0:00:20 > 0:00:24The remains of a dragon have just been discovered
0:00:24 > 0:00:27in the cliffs of Dorset on the south-east coast of England -
0:00:27 > 0:00:32one that has been hidden in the rocks for 200 million years.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39It was an enormous marine reptile that ruled the seas
0:00:39 > 0:00:44at the same time as the dinosaurs ruled the land.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Scientifically, it's called an ichthyosaur.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54Since Jurassic times,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58its fossilized bones have been locked away in these cliffs.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04But now we have a chance to reveal it and its story.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Lots and lots of bone in there.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14The bones are so well preserved, it may be able to give us
0:01:14 > 0:01:17new insights into the lives of these remarkable creatures.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Together with a team of scientists,
0:01:21 > 0:01:26we will reconstruct the skeleton and compare it to animals alive today.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33We'll try to understand how it looked.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36We have actual preservation of the skin of our ichthyosaur.
0:01:36 > 0:01:37How extraordinary!
0:01:38 > 0:01:41And how it survived in the open ocean.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Could this be a completely new species of ichthyosaur?
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Our search for evidence will lead us
0:01:51 > 0:01:55into an intriguing forensic investigation into how it died.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01I think you're looking at a 200 million year old murder mystery.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Solving that mystery will throw light on the extraordinary world
0:02:07 > 0:02:12in the Jurassic seas that once existed just off our shores.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25The story of this extraordinary dragon
0:02:25 > 0:02:28starts here in Dorset on the south coast of England,
0:02:28 > 0:02:32one of the most important geological sites in the world -
0:02:32 > 0:02:34the Jurassic Coast.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44It stretches for almost 100 miles from Devon to Dorset.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49And it was here that the early geologists
0:02:49 > 0:02:53first collected evidence that once the world was ruled
0:02:53 > 0:02:58by monstrous reptiles, quite unlike anything alive on Earth today.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Evidence of creatures that existed all that time ago
0:03:08 > 0:03:11can still be found on these beaches.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Fossil collectors have been coming here for literally centuries
0:03:17 > 0:03:22and these rapidly eroding cliffs are providing them
0:03:22 > 0:03:26with a continuous supply of exciting things to find.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32I started looking for fossils when I was a boy
0:03:32 > 0:03:35and I've never lost the feeling of excitement
0:03:35 > 0:03:38and anticipation of what one might discover.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47The commonest fossils here are coiled shells called ammonites
0:03:47 > 0:03:50and you can find them all over the place.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53There's one here on this boulder.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56You can see the whorls there,
0:03:56 > 0:03:58but it's mostly been worn away by the sea.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02But sometimes if you're lucky, you can find nodules like this
0:04:02 > 0:04:04and if you look at them,
0:04:04 > 0:04:10you can see there's the edge there of an ammonite and if I hit it...
0:04:10 > 0:04:14If I put on protective glasses and I hit it, it should...
0:04:17 > 0:04:19HE LAUGHS
0:04:19 > 0:04:21How about that?
0:04:21 > 0:04:23Wow!
0:04:24 > 0:04:25What a find!
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Ammonites, in fact, are quite common on this beach,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35but every now and again, something truly rare
0:04:35 > 0:04:41and spectacular is found here and quite often by this man -
0:04:41 > 0:04:44one of the most skilled fossil hunters I know.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50Chris Moore has been collecting fossils here for more than 30 years.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Recently, he came across a boulder
0:04:53 > 0:04:57which he thought might contain something unusual.
0:04:58 > 0:04:59Back in his workshop,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03he exposed a mosaic of small, beautifully preserved bones
0:05:03 > 0:05:07which he knew straight away were the front fins,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09the paddles, of an ichthyosaur.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14But they were unlike any he had ever seen before.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26I still collect fossils.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31I even have the remains of an ichthyosaur -
0:05:31 > 0:05:34a small one of a kind that's relatively common.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42This was collected by Chris about ten years ago in Dorset.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44I never found anything as beautiful as this.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48It's got jaws and it's got teeth and it's got paddles.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53And Dorset was the very first place
0:05:53 > 0:05:57where they found a really complete skeleton of one of these creatures.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00This is a picture of it,
0:06:00 > 0:06:05published for the very first time in 1814.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10People thought it was some kind of monster, but what was it?
