in Panama,
866
00:56:11,520 --> 00:56:16,520
Central America in, of all
places, a cement quarry.
867
00:56:21,120 --> 00:56:24,480
Here, giant excavators are
digging through the bed of
868
00:56:24,560 --> 00:56:27,240
an ancient coastline.
869
00:56:28,080 --> 00:56:29,200
CATALINA: Ten
million years ago,
870
00:56:29,280 --> 00:56:31,600
this area was
covered by water.
871
00:56:31,680 --> 00:56:34,920
We know that because of the
kinds of fossils we find here.
872
00:56:35,400 --> 00:56:37,960
For example, we find plenty
of these shells that are
873
00:56:38,040 --> 00:56:40,840
typical from shallow
watered areas.
874
00:56:41,760 --> 00:56:43,960
NARRATOR: But, as well as
shells, paleobiologist,
875
00:56:44,040 --> 00:56:48,360
Catalina Pimiento, is also
finding megalodon teeth,
876
00:56:48,440 --> 00:56:51,920
and there's something
strange about them.
877
00:56:53,400 --> 00:56:55,360
CATALINA: The teeth that we
find here from megalodon are
878
00:56:55,440 --> 00:56:57,960
very small, relative to
a typical megalodon teeth
879
00:56:58,040 --> 00:56:59,760
that we find in other places.
880
00:56:59,840 --> 00:57:02,240
I know these are megalodon
teeth because they are a
particular shape.
881
00:57:02,320 --> 00:57:05,520
They are triangular and
quite symmetrical but,
882
00:57:05,600 --> 00:57:09,200
most importantly,
because of the serrations
they have on their edges.
883
00:57:10,960 --> 00:57:13,520
NARRATOR: There's only
one logical conclusion.
884
00:57:13,600 --> 00:57:17,440
CATALINA: The reason
is that most of them
were babies or juveniles.
885
00:57:18,160 --> 00:57:20,960
NARRATOR: Catalina has made
an astonishing discovery,
886
00:57:21,040 --> 00:57:25,040
the first ever evidence for
a megalodon breeding ground.
887
00:57:25,120 --> 00:57:29,960
CATALINA: This area
right here is the first
nursery area for megalodon.
888
00:57:30,880 --> 00:57:33,200
NARRATOR: But even amongst
these infant specimens,
889
00:57:33,280 --> 00:57:36,800
megalodons extraordinary
size was striking.
890
00:57:37,800 --> 00:57:41,320
The baby's teeth were
as big as those of
today's deadly giants,
891
00:57:41,400 --> 00:57:44,360
the adult great white.
892
00:57:46,400 --> 00:57:48,080
CATALINA: This is
megalodon baby tooth,
893
00:57:48,160 --> 00:57:49,960
and this is an adult
great white shark.
894
00:57:50,040 --> 00:57:52,520
You can see here that the
baby megalodon was as big
895
00:57:52,600 --> 00:57:55,440
as an adult great white.
896
00:57:55,520 --> 00:57:59,320
So imagine when they born,
megalodon babies were huge.
897
00:58:00,480 --> 00:58:02,520
NARRATOR: The fact that
Catalina had to make her
898
00:58:02,600 --> 00:58:06,560
deductions using teeth
alone isn't unusual.
899
00:58:06,640 --> 00:58:10,000
In fact, almost everything
that experts know about
900
00:58:10,080 --> 00:58:14,000
megalodon comes from
looking at its teeth.
901
00:58:16,480 --> 00:58:18,080
STEPHEN (off-screen): We don't
find the skeletons of megalodon
902
00:58:18,160 --> 00:58:20,120
because, just like
living sharks,
903
00:58:20,200 --> 00:58:22,480
they're made of cartilage
and after the shark dies the
904
00:58:22,560 --> 00:58:24,080
cartilage disintegrates.
905
00:58:24,160 --> 00:58:27,200
But we do find their teeth,
and we can use these teeth to
906
00:58:27,280 --> 00:58:29,520
recreate what the jaws
would have looked like when
907
00:58:29,600 --> 00:58:32,200
megalodon was alive.
908
00:58:32,280 --> 00:58:36,320
NARRATOR: What they
tell us is that the adult
megalodon was a Goliath.
909
00:58:38,440 --> 00:58:42,360
Its jaws alone were
up to seven feet high,
910
00:58:42,440 --> 00:58:45,520
easily tall enough
to swallow a person.
911
00:58:46,640 --> 00:58:49,400
Weighing in at a
whopping 100 tons,
912
00:58:49,480 --> 00:58:54,000
it was 100 times heavier
than an average Great White.
913
00:58:55,960 --> 00:58:57,560
And, at 60 feet long,
914
00:58:57,640 --> 00:59:01,280
it was the length of
an articulated truck.
915
00:59:03,880 --> 00:59:06,600
And that jaw,
916
00:59:06,680 --> 00:59:10,800
up to 250 teeth lined the
mouth in several rows,
917
00:59:10,880 --> 00:59:14,240
with edges serrate
like a steak knife.
918
00:59:14,720 --> 00:59:16,640
STEPHEN (off-screen):
I mean these teeth
are just so powerful.
919
00:59:16,720 --> 00:59:21,920
The massive jaw muscles
that this animal had to
close these jaws,
920
00:59:22,000 --> 00:59:24,960
it would just dismember
any animal that was alive
921
00:59:25,040 --> 00:59:27,400
on earth at that time.
922
00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:29,360
NARRATOR: And Stephen has
evidence of just what these
923
00:59:29,440 --> 00:59:32,440
jaws could do to prey.
924
00:59:35,680 --> 00:59:38,760
STEPHEN: We know from the size
and shape of this bone that it
925
00:59:38,840 --> 00:59:41,000
is a dolphin tail vertebra.