0:06:10 > 0:06:16They thought it was a kind of cross between a reptile and a fish
0:06:16 > 0:06:22so they called it an ichthyosaur - a fish lizard or sea dragon.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Since that time, many fossil fragments of ichthyosaurs
0:06:27 > 0:06:30have been discovered on the Jurassic Coast.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35But complete skeletons are very rare.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40The particular one that Chris has just found
0:06:40 > 0:06:44is significantly different from any that's ever been found here before.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52It's not easy to get to the beach where it was discovered.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56At high tide, the only way to do so is by boat.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05I asked Chris where the rest of the skeleton might still lie.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07It's in the very top limestone bed
0:07:07 > 0:07:10where the cliffs are at the lowest point.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13It's got about two metres on top of clay
0:07:13 > 0:07:15and we'll have to clear this material off
0:07:15 > 0:07:17till we get to the limestone bed.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18It' a lot of hard work.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21It's a lot of digging, yeah, and also we have to do it, really,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25before the winter turns again and the weather gets bad
0:07:25 > 0:07:27because there's a chance that the next landslip
0:07:27 > 0:07:30will just push it off onto the beach and destroy it.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37In Jurassic times, sea covered all this area.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42On its floor, sediments washed down from the land
0:07:42 > 0:07:45turned into layers of shales and limestone.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50The land rose, the sea retreated
0:07:50 > 0:07:52and now in the rocks,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54you can find the remains of the creatures
0:07:54 > 0:07:57that once lived in those ancient waters.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04As well as the remains of ammonites, there are the bones of fish,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06such as sharks.
0:08:08 > 0:08:14But the top predators at this time were reptiles - ichthyosaurs.
0:08:17 > 0:08:23They dominated the seas for more than 150 million years.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36After getting permission to dig,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40the team clamber down the cliff to the particular layer
0:08:40 > 0:08:43where the rest of our ichthyosaur skeleton should be lying.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45I'm going to need at least another metre,
0:08:45 > 0:08:46cos I need to drop down to the next bit.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51It's dangerous work.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53These cliffs occasionally collapse without warning.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05To make sure that they don't damage any of the fossils,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08the team do all the digging by hand.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12There's just loads of roots.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Tonnes of clay have to be removed before they even reach
0:09:17 > 0:09:19the layer of limestone where they hope
0:09:19 > 0:09:21the rest of the bones still lie.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Wayhey!
0:09:26 > 0:09:28It was on this very coast
0:09:28 > 0:09:32that the first complete skeleton of an ichthyosaur was discovered.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36It was found in the 19th century
0:09:36 > 0:09:39by a remarkable woman called Mary Anning.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Mary lived in the little town of Lyme Regis,
0:09:44 > 0:09:49the daughter of a cabinet maker who collected fossils as a hobby.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54When Mary was only 11, her father died
0:09:54 > 0:09:58so she and her brother started selling fossils to visitors
0:09:58 > 0:10:00to support their widowed mother.
0:10:08 > 0:10:14Lyme Regis Museum now devotes a whole gallery to her and her finds.
0:10:15 > 0:10:22Mary had an extraordinary talent for finding fossils and in 1811,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26she discovered this gigantic creature,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29the like of which no-one had ever seen before.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Dinosaurs had not yet been discovered.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36No-one had any idea that way back in pre-history,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39there were such gigantic creatures,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42so this caused a sensation.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48It was then that the popular name "sea dragon"
0:10:48 > 0:10:50was given to these prehistoric monsters.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Scientists speculated on how they lived
0:10:55 > 0:10:59and artists tried to imagine what they must have looked like
0:10:59 > 0:11:02and how they behaved.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14Back at the cliff face, Chris and his team are hard at it.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19But they haven't found any more bones.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31This is a massive piece. Tombstone!
0:11:31 > 0:11:32Right, ready?
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Chris is convinced that the skeleton to which the paddles belonged
0:11:36 > 0:11:39must be somewhere here and they check every rock.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Beautiful shale!
0:11:49 > 0:11:53- Lovely!- Anything interesting? - Moment of truth...
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Nothing.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58- Just push it off.- Yeah.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Is there anything showing?
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Nothing else here.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Oh, gosh, that's hard work.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16I hope there's something here.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18I almost don't want to look!
0:12:20 > 0:12:21- Ah!- What have you found?
0:12:21 > 0:12:25- There's a bone.- Loads of bone going all the way... There's bone there.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28- There's something here! - HE LAUGHS
0:12:29 > 0:12:34At long last, the team's efforts are rewarded.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37We've got some bones here!
0:12:37 > 0:12:40- There's loads of bones.- Fantastic!
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Ah! What's this?
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Is that a vertebrae?