926
00:59:41,080 --> 00:59:43,360
It's right down
near the fluke.
927
00:59:43,440 --> 00:59:46,520
There are these deep
gouges on either side.
928
00:59:46,600 --> 00:59:50,320
The only way that this fossil
could have these deep gouges
929
00:59:50,400 --> 00:59:55,120
was that it was bitten
forcefully by a megalodon.
930
00:59:55,200 --> 00:59:58,200
So if we look at
a megalodon tooth,
931
00:59:58,280 --> 01:00:03,520
so the upper jaw slams shut,
forcing the vertebra down into
932
01:00:03,600 --> 01:00:06,120
the wedge between
two adjacent teeth,
933
01:00:06,200 --> 01:00:09,400
deeply gouging the bone with
such force that it probably
934
01:00:09,480 --> 01:00:12,720
severed the tail off.
935
01:00:12,800 --> 01:00:17,120
NARRATOR: Everything
points to an astonishingly
powerful bite,
936
01:00:17,200 --> 01:00:19,960
and one man who has set
out to calculate exactly
937
01:00:20,040 --> 01:00:24,720
how strong that bite is, is
shark biomechanics expert,
938
01:00:24,800 --> 01:00:27,360
Dan Huber.
939
01:00:27,440 --> 01:00:32,560
Dan starts with a CT
scan of the skull of
a modern Great White.
940
01:00:33,320 --> 01:00:35,240
HUBER: After the white
shark's head is CT scanned
941
01:00:35,320 --> 01:00:37,480
we can create a
computer model of it.
942
01:00:37,560 --> 01:00:39,480
We can see the lower
and the upper jaws here,
943
01:00:39,560 --> 01:00:42,680
and then we can apply virtual
muscles to those virtual jaws
944
01:00:42,760 --> 01:00:46,360
and run simulations to figure
out how hard it can bite.
945
01:00:46,960 --> 01:00:51,160
NARRATOR: Next, Dan scales
up to megalodon size.
946
01:00:52,360 --> 01:00:54,040
HUBER: And if we apply these
numbers to what we think is
947
01:00:54,120 --> 01:00:56,360
the biggest megalodon
that's ever existed,
948
01:00:56,440 --> 01:00:59,600
its posterior bite force
was about 41,000 pounds,
949
01:00:59,680 --> 01:01:03,280
or about 18,500 kilograms.
950
01:01:03,920 --> 01:01:05,800
NARRATOR: That's like the
weight of a garbage truck
951
01:01:05,880 --> 01:01:08,840
pressing down on
the back teeth.
952
01:01:09,880 --> 01:01:14,640
So what does a bite force of
this size look like in action?
953
01:01:17,800 --> 01:01:21,360
To find out, Dan is
going on a mission.
954
01:01:22,640 --> 01:01:26,800
He's joining up with
the Tampa Fire Brigade,
955
01:01:28,680 --> 01:01:34,200
and a piece of kit they
use for cutting victims
out of crashed cars.
956
01:01:35,920 --> 01:01:39,200
The jaws of life.
957
01:01:40,000 --> 01:01:43,160
DENNIS: It's lightweight,
it's really easily deployable.
958
01:01:43,240 --> 01:01:44,600
HUBER: So is this thing going
to be able to generate
959
01:01:44,680 --> 01:01:47,680
41,000 pounds of bite
force, the corner of it?
960
01:01:48,160 --> 01:01:49,200
DENNIS: Absolutely, Dan.
961
01:01:49,280 --> 01:01:50,600
That's exactly where
it's going to cut.
962
01:01:50,680 --> 01:01:52,800
So this shouldn't have any
trouble at all when we need
963
01:01:52,880 --> 01:01:54,280
to cut open cars.
964
01:01:54,360 --> 01:01:55,680
HUBER: So that's actually
pretty similar to what we're
965
01:01:55,760 --> 01:01:57,640
looking at with this
ancient shark, megalodon.
966
01:01:57,720 --> 01:01:58,920
Alright, let's see
what this thing can do.
967
01:01:59,000 --> 01:02:02,360
DENNIS: Alright, let's do it.
968
01:02:03,080 --> 01:02:07,840
NARRATOR: First, Dan tries
out the jaws on a cow bone.
969
01:02:08,560 --> 01:02:12,080
Something similar to what
megalodon got to chew on.
970
01:02:12,160 --> 01:02:14,920
DENNIS: Just go head.
971
01:02:19,000 --> 01:02:22,720
HUBER: See, it split the thing
in half, no problem at all.
972
01:02:26,440 --> 01:02:31,360
NARRATOR: Next up is the car.
973
01:02:35,120 --> 01:02:38,040
The jaws of life can deliver
the same kind of bite force
974
01:02:38,120 --> 01:02:42,200
as megalodon only
far more slowly.
975
01:02:42,960 --> 01:02:45,320
Megalodon was capable of
biting through the car
976
01:02:45,400 --> 01:02:49,360
in a split second.
977
01:02:49,920 --> 01:02:52,800
HUBER: From this, we know
that megalodon can tear
through ancient whales,
978
01:02:52,880 --> 01:02:55,000
we know that it could tear
through ancient sea turtles
979
01:02:55,080 --> 01:02:58,480
and apparently it could
even tear through this car.
980
01:02:59,240 --> 01:03:01,640
Megalodon was the biggest
predator that's ever existed,
981
01:03:01,720 --> 01:03:03,960
and its bite force was the
highest bite force that's ever
982
01:03:04,040 --> 01:03:07,400
happened in any animal in
the history of the planet.
983
01:03:10,400 --> 01:03:14,600
NARRATOR: Megalodon tops
all other apex predators.
984
01:03:15,880 --> 01:03:20,000
It was nearly one and a half
times the length of titanoboa.