0:12:44 > 0:12:47But the bones are not in the position
0:12:47 > 0:12:49the team had expected to find them.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Instead of lying across the face of the cliff,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55the skeleton seems to be bending back into it.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58We're going to have to go down through there.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01It means much more work.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06And to make matters worse, a storm is brewing.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09The rain is just starting,
0:13:09 > 0:13:11but I think we've got to make a bit of a run for it.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25We won't be working any more in this for the moment. It's torrential.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Beautiful rainbow, though.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32A rainbow will be little comfort if the storm persists.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Rough seas and heavy downpours can cause landslips,
0:13:36 > 0:13:40which could easily destroy any chance of retrieving the bones.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48It was after just such a storm that Chris found the front limbs,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51the paddles of our sea dragon.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56They convinced him that the fossil was something special.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59VOICEOVER: You can see why when you compare them
0:13:59 > 0:14:02VOICEOVER: to the paddles of the kind of ichthyosaur
0:14:02 > 0:14:03VOICEOVER: that's usually found here.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08This is an adult and this is the paddle of this creature
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and if you compare it to this one...
0:14:16 > 0:14:21- Oh, it's huge. Oh, yeah.- I've never seen anything quite like it.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24There are half a dozen rows of digits there and how many there?
0:14:24 > 0:14:27I think there's at least nine or ten crossways
0:14:27 > 0:14:30and obviously, you know, many more in length.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33It's getting on for twice the number of digits.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36- And the whole shape of the fin is completely...- Quite different.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38And must be new, therefore?
0:14:38 > 0:14:43- I think so. I've never seen anything quite like it.- How exciting!
0:14:43 > 0:14:45VOICEOVER: It's extremely rare to find
0:14:45 > 0:14:48VOICEOVER: a new species of ichthyosaur these days.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53Only nine have been discovered here in the last 200 years.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56But can these strange paddles tell us something
0:14:56 > 0:14:59about how this odd ichthyosaur lived?
0:15:01 > 0:15:05To try and find out, we are going to construct a three-dimensional model.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11To do that, we first need to have the paddles scanned.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15So, Chris is taking them to Southampton University.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Here, the engineering department has one of the largest
0:15:22 > 0:15:25high resolution scanners in the country.
0:15:29 > 0:15:30It's not every day someone walks in
0:15:30 > 0:15:34with a 200-million-year-old sea reptile.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44The machine can scan objects of all different shapes and sizes
0:15:44 > 0:15:48from ancient coins to the components of spacecraft.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57To create a picture, the scanner takes thousands of X-ray images
0:15:57 > 0:16:01in cross sections through the fossil as it rotates.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11It's not long before the first images appear.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15That's amazing. It looks really clear.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20You can even see the bones laying underneath the paddle.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22At the moment, we're just doing one section.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24We're going to do multiple scans down the specimen
0:16:24 > 0:16:26and build it all back together into a three-dimensional volume.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31The scans of the paddles are sent to Bristol University.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36Here, scientists can isolate the image of each bone within the rock
0:16:36 > 0:16:41and then assemble them to create a detailed three-dimensional model.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48The team is particularly excited by the shape
0:16:48 > 0:16:52and structure of these paddles and I've come to find out why.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58We've got a complete paddle here taken from the bones itself,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01fully reconstructed, rearticulated
0:17:01 > 0:17:03so this is as close as we can get to what it would have looked like.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07We can actually start using this paddle to try and tell us
0:17:07 > 0:17:09what species it might have been.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11Because of the size of the paddle
0:17:11 > 0:17:13and the way that some of these bones articulate with each other,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16it's different to other ichthyosaurus
0:17:16 > 0:17:18and so this could be a new species.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20- That would be great.- It would be jolly exciting.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25VOICEOVER: We won't know for sure until we find the rest of the body,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27but can the paddles tell us something
0:17:27 > 0:17:30about the way in which this creature swam?
0:17:30 > 0:17:32There are a lot of bones in this paddle,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35which would have been good for holding steady
0:17:35 > 0:17:37and also for allowing it to be manoeuvrable in the water.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41- There would have been cartilage round that, wouldn't there?- Yes.
0:17:41 > 0:17:42All of the gaps between the bones
0:17:42 > 0:17:44would have been filled in with cartilage
0:17:44 > 0:17:46and even further around the paddle itself,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48giving it a paddle-like shape, giving it a cross section
0:17:48 > 0:17:50a bit like an aerofoil
0:17:50 > 0:17:52so that it could cut straight through the water.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- Could they fold them in to the side? - Probably not.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59Looking at the muscles and where they attach,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01it suggests these are moving up and down,
0:18:01 > 0:18:02helping it to turn very quickly
0:18:02 > 0:18:04or keeping it on the straight and narrow
0:18:04 > 0:18:07when it wants to be a little more sedate.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14The shape of the paddles and the way they moved
0:18:14 > 0:18:20seems very like the way an animal alive today uses its paddles.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24That animal usually lives in tropical waters
0:18:24 > 0:18:26like these in the Caribbean.