985
01:03:22,320 --> 01:03:26,080
It was more than twice
the mass of pliosaurus,
986
01:03:27,200 --> 01:03:30,800
and it would have
dwarfed Spinosaurus.
987
01:03:31,680 --> 01:03:35,760
But though this giant
shark was the biggest
apex predator ever,
988
01:03:35,840 --> 01:03:39,280
it shared the ocean with
something much, much bigger.
989
01:03:49,320 --> 01:03:52,280
NARRATOR: They are the largest
living creatures on earth,
990
01:03:52,360 --> 01:03:54,720
and the heaviest in history.
991
01:03:56,040 --> 01:03:58,280
Propelled by vast tails,
992
01:03:58,360 --> 01:04:02,440
they spend much of their
time in the deep oceans.
993
01:04:06,040 --> 01:04:08,560
But every year
come summertime,
994
01:04:08,640 --> 01:04:13,120
blue whales appear in the
waters just off Los Angeles.
995
01:04:17,440 --> 01:04:20,320
For ecologist,
Ari Friedlaender,
996
01:04:20,400 --> 01:04:23,800
it's an unmissable
opportunity to study them.
997
01:04:24,200 --> 01:04:27,040
ARI: You get close up
to them and you start
to see how big they are.
998
01:04:27,120 --> 01:04:30,200
You start remembering
what it feels like to be
this tiny little person
999
01:04:30,280 --> 01:04:33,640
in a pretty small boat next
to this enormous whale.
1000
01:04:35,320 --> 01:04:37,080
It's kind of
daunting, you know?
1001
01:04:37,160 --> 01:04:38,520
They're, they're huge.
1002
01:04:40,240 --> 01:04:44,560
NARRATOR: The numbers
are awe-inspiring.
1003
01:04:44,640 --> 01:04:47,160
The whales are so big
compared to a person that
1004
01:04:47,240 --> 01:04:51,160
90 of us could fit
on its tail alone.
1005
01:04:51,960 --> 01:04:53,800
Its 200 ton bulk
1006
01:04:53,880 --> 01:04:59,040
makes it 30 times heavier
than an African elephant and,
1007
01:04:59,120 --> 01:05:03,520
at 100 feet, it's the
same length as a Boeing 737.
1008
01:05:05,880 --> 01:05:09,840
So how does a
mammal get so big?
1009
01:05:14,480 --> 01:05:16,920
It's only when a whale washes
up dead on the beach that
1010
01:05:17,000 --> 01:05:21,440
scientists get a chance to
really study their anatomy.
1011
01:05:22,400 --> 01:05:24,280
DON (off-screen): Now we're in
the rib cage of the whale,
1012
01:05:24,360 --> 01:05:27,880
and either side of the rib
cage would be the lungs.
1013
01:05:27,960 --> 01:05:32,880
You've got the heart,
you've got the stomach.
1014
01:05:32,960 --> 01:05:36,920
NARRATOR: A heart the size of
a car connects to a million
miles of blood vessels,
1015
01:05:37,000 --> 01:05:40,600
enough to reach to the
Moon and back twice.
1016
01:05:41,800 --> 01:05:46,160
But there's one feature that's
supersized beyond all others:
1017
01:05:46,240 --> 01:05:49,160
the mouth.
1018
01:05:49,840 --> 01:05:52,320
Rather than hunting
one big animal,
1019
01:05:52,400 --> 01:05:54,480
blue whales use their
enormous mouths to catch
1020
01:05:54,560 --> 01:05:57,960
entire shoals in one go.
1021
01:05:58,280 --> 01:06:03,040
They feed on tiny shrimp-like
crustaceans called krill.
1022
01:06:03,600 --> 01:06:05,800
DON: Many people think that
it's amazing that the largest
1023
01:06:05,880 --> 01:06:08,440
animal that's ever existed
feed on such a tiny animal,
1024
01:06:08,520 --> 01:06:10,800
but no blue whales are
going, oh, there's a krill,
1025
01:06:10,880 --> 01:06:12,480
I think I'll take that one.
1026
01:06:12,560 --> 01:06:14,160
What they're doing is
they're trying to find huge,
1027
01:06:14,240 --> 01:06:16,760
dense swarms of krill and a
prey item for a blue whale is
1028
01:06:16,840 --> 01:06:20,000
not one of these guys, it's
thousands and thousands and
1029
01:06:20,080 --> 01:06:22,600
tens of thousands
of these guys.
1030
01:06:23,600 --> 01:06:25,720
NARRATOR: Though the whales
is so gullet is small it would
1031
01:06:25,800 --> 01:06:28,320
choke on a loaf of bread,
1032
01:06:28,400 --> 01:06:34,080
its mouth can take in 220
tons of water in one go.
1033
01:06:36,800 --> 01:06:39,040
For anything
roughly comparable,
1034
01:06:39,120 --> 01:06:44,440
you'd have to look at
something like this, the DC10.
1035
01:06:45,560 --> 01:06:48,480
A specially modified
fire-fighting airliner,
1036
01:06:48,560 --> 01:06:52,640
it swapped passenger seats
for a massive water tank.
1037
01:06:55,120 --> 01:06:59,920
RICK: This is the biggest
tanker flying in the world.
1038
01:07:00,600 --> 01:07:04,880
It carries 12,000 gallons
or 44,000 liters of liquid,
1039
01:07:04,960 --> 01:07:09,880
which is roughly four
to ten times the size
of any other airplane.
1040
01:07:11,400 --> 01:07:13,600
NARRATOR: Used to
fight forest fires,
1041
01:07:13,680 --> 01:07:16,320
the DC10 releases enough
water to cover the length
1042
01:07:16,400 --> 01:07:21,080
of ten football pitches
in a single drop.
1043
01:07:28,680 --> 01:07:31,920
But a blue whale picks up
four times this much water
1044
01:07:32,000 --> 01:07:34,760
in a single mouthful.