0:18:28 > 0:18:29The sea here is warm
0:18:29 > 0:18:31with temperatures much like they would have been
0:18:31 > 0:18:33in Jurassic times around Britain.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37And the animal in question...
0:18:37 > 0:18:40is the dolphin.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48Dolphins, of course, are mammals, not reptiles like ichthyosaurs.
0:18:49 > 0:18:54Nonetheless, the two groups have bodies shaped in very similar ways.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59The front fins or paddles of both
0:18:59 > 0:19:01would have helped to steady themselves
0:19:01 > 0:19:03as they turn and cut through the water.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09And both have similar dorsal fins.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13So, although they lived 200 million years apart,
0:19:13 > 0:19:19dolphins and ichthyosaurs share many physical characteristics
0:19:19 > 0:19:23and that's because they evolved in similar ways
0:19:23 > 0:19:26as a response to a similar environment.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37Like dolphins,
0:19:37 > 0:19:41ichthyosaurs evolved from ancestors that had once lived on land.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44As they became adapted to life in water,
0:19:44 > 0:19:46they lost the ability to walk,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48their bodies became more streamlined
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and their forelimbs turned into paddles to help them swim.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59But ichthyosaurs do differ from dolphins in two striking ways.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09Dolphins have tails that are flattened horizontally
0:20:09 > 0:20:14and they drive themselves forward by beating their tails up and down.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19But we know from their fossils that ichthyosaur tails
0:20:19 > 0:20:22were flattened vertically like those of sharks,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24so they must have swum in the same sort of way
0:20:24 > 0:20:27by sweeping their tails from side to side.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37Ichthyosaurs, unlike dolphins, also had back paddles.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41They, too, would have helped stabilise them as they swam.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49And what's more, the paddles of our ichthyosaur
0:20:49 > 0:20:51are particularly large and long,
0:20:51 > 0:20:56rather like those of the oceanic whitetip shark.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04That shape helps the whitetip to cruise for long distances
0:21:04 > 0:21:08with very little expenditure of energy in their search for food.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18So, it could be that our ichthyosaur was also a long-distance traveller
0:21:18 > 0:21:23and only an infrequent visitor to the Lyme Regis seas,
0:21:23 > 0:21:28which could be why no-one has ever found one of these here before.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39Back at the dig site, the rain has stopped at last.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46But the storm is a reminder that winter is on its way.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50The team must try to extract the rest of the dragon's body
0:21:50 > 0:21:53before worse weather arrives.
0:21:55 > 0:21:56That's how hard the rock is.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58It's actually smashed the end off the chisel.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01So, you can see what we're dealing with.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16At last, they find signs of the rest of the skeleton.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19- Lots and lots of bone in there. - Yeah.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Ribs and all sorts of stuff.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26And there's another particularly exciting discovery.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29- Is there skin?- Yeah, look. - Oh, really?
0:22:29 > 0:22:32They've found signs of fossilized skin.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Rare, isn't it?
0:22:34 > 0:22:35Yeah, very rare.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41The blocks that contain bones and skin
0:22:41 > 0:22:44can't be thrown down like the other rocks.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48They must be carefully strapped up and gently lowered.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52That's the first block down.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55A few more to go, but if they go like that, I'll be very pleased.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02Two weeks after they started work, I go down again to check on progress.
0:23:03 > 0:23:09- How's it going?- Well, quite well so far.- A lot shifted.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12- Yeah, about 20 tonnes of it, I think.- Really?- Yes.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15How's it doing? Is it caught?
0:23:15 > 0:23:18- No, it's OK.- It's OK? Yeah.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20What do you reckon's in it?
0:23:20 > 0:23:24This block's got vertebrae, the other part of the ribcage
0:23:24 > 0:23:27and it's definitely got the back paddles in there.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29You can see a cross section through them.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33VOICEOVER: While the team continue lowering the huge blocks,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35VOICEOVER: Chris shows me what they've already collected.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38So, lots over here.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42- Ah, well, I can see something there.- Ah!
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- That's more obvious, yeah.- Yeah.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Here, you can see, glinting in the sunlight,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52sections through the backbone, the vertebral column.
0:23:52 > 0:23:53Wow!
0:23:53 > 0:23:58And these are the ribs that are still attached to the vertebrae
0:23:58 > 0:24:00and these are the neurals
0:24:00 > 0:24:01that come off the backbone.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03The spines off the top of the back.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07- Yeah, but they've actually got skin preserved on them.- No, really?- Yeah.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10- Can you see that here? - Well, that's the very black.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12You can see it on the impression as well.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16VOICEOVER: This is great news, but something puzzles me.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Would the head have been on this side or that side?
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Most likely here in this next slab.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27- And it's not there?- Not so far.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Oh, boy!
0:24:29 > 0:24:31How many more tonnes to go?
0:24:31 > 0:24:34HE SIGHS, THEY LAUGH
0:24:36 > 0:24:38- Only a few! - THEY LAUGH
0:24:40 > 0:24:42OK.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Once the blocks are down on the beach,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56the team remove as much excess limestone as possible
0:24:56 > 0:24:58to make them lighter.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Even then, they're extremely heavy
0:25:01 > 0:25:03so to get them back to Lyme Regis,
0:25:03 > 0:25:07they're loaded onto a pontoon and towed back by boat.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30So, for the first time in 200 million years,
0:25:30 > 0:25:35our strange ichthyosaur once again takes to the water.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48The dig may be over,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51but the investigation is only just beginning.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54WHIRRING
0:25:54 > 0:25:58Now, the work becomes more delicate, involving not sledgehammers,
0:25:58 > 0:26:00but small vibrating chisels
0:26:00 > 0:26:03that chip off the limestone in tiny flakes.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12It's detailed work that will take months to complete.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17It's like a jigsaw puzzle of things you can't see.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20It's almost forensic.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25You don't know the story, you don't know what's inside the block
0:26:25 > 0:26:27until you reveal it.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33I've never seen in all my years an ichthyosaur that looked like this
0:26:33 > 0:26:36so every other part of the skeleton that we reveal
0:26:36 > 0:26:40is very exciting cos you're never quite sure what's going on,
0:26:40 > 0:26:45what it's going to look like and it is, it's very different.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Day after day and week after week,
0:26:50 > 0:26:55Chris and his team work patiently to expose more of the skeleton.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01And as they do so, the bones reveal something very intriguing.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07I've come down to Chris' workshop to take a look.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13It's a bit of squeeze past the plesiosaur.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18VOICEOVER: It really is an Aladdin's cave.
0:27:20 > 0:27:21VOICEOVER; After weeks of work,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25VOICEOVER: Chris has exposed the backbones and ribs.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28So, this is it so far.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32VOICEOVER: And in doing so, he's made a startling discovery.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34It looks like it's been attacked.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38- Gosh!- There's breakages all through the ribcage.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41If you follow one rib, you go along here, down to here,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45then this piece corresponds to this, which then goes over to here
0:27:45 > 0:27:50so one rib is now broken into three pieces.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54How extraordinary! But what's happened here?
0:27:54 > 0:27:59Here, the vertebral column's been actually pulled away.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03I'm fairly positive it was done in life and the paddles,
0:28:03 > 0:28:05the flippers have been ripped off.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Where would they go?
0:28:15 > 0:28:18But they're in a very odd position, aren't they?
0:28:18 > 0:28:21I mean, they're pointing in the wrong direction.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24They should be basically in this position
0:28:24 > 0:28:25and facing the other way up
0:28:25 > 0:28:29and they've been ripped off and turned over.
0:28:29 > 0:28:30Gosh!
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Well, where was the head?
0:28:33 > 0:28:35The head should be here.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39- That's the very last vertebrae. - Back of the neck?- Yeah.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43So, the head's been torn off and there's no evidence.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47There's no teeth or pieces of bone. It's completely gone.
0:28:47 > 0:28:52- So, it's a murder.- Yes!- Really?
0:28:52 > 0:28:53Yeah, I think it was killed.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57- Did this predator crunch the head, do you think?- Who knows?
0:28:57 > 0:28:59It's 200 millions years ago,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02so it's a bit of guesswork, really, isn't it?
0:29:02 > 0:29:06So, it's a murder story without a complete body yet.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12To find out more, we need to reveal the rest of the skeleton.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17So it's all hands on deck.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33They've even roped me in.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48This is more difficult than it looks.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54Very good!
0:29:56 > 0:29:59Could you start on three days a week?
0:30:00 > 0:30:03- Is it all right?- It's good, yeah.- I haven't gone too close to the bone?
0:30:03 > 0:30:05- No, no.- Phew, that's a relief!