1045
01:07:34,840 --> 01:07:36,560
RICK: We're very
proud of this machine,
1046
01:07:36,640 --> 01:07:39,280
but if the whale could
fly, we'd hire the whale,
1047
01:07:39,360 --> 01:07:42,480
'cause it's four times bigger!
1048
01:07:42,560 --> 01:07:44,800
NARRATOR: The whale more than
doubles its weight with each
1049
01:07:44,880 --> 01:07:49,680
mouthful and what follows is
one of the weirdest operations
1050
01:07:49,760 --> 01:07:53,080
in the natural world.
1051
01:07:53,160 --> 01:07:55,760
When the whale opens
its mouth to feed
1052
01:07:55,840 --> 01:07:58,800
the water pushes its elephant
sized tongue all the way back
1053
01:07:58,880 --> 01:08:02,520
to its belly button.
1054
01:08:02,600 --> 01:08:05,200
The tongue is super
stretchy and expands out,
1055
01:08:05,280 --> 01:08:09,920
lining the mouth and
creating a huge sac
full of water and krill.
1056
01:08:10,880 --> 01:08:12,640
Then, mouth closed,
1057
01:08:12,720 --> 01:08:16,600
the whale rams the tongue
forward like a piston.
1058
01:08:16,680 --> 01:08:19,480
It forces the water out
through sieve-like grilles
1059
01:08:19,560 --> 01:08:23,760
called baleens until only
the krill is left inside.
1060
01:08:27,280 --> 01:08:31,720
The energy required to perform
this maneuver is colossal.
1061
01:08:31,800 --> 01:08:36,560
In fact, in a single day,
blue whales burn up to
three million calories,
1062
01:08:36,640 --> 01:08:40,720
the equivalent of
10,000 hamburgers.
1063
01:08:41,320 --> 01:08:43,880
How does a creature burning
this much energy find enough
1064
01:08:43,960 --> 01:08:46,680
food to become a giant?
1065
01:08:46,760 --> 01:08:50,320
The answer must lie
in how they hunt.
1066
01:08:51,440 --> 01:08:54,360
But, as whales hunt krill
hundreds of meters underwater,
1067
01:08:54,440 --> 01:08:58,640
witnessing this
behavior has been almost
impossible until now.
1068
01:09:05,440 --> 01:09:08,920
Ari Friedlaender is using a
tag that enables him to spy on
1069
01:09:09,000 --> 01:09:12,920
whales even when they're
deep below the surface.
1070
01:09:14,920 --> 01:09:17,760
It contains a camera and
motion detectors like the ones
1071
01:09:17,840 --> 01:09:21,080
found in a smart phone.
1072
01:09:21,160 --> 01:09:24,920
All he needs to do now is
attach it to a 200 ton whale.
1073
01:09:26,920 --> 01:09:30,360
ARI (off-screen):
You always are a little
nervous approaching them.
1074
01:09:30,440 --> 01:09:31,840
They're wild animals,
1075
01:09:31,920 --> 01:09:34,880
so you never know how
they're going to react.
1076
01:09:34,960 --> 01:09:37,680
NARRATOR: Ari gets
into position.
1077
01:09:40,480 --> 01:09:43,760
Tag in place, the whale
disappears into the depths
1078
01:09:43,840 --> 01:09:47,920
and Ari returns to base to
track it on his computer.
1079
01:09:50,520 --> 01:09:53,160
As he plots the
whale's position in 3D,
1080
01:09:53,240 --> 01:09:56,400
he spots something
extraordinary.
1081
01:09:57,600 --> 01:09:59,080
ARI: incredibly exciting.
1082
01:09:59,160 --> 01:10:01,160
Up until now, we basically
thought they just went through
1083
01:10:01,240 --> 01:10:04,080
the water, taking these
munches, and lunging,
1084
01:10:04,160 --> 01:10:06,400
sort of in a straight line,
but we noticed the animal's
1085
01:10:06,480 --> 01:10:10,200
diving down to depth and then
is doing these 360 degree
1086
01:10:10,280 --> 01:10:12,840
rolls, and this kind of
acrobatic maneuvering is
1087
01:10:12,920 --> 01:10:16,560
something we had no idea an
animal this big could do.
1088
01:10:17,280 --> 01:10:19,880
NARRATOR: Images from the
camera reveal the whale rolls
1089
01:10:19,960 --> 01:10:24,080
just before it opens
its mouth to feed.
1090
01:10:24,520 --> 01:10:27,840
ARI (off-screen): This is
the mechanism that allows
whales to get so big.
1091
01:10:27,920 --> 01:10:30,560
If you're a whale, your eyes
are on the side of your head.
1092
01:10:30,640 --> 01:10:33,000
They don't have this
binocular vision like we have,
1093
01:10:33,080 --> 01:10:35,200
where you can see
directly forward.
1094
01:10:35,280 --> 01:10:38,720
So, in order for that animal
to see its prey in front it,
1095
01:10:38,800 --> 01:10:41,520
it kind of needs to roll
its body to maximize the
1096
01:10:41,600 --> 01:10:43,880
amount of food you get
and you limit the amount of
1097
01:10:43,960 --> 01:10:47,640
energy it takes to do it.
1098
01:10:47,720 --> 01:10:50,000
NARRATOR: Far from just
hoovering up krill like a
1099
01:10:50,080 --> 01:10:52,320
200 ton deep sea juggernaut,
1100
01:10:52,400 --> 01:10:56,920
it turns out the blue whale
is the ocean's biggest acrobat.