0:30:08 > 0:30:10But what of the missing head?
0:30:12 > 0:30:13If it was ripped off,
0:30:13 > 0:30:16Chris thinks he might still be able to find it
0:30:16 > 0:30:18somewhere on the beach,
0:30:18 > 0:30:20so at every opportunity,
0:30:20 > 0:30:24he scours the area where the first block was found.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31The best time to look is after a storm
0:30:31 > 0:30:33when a strong sea has moved sand and shingle
0:30:33 > 0:30:36and perhaps revealed the rocks beneath.
0:30:50 > 0:30:55To try and deduce just how our ichthyosaur met its fate,
0:30:55 > 0:31:00we've sent images of the fossil to someone who specialises
0:31:00 > 0:31:04in investigating the cause of death in prehistoric animals.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08You sent me some photographs and I had a look at some of these breaks.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Now, first of all, I noticed this, here.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15If you look, you can just see this bulbous piece on the rib here.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17This is where the rib has healed after a break
0:31:17 > 0:31:20and the animal's gone on to live another day.
0:31:20 > 0:31:25There's a bite mark here that runs all the way up the paddle bones.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27You can see that it's healed as well.
0:31:27 > 0:31:28Yeah, it's definitely an old injury.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32- This animal's had a little bit of a bad start in life.- Yeah.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36But some of the other breaks tell a different story.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39If you look down here and especially this one,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42this fracture here mirrors that fracture there
0:31:42 > 0:31:47and then we can see a whole line of fractures
0:31:47 > 0:31:49where there's no new bone growth.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52Something has actually crushed this ribcage.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55So look here at these neural spines.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57These are absolutely perfect
0:31:57 > 0:32:01and then from here, they're broken all the way down to here.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04This is the last one that's broken and then here,
0:32:04 > 0:32:05they're perfect again.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09So, there to there is damaged.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12On the ribs, there to there is damaged and here, too,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15and also on some of these belly ribs
0:32:15 > 0:32:19so I think there's a bite which goes right across here.
0:32:19 > 0:32:24That probably reflects the width of the skull of the animal that bit it.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Yeah, yeah. So it came in across here, almost.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29Somewhere like that, yeah.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33There was a massive bite, it caused catastrophic injury
0:32:33 > 0:32:35and, remember, the ribcage is protecting lungs.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40This was an air-breathing marine animal and as a swimmer,
0:32:40 > 0:32:44these lungs are vital not just for breathing, but for its buoyancy.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48So, once this ribcage is punctured and the lungs are punctured,
0:32:48 > 0:32:49this animal is dead.
0:32:49 > 0:32:50It can't breathe
0:32:50 > 0:32:53and also it's going to sink straight down to the sea floor as well.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57It's quite likely that the animal that killed this animal,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59presumably it was looking for food,
0:32:59 > 0:33:01it didn't get to eat it.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03Oh, no, I think it just killed it.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05It didn't eat it, or else it wouldn't be so intact.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08So this probably all took place in the surface water,
0:33:08 > 0:33:10but as soon as it's done this injury,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13this thing just sank like a stone straight down to the sea floor
0:33:13 > 0:33:17and then it was lost to the animal that was trying to eat it.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21So, it looks as if Chris' attack theory might be right.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26But what type of creature could possibly have inflicted
0:33:26 > 0:33:29so much damage to our sea dragon?
0:33:30 > 0:33:35A rather unusual fossil in Chris' collection might give us a clue.
0:33:41 > 0:33:48This is fossilised ichthyosaur droppings called a coprolite
0:33:48 > 0:33:50and what makes it particularly interesting
0:33:50 > 0:33:56is that within this piece of dung, you can see fish scales.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04So, that shows that ichthyosaurs were fish eaters,
0:34:04 > 0:34:09but more than that, this one is even more interesting
0:34:09 > 0:34:17because in this piece of dung, there are teeth - ichthyosaur teeth.
0:34:17 > 0:34:23So, the animal that produced this was almost certainly a cannibal.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27It ate other ichthyosaur species.
0:34:28 > 0:34:33Could it be that our dragon was killed by one of its own kind?
0:34:40 > 0:34:42To find out more,
0:34:42 > 0:34:46I've come to the Natural History Museum of Stuttgart in Germany.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52Here, they have one of the most impressive
0:34:52 > 0:34:57and varied collections of ichthyosaurs in the world.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02They came in all shapes and sizes,
0:35:02 > 0:35:08but of all the ichthyosaurs that existed 200 million years ago,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12there was one which was particularly fearsome.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24This is temnodontosaurus,
0:35:24 > 0:35:27one of the biggest of the sea dragons so far discovered.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30They grew up to 10m long
0:35:30 > 0:35:34and individual bones have been discovered which suggest
0:35:34 > 0:35:38that they could grow even bigger than that.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42The remains of these terrifying sea monsters
0:35:42 > 0:35:45were discovered in a quarry just outside Stuttgart.