1101
01:11:01,000 --> 01:11:04,920
So far on Top Ten Biggest
Beasts Ever, we've met,
1102
01:11:05,000 --> 01:11:08,280
the hawk-sized griffinfly,
1103
01:11:10,400 --> 01:11:13,600
a bird the size of
a fighter plane,
1104
01:11:15,400 --> 01:11:18,320
a mammal
as big as a tank,
1105
01:11:19,960 --> 01:11:23,400
a pterosaur the
size of a Lear jet,
1106
01:11:24,400 --> 01:11:28,040
a snake the length
of a school bus,
1107
01:11:28,960 --> 01:11:32,680
an ocean killer
nearly 50 feet long,
1108
01:11:34,120 --> 01:11:37,440
a dinosaur that dwarfs T-Rex,
1109
01:11:38,720 --> 01:11:42,800
a shark 100 times heavier
than a Great White,
1110
01:11:45,560 --> 01:11:50,160
and the largest creature
ever to swim Earth's oceans.
1111
01:11:51,600 --> 01:11:56,400
The blue whale is very
nearly the largest beast
that's ever lived,
1112
01:11:57,360 --> 01:12:01,320
but there's one beast
that's even longer and it
1113
01:12:01,400 --> 01:12:05,440
takes the title of
biggest beast ever.
1114
01:12:18,120 --> 01:12:20,640
NARRATOR: March, 2015.
1115
01:12:20,720 --> 01:12:24,840
In southern Argentina in the
remote province of Patagonia,
1116
01:12:24,920 --> 01:12:28,080
a team of paleontologists
is on standby.
1117
01:12:31,840 --> 01:12:34,800
(truck horn).
1118
01:12:38,920 --> 01:12:43,360
Lucio Ibiricu has been waiting
for this moment for months.
1119
01:12:44,120 --> 01:12:50,280
(speaking Spanish).
1120
01:12:51,960 --> 01:12:55,880
NARRATOR: Inside this truck
are some of the biggest
bones on the planet.
1121
01:12:55,960 --> 01:12:58,480
LUCIO: It's really
good, I'm really happy.
1122
01:12:58,560 --> 01:13:01,800
Everything here now.
1123
01:13:02,360 --> 01:13:05,080
NARRATOR: And after five
years in the United States
1124
01:13:05,160 --> 01:13:09,400
undergoing scientific
analysis, they're coming home.
1125
01:13:10,880 --> 01:13:15,080
More than 50 crates hold the
bones of just one dinosaur.
1126
01:13:15,160 --> 01:13:18,280
Each bone is enormous.
1127
01:13:18,360 --> 01:13:21,520
Yet, as big as they are, these
bones are just a clue to a
1128
01:13:21,600 --> 01:13:24,800
creature that was even larger,
1129
01:13:24,880 --> 01:13:28,640
the biggest beast ever
to walk the Earth.
1130
01:13:30,240 --> 01:13:33,920
The journey to this
moment began in 2005.
1131
01:13:34,760 --> 01:13:38,360
Lucio was part of a team of
paleontologists prospecting
1132
01:13:38,440 --> 01:13:41,480
for dinosaur bones.
1133
01:13:42,320 --> 01:13:46,240
They were in a remote
area of Patagonia known
as the Bad Lands.
1134
01:13:47,000 --> 01:13:49,240
LUCIO: 75 million years ago
1135
01:13:49,320 --> 01:13:51,560
this area was
completely different.
1136
01:13:52,480 --> 01:13:53,400
Warmer,
1137
01:13:53,480 --> 01:13:54,400
more green,
1138
01:13:55,320 --> 01:13:56,720
humid,
1139
01:13:56,800 --> 01:13:58,520
a lot of vegetation,
1140
01:13:58,600 --> 01:14:00,120
and several rivers.
1141
01:14:01,720 --> 01:14:04,040
NARRATOR: The ancient rocks
reveal the area was once a
1142
01:14:04,120 --> 01:14:06,880
perfect habitat for dinosaurs.
1143
01:14:06,960 --> 01:14:11,080
But today the lush
forests have given
way to harsh desert.
1144
01:14:15,440 --> 01:14:18,640
As the team surveyed the land,
one of them came upon a small
1145
01:14:18,720 --> 01:14:21,040
piece of exposed bone.
1146
01:14:23,800 --> 01:14:26,040
LUCIO: The first
thing that we see was
1147
01:14:26,120 --> 01:14:27,600
the middle part of the femur.
1148
01:14:27,680 --> 01:14:29,000
So we started to dig,
1149
01:14:29,080 --> 01:14:31,800
and continued digging,
1150
01:14:31,880 --> 01:14:33,560
and we never finished with that.
1151
01:14:33,640 --> 01:14:36,560
So we say, 'ok this is
the femur but it's huge'.
1152
01:14:39,080 --> 01:14:40,920
KENNETH: You sit there and you
look at this object and you
1153
01:14:41,000 --> 01:14:44,640
realize that you're the first
person to ever see this thing,
1154
01:14:44,720 --> 01:14:48,320
you're the first person in
history to know about this.
1155
01:14:52,160 --> 01:14:54,920
NARRATOR: They had found
a giant thigh bone,
1156
01:14:55,000 --> 01:14:57,520
over six feet long.
1157
01:14:58,160 --> 01:15:00,320
LUCIO: So, this is the femur.
1158
01:15:01,080 --> 01:15:03,240
This is a leg bone.
1159
01:15:03,680 --> 01:15:06,320
It's bigger than me -
and it's just one bone.
1160
01:15:06,400 --> 01:15:07,280
This is amazing.
1161
01:15:10,440 --> 01:15:11,840
NARRATOR: It's
hard to imagine,
1162
01:15:11,920 --> 01:15:14,000
but bones of a beast bigger
than this have occasionally
1163
01:15:14,080 --> 01:15:17,760
been discovered but what was
remarkable about this find was
1164
01:15:17,840 --> 01:15:21,560
just how complete
the skeleton was.
1165
01:15:22,120 --> 01:15:26,120
It took several expeditions
to uncover it all.
1166
01:15:27,720 --> 01:15:32,800
KENNETH: At the end of
three seasons of excavating
there we had 145 bones.
1167
01:15:33,800 --> 01:15:36,280
NARRATOR: And the state
of them was surprising.
1168
01:15:37,600 --> 01:15:40,440
LUCIO: The preservation of
the dinosaur was very good.
1169
01:15:40,520 --> 01:15:43,480
A lot of the bones that we
found are in the same position
1170
01:15:43,560 --> 01:15:45,560
as when the dinosaur died.
1171
01:15:49,240 --> 01:15:52,600
NARRATOR: The team were
now in possession of
what was, effectively,
1172
01:15:52,680 --> 01:15:57,840
a time capsule, one
that could revolutionize
our understanding
1173
01:15:57,920 --> 01:16:01,520
of the biggest beasts
to ever roam the Earth.
1174
01:16:06,120 --> 01:16:10,440
Ken took the bones back to
his lab in Philadelphia.
1175
01:16:10,520 --> 01:16:15,000
Here, careful cleaning,
3D scanning and forensic
1176
01:16:15,080 --> 01:16:19,000
examination all started to
reveal how these extraordinary
1177
01:16:19,080 --> 01:16:22,960
beasts looked and lived.
1178
01:16:24,960 --> 01:16:30,280
The beast's sheer size was
apparent at every turn.
1179
01:16:30,720 --> 01:16:32,720
KENNETH (off-screen): The scale
just staggers the imagination.
1180
01:16:32,800 --> 01:16:37,240
This animal was 85 feet
long from head to tail.
1181
01:16:37,320 --> 01:16:40,160
It was two and a half
stories tall at the shoulder.
1182
01:16:40,240 --> 01:16:44,400
NARRATOR: This was a new
species of titanosaur,
1183
01:16:44,480 --> 01:16:49,120
a plant-eating dinosaur
of almost unimaginable
proportions.
1184
01:16:51,000 --> 01:16:54,160
Ken named his titanosaur
Dreadnoughtus,
1185
01:16:54,240 --> 01:16:57,200
meaning ‘fears nothing'.
1186
01:16:57,720 --> 01:16:59,160
KENNETH (off-screen):
Dreadnoughtus isn't going
to have anything to
1187
01:16:59,240 --> 01:17:00,840
worry about in
terms of predation.
1188
01:17:00,920 --> 01:17:05,240
These are big, nasty, capable,
vigorous creatures that
1189
01:17:05,320 --> 01:17:08,720
deserve a lot of respect.
1190
01:17:09,240 --> 01:17:11,000
NARRATOR: Dreadnoughtus
was clearly a mine of
1191
01:17:11,080 --> 01:17:13,920
information for the scientists.
1192
01:17:14,920 --> 01:17:17,560
But it held one surprise
which relates directly to
1193
01:17:17,640 --> 01:17:20,960
the size of the very
biggest titanosaurs.
1194
01:17:22,160 --> 01:17:25,600
Cutting into the bones,
Ken started to find
evidence of how old
1195
01:17:25,680 --> 01:17:29,120
this Dreadnoughtus
was when it died.
1196
01:17:29,200 --> 01:17:33,200
KENNETH: Can you see
here these big oval
bone cells, here?
1197
01:17:33,280 --> 01:17:37,240
That's indicative of bone
that's not growing any more.
1198
01:17:37,880 --> 01:17:42,200
And then, as we move towards
the outer edge of the bone,
1199
01:17:42,280 --> 01:17:47,040
you'll notice that that
texture changes and that is
1200
01:17:47,120 --> 01:17:50,720
indicative of
rapidly growing bone.
1201
01:17:50,800 --> 01:17:53,480
NARRATOR: And that could
mean only one thing,
1202
01:17:53,560 --> 01:17:57,880
Ken's Dreadnoughtus, though
vast, was not fully grown.
1203
01:17:59,160 --> 01:18:01,920
KENNETH: We know that it was
growing rapidly when it died.
1204
01:18:02,000 --> 01:18:05,120
So, 65 tons and not
yet done growing.
1205
01:18:05,200 --> 01:18:07,400
That means there are bigger
Dreadnoughtus out there;
1206
01:18:07,480 --> 01:18:10,280
we don't know how big this
dinosaur could have gotten.
1207
01:18:10,960 --> 01:18:13,240
NARRATOR: But then
comes another clue,
1208
01:18:13,320 --> 01:18:15,480
titanosaur wasn't
like our other giants,
1209
01:18:15,560 --> 01:18:17,560
Megalodon and Blue Whale,
1210
01:18:17,640 --> 01:18:21,080
it didn't start life
at monster size.
1211
01:18:23,120 --> 01:18:26,000
Paleontologist,
Gerald Grellet-Tinner,
1212
01:18:26,080 --> 01:18:28,360
has uncovered stunning
evidence that reveals the
1213
01:18:28,440 --> 01:18:31,240
last piece of the jigsaw.
1214
01:18:32,440 --> 01:18:35,720
He's investigating a site
in northern Argentina..
1215
01:18:37,440 --> 01:18:40,640
an area that was once a
harsh, volcanic landscape.
1216
01:18:47,920 --> 01:18:51,360
GERALD: So here we're sitting on
top of a geothermal formation.
1217
01:18:53,640 --> 01:18:55,320
NARRATOR: At the time
of the dinosaurs,
1218
01:18:55,400 --> 01:18:58,160
this area was a
geothermal hotspot,
1219
01:18:58,240 --> 01:19:01,560
with steaming vents
and hot water pools.
1220
01:19:07,720 --> 01:19:12,800
Gerald has found evidence
that titanosaurs came here
to lay their eggs.