0:35:45 > 0:35:51These are the biggest complete temnodontosaurus fossils ever found.
0:35:54 > 0:36:01This huge predator had the largest eye known of any animal,
0:36:01 > 0:36:04which would have given it extremely acute eyesight.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07Not only that, but the eye was surrounded
0:36:07 > 0:36:11by a ring of scutes - bony plates -
0:36:11 > 0:36:14to protect it from the water pressure at depth.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19So, with eyes the size of footballs,
0:36:19 > 0:36:24this monster was able to hunt at all depths of the Jurassic ocean.
0:36:33 > 0:36:38It also had rows of sharp teeth
0:36:38 > 0:36:40that would have allowed it to rip apart almost anything.
0:36:43 > 0:36:49These teeth are shaped like blades, well suited for cutting into flesh.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55And here's another specimen of temnodontosaurus
0:36:55 > 0:36:59that is proof positive that it really was a hunter.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04Here is its stomach and inside its stomach,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08you can see these tiny little circular bones,
0:37:08 > 0:37:13which are the backbones, the vertebrae, of a baby ichthyosaur.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18So we now know that temnodontosaurus
0:37:18 > 0:37:21could devour young ichthyosaurs,
0:37:21 > 0:37:23but would one have been capable
0:37:23 > 0:37:27of eating an adult ichthyosaur like ours?
0:37:28 > 0:37:32Fossils of temnodontosaurus have been found in other regions,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35including our own Jurassic Coast.
0:37:37 > 0:37:42So, this monster could well be our prime suspect.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46To build our case further,
0:37:46 > 0:37:49we're going to analyse another specimen of the same species
0:37:49 > 0:37:52that was found on the Jurassic Coast.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58This is the skull of a temnodontosaurus
0:37:58 > 0:38:01and as you can see, it's huge.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04This specimen was found by Mary Anning
0:38:04 > 0:38:08on the Dorset coast in the 19th century
0:38:08 > 0:38:11and we are hoping that we may be able to use it
0:38:11 > 0:38:13with the latest techniques
0:38:13 > 0:38:19to tell us just how powerful these great jaws could be.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22So, for the first time ever, our team of scientists
0:38:22 > 0:38:25are going to attempt to calculate
0:38:25 > 0:38:28the bite strength of a temnodontosaurus.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32The first step is to scan the skull.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38Not as easy as it sounds.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40Very few scanners are big enough,
0:38:40 > 0:38:42but there's one here at the Royal Veterinary College,
0:38:42 > 0:38:45where they're more accustomed to scanning horses.
0:38:51 > 0:38:57The temnodontosaurus skull is 2m long and weighs more than 200kg.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01Luckily, it's in two pieces.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05Otherwise it couldn't be fitted into even this huge scanner.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09OK. One, two, three and up.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25These scans will help the team
0:39:25 > 0:39:28to not only reconstruct the temnodontosaurus' skull,
0:39:28 > 0:39:32but also work out the size of its jaw muscles.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36They can then assess the power of this huge predator's bite
0:39:36 > 0:39:41and see if it was strong enough to kill our ichthyosaur.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44Temnodontosaurs are unusual
0:39:44 > 0:39:48in that they had huge, sharp teeth for cutting through flesh,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52but how did other ichthyosaurs catch their prey?
0:39:52 > 0:39:57To get a clue, I've come to see a modern day predator in action.
0:40:08 > 0:40:15That is a gharial crocodile from Indonesia.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20Its jaws, as you can see, are not wide and flat
0:40:20 > 0:40:22like an African crocodile's,
0:40:22 > 0:40:26but long and thin and because of that shape,
0:40:26 > 0:40:28there's very little resistance to the water
0:40:28 > 0:40:32so they can snatch fish, which they do very effectively.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39They're very formidable animals indeed.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59Ichthyosaurs must have fed in much the same way as that.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03Their jaws were very similar to those of the gharial -
0:41:03 > 0:41:08simple studs to grip the prey, no need to chew it
0:41:08 > 0:41:11because the jaws at the back were quite big enough
0:41:11 > 0:41:14to enable the animal to swallow their prey whole,
0:41:14 > 0:41:16just as the gharial does.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25Gharials regularly shed their teeth
0:41:25 > 0:41:28and here's one I've just picked out of this pool.