1221
01:19:13,840 --> 01:19:15,360
GERALD: What we
have here is a clutch
1222
01:19:15,440 --> 01:19:18,480
of about 24, 25 Titanosaur eggs.
1223
01:19:18,560 --> 01:19:21,480
And this one here, it's
probably the biggest one
1224
01:19:21,560 --> 01:19:24,400
and I would say maybe more than
eight inches in diameter.
1225
01:19:27,360 --> 01:19:30,680
NARRATOR: Remarkably, as
big as titanosaurs were,
1226
01:19:30,760 --> 01:19:34,320
their eggs were about the
same size as ostrich eggs,
1227
01:19:34,400 --> 01:19:38,160
but some of them have
incredibly thick shells.
1228
01:19:41,480 --> 01:19:44,760
GERALD: As you can see,
this one, for instance,
it's very, very thick.
1229
01:19:46,200 --> 01:19:48,200
It's about 7mm
1230
01:19:48,280 --> 01:19:52,240
and this is virtually
impossible to break.
1231
01:19:52,320 --> 01:19:55,680
So a chick would not be
able to break that eggshell.
1232
01:19:56,720 --> 01:19:59,280
NARRATOR: Gerald thinks that
the shells began this thick to
1233
01:19:59,360 --> 01:20:03,200
shield the embryo inside from
the geothermal chemicals,
1234
01:20:03,280 --> 01:20:06,880
but then these chemicals
helped make it possible for
1235
01:20:06,960 --> 01:20:10,240
the baby titanosaur to hatch.
1236
01:20:10,880 --> 01:20:13,760
GERALD: The harsh chemical
is eroding the eggshell
1237
01:20:13,840 --> 01:20:15,720
from the outside to the inside,
1238
01:20:15,800 --> 01:20:20,600
thinning down the eggshell
to probably 1.2-1.3mm,
1239
01:20:20,680 --> 01:20:22,960
which is perfectly acceptable
1240
01:20:23,040 --> 01:20:24,360
for the chick to break.
1241
01:20:26,080 --> 01:20:28,480
NARRATOR: And, for
an incubating egg,
1242
01:20:28,560 --> 01:20:31,560
the choice of this site
offered a major plus,
1243
01:20:31,640 --> 01:20:34,680
it had constant heat.
1244
01:20:40,040 --> 01:20:44,000
But baby titanosaurs
had one big problem,
1245
01:20:44,080 --> 01:20:47,520
once hatched they were no
bigger than domestic cats,
1246
01:20:47,600 --> 01:20:50,960
not great in a world teeming
with hungry predators.
1247
01:20:54,280 --> 01:20:57,200
KENNETH: There was a
premium on growth when
you're on the menu,
1248
01:20:57,280 --> 01:20:59,360
and so they grow very
rapidly to get to the point
1249
01:20:59,440 --> 01:21:03,200
where they can be
impervious to predation.
1250
01:21:04,120 --> 01:21:06,480
NARRATOR: And going from the
size of a cat to having thigh
1251
01:21:06,560 --> 01:21:11,080
bones over six feet long means
one serious rate of growth.
1252
01:21:12,480 --> 01:21:15,600
KENNETH (off-screen):
Baby titanosaurs have an
early burst of growth and
1253
01:21:15,680 --> 01:21:17,520
that burst never stops.
1254
01:21:17,600 --> 01:21:20,880
They just keep growing as
fast as they possibly can.
1255
01:21:21,520 --> 01:21:25,160
NARRATOR: It should now
be possible to pull all
the clues together
1256
01:21:25,240 --> 01:21:28,960
and build a picture of what
these beasts looked like.
1257
01:21:30,640 --> 01:21:33,360
Starting with
scans of the bones,
1258
01:21:33,440 --> 01:21:37,720
Ken Lacovara works
on a 3D digital model
of Dreadnoughtus.
1259
01:21:38,720 --> 01:21:40,920
The completeness of the
skeleton means this model is
1260
01:21:41,000 --> 01:21:45,200
far more accurate than for
any previous titanosaur.
1261
01:21:46,080 --> 01:21:49,960
And this gives us an
amazing opportunity.
1262
01:21:50,480 --> 01:21:53,400
We can take the model and
scale it up to match the bones
1263
01:21:53,480 --> 01:21:58,080
of Argentinasaurus, the
largest titanosaur ever found.
1264
01:22:01,480 --> 01:22:03,480
Only a handful of
Argentinasaurus's bones
1265
01:22:03,560 --> 01:22:05,880
have ever been discovered,
1266
01:22:05,960 --> 01:22:08,560
so this may be our
best possible chance
1267
01:22:08,640 --> 01:22:12,400
to fill in the blanks
and see what the beast
might have looked like.
1268
01:22:13,720 --> 01:22:17,880
Just how big that is must
be seen to be believed.
1269
01:22:21,080 --> 01:22:24,040
LUCIO: So, one of the...
1270
01:22:24,120 --> 01:22:25,760
...of the best ways...
1271
01:22:25,840 --> 01:22:27,720
...to have an idea...
1272
01:22:27,800 --> 01:22:31,720
...how big this
dinosaur could grow
1273
01:22:31,800 --> 01:22:33,600
is to measure it.
1274
01:22:33,680 --> 01:22:36,560
So we are going to
start with the tail.
1275
01:22:39,960 --> 01:22:42,680
NARRATOR: Using
Dreadnoughtus's
skeleton as a guide,
1276
01:22:42,760 --> 01:22:46,880
Lucio maps out how
Argentinasaurus may have
stood on this ground.
1277
01:22:48,400 --> 01:22:52,640
Its tail alone would
be the length of
titanoboa at 45 feet.
1278
01:22:53,840 --> 01:22:55,360
LUCIO: So this is the tail.
1279
01:22:56,560 --> 01:22:59,440
NARRATOR: Adding its body
takes Lucio to 70 feet,
1280
01:22:59,520 --> 01:23:01,600
longer than megalodon.
1281
01:23:03,000 --> 01:23:05,000
LUCIO: So this is
the tail and the body
1282
01:23:05,080 --> 01:23:06,640
and now the neck.
1283
01:23:09,480 --> 01:23:12,160
NARRATOR: The neck and
head is another 60 feet,
1284
01:23:12,240 --> 01:23:15,480
giving a total
length of 130 feet.
1285
01:23:17,200 --> 01:23:21,120
That's bigger
than Blue Whale and
paraceratherium put together.
1286
01:23:23,200 --> 01:23:26,720
All the pieces in place,
it's time to reveal the
1287
01:23:26,800 --> 01:23:29,720
biggest beast ever
to walk the earth.
1288
01:23:33,240 --> 01:23:35,880
NARRATOR: Meet
Argentinasauraus,
1289
01:23:35,960 --> 01:23:37,920
the biggest beast ever.
1290
01:23:38,440 --> 01:23:41,080
LUCIO: From the tail to
the front of the head
1291
01:23:41,160 --> 01:23:43,840
should be about 130ft.
1292
01:24:08,280 --> 01:24:12,880
NARRATOR: Towering over
30 feet in the air without
even lifting its head,
1293
01:24:12,960 --> 01:24:15,840
and with a neck like
the arm of a crane,
1294
01:24:15,920 --> 01:24:20,480
the biggest known
titanosaurs would have
been a fearsome sight.
1295
01:24:26,000 --> 01:24:28,280
Standing over
three stories tall,
1296
01:24:28,360 --> 01:24:32,160
a six feet person wouldn't
even reach the knee of an
Argentinasaurus.
1297
01:24:33,840 --> 01:24:38,160
At 90 tons, it likely weighed
as much as 11 T-Rexes.
1298
01:24:39,440 --> 01:24:43,280
And 130 feet from
tail to mouth,
1299
01:24:43,360 --> 01:24:47,120
it was the length of the
space shuttle orbiter.
1300
01:24:51,440 --> 01:24:54,040
Titanosaurs were mega
versions of long necked,
1301
01:24:54,120 --> 01:24:57,680
long tailed psauropods
like diplodocus.
1302
01:24:59,880 --> 01:25:04,480
Just their stomachs
alone were likely the
mass of an elephant,
1303
01:25:04,560 --> 01:25:08,560
and just one foot was big
enough to crush 20 people.
1304
01:25:10,120 --> 01:25:13,920
So what was the secret
to their mega size?
1305
01:25:20,640 --> 01:25:24,320
Well, an answer appears
to lie with the one thing
1306
01:25:24,400 --> 01:25:28,480
about titanosaur that
isn't gargantuan.
1307
01:25:31,240 --> 01:25:34,440
Its head.
1308
01:25:37,160 --> 01:25:40,080
A titanosaur like
Dreadnoughtus only had a head
1309
01:25:40,160 --> 01:25:44,920
as big as that of a horse, and
that's because it didn't chew
1310
01:25:45,000 --> 01:25:48,880
its food, it just
grabbed and swallowed.
1311
01:25:51,320 --> 01:25:54,200
KENNETH: The skull is
basically a plant vacuum.
1312
01:25:54,280 --> 01:25:58,000
They don't have the
ability to chew.
1313
01:25:58,080 --> 01:26:00,640
NARRATOR: What that means
is that a titanosaur had the
1314
01:26:00,720 --> 01:26:05,240
capacity to consume over two
tons of vegetation every day.
1315
01:26:06,280 --> 01:26:09,800
That's enough salad
to feed 40,000 people.
1316
01:26:11,360 --> 01:26:13,280
KENNETH: Dreadnoughtus could
stand in one place with its
1317
01:26:13,360 --> 01:26:16,160
massive body and
not move that body,
1318
01:26:16,240 --> 01:26:19,680
and maybe spend an
hour taking in tens of
thousands of calories,
1319
01:26:19,760 --> 01:26:21,400
and then at the end of that,
1320
01:26:21,480 --> 01:26:24,480
take a few steps to the right
and spend another hour or so
1321
01:26:24,560 --> 01:26:27,440
clearing out another giant
envelope of vegetation.
1322
01:26:27,520 --> 01:26:29,840
So, by expending very
few calories itself,
1323
01:26:29,920 --> 01:26:32,840
it takes in massive
quantities of food.
1324
01:26:33,880 --> 01:26:37,120
NARRATOR: This basic strategy
made titanosaurs some of the
1325
01:26:37,200 --> 01:26:40,800
most efficient
eaters of all time,
1326
01:26:40,880 --> 01:26:44,240
and it allowed them
to reach monster size.
1327
01:26:45,480 --> 01:26:49,400
And yet, as big as they were,
experts are convinced that
1328
01:26:49,480 --> 01:26:52,600
somewhere out there,
hidden in the rocks,
1329
01:26:52,680 --> 01:26:56,880
are even bigger specimens
still to be uncovered.
1330
01:26:59,120 --> 01:27:03,760
The Top Ten Biggest Beasts
Ever are giant creatures
1331
01:27:03,840 --> 01:27:07,400
at the top of their
evolutionary trees,
1332
01:27:07,480 --> 01:27:10,400
beasts that hunt, kill,
1333
01:27:10,480 --> 01:27:15,360
walk, swim and fly at sizes
that dwarf all others.
1334
01:27:16,200 --> 01:27:19,240
Between them, they've
mystified scientists,
1335
01:27:19,320 --> 01:27:21,400
broken the record books
1336
01:27:21,480 --> 01:27:23,920
and colonized every
continent on the planet.
1337
01:27:24,000 --> 01:27:25,240
Captioned by Cotter
Captioning Services.
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