0:41:28 > 0:41:33You can see that they're very simple teeth, just like ichthyosaur teeth.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37But that's all you need if all you have to do is to grab a fish.
0:41:46 > 0:41:51So, it's likely that our ichthyosaur had teeth and jaws specially adapted
0:41:51 > 0:41:54to catch small, slippery fish and squid,
0:41:54 > 0:41:58just like a gharial crocodile.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07Back in Lyme Regis, the work on the bones has taken a dramatic turn.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13Chris has found that there is fossilized skin
0:42:13 > 0:42:16over nearly the whole skeleton.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18It seems to be virtually covering the whole thing.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23It's rare to find any sign whatever of skin on fossils,
0:42:23 > 0:42:25let alone so much of it.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30Fiann Smithwick, an expert on fossilized skin,
0:42:30 > 0:42:33has come to take a sample back to his lab.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35We can look and see if there's any evidence
0:42:35 > 0:42:37of the original pigment preserved in the skin.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41- Oh, that's a lovely piece.- That's really good. That'll be perfect.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45Fiann hopes that this remarkably preserved sample
0:42:45 > 0:42:49might tell us what the skin looked like and even what colour it was.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52At the University of Bristol,
0:42:52 > 0:42:57he places a tiny sample of the fossilized skin in a machine
0:42:57 > 0:43:01that coats its surface with minute particles of gold.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17They will reflect the rays of a scanning electron microscope.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24It's astonishing that you can actually see
0:43:24 > 0:43:26the remains of skin on such an ancient fossil.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35But this microscope can also magnify its structure
0:43:35 > 0:43:37tens of thousands of times.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49Here, we have an exceptional level of preservation of the skin
0:43:49 > 0:43:52of our ichthyosaur, despite being 200 million years old,
0:43:52 > 0:43:54so the structures we're looking at here
0:43:54 > 0:43:56are around half a micrometre across
0:43:56 > 0:43:58and a micrometre is one millionth of a metre
0:43:58 > 0:44:01and you see here these little granules
0:44:01 > 0:44:04and these are preserved melanosomes.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08Now, melanosomes contain the pigment that you have in mammal hair,
0:44:08 > 0:44:12in bird feathers and in reptile skin and the abundance of them
0:44:12 > 0:44:14and the distribution of them can tell us
0:44:14 > 0:44:16about the overall colour patterns of the animal.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18So, having a high abundance means you're likely to be darker
0:44:18 > 0:44:21and having a low abundance means you're likely to be lighter.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24This area has come from the back.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26There's a large abundance of these melanosomes.
0:44:26 > 0:44:27There's a lot of pigment here
0:44:27 > 0:44:29and when we look at samples
0:44:29 > 0:44:31that have come from the bottom of the animal,
0:44:31 > 0:44:34we don't see this pigment in this level of abundance
0:44:34 > 0:44:38so it most likely had a much darker back than it did a belly
0:44:38 > 0:44:40and this conforms to a type of colour pattern
0:44:40 > 0:44:42known as countershading in modern animals.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48You can see countershading in lots of sea animals today.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50Great white sharks, for example.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00Both predators and prey are coloured in this way.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04It makes them more difficult to see both from above and below.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09So, this is the first time that we've actually seen
0:45:09 > 0:45:11evidence of a countershaded pattern in an ichthyosaur.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15So, that really is a step forward in our knowledge.
0:45:15 > 0:45:16It is and it can tell us
0:45:16 > 0:45:19a huge amount about the way the animal might have lived.
0:45:19 > 0:45:20Just from looking at that picture?
0:45:20 > 0:45:24- Just from looking at these melanosomes.- Great!
0:45:28 > 0:45:32Today, countershaded animals tend to live in open water
0:45:32 > 0:45:34where there's good visibility.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39Ichthyosaurs also lived in the open seas
0:45:39 > 0:45:41so being camouflaged in this way
0:45:41 > 0:45:43would have been very valuable to them.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53The latest scientific research suggests that countershading
0:45:53 > 0:45:57might also protect against ultraviolet light
0:45:57 > 0:46:00and even help to regulate body temperature.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06As an air-breathing creature,
0:46:06 > 0:46:11our ichthyosaur would have had to spend much time near the surface.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15So countershading could have been a benefit for that reason as well.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25There are, of course,
0:46:25 > 0:46:31many marine reptiles still living in the oceans today, like turtles.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36The biggest of them is the leatherback,
0:46:36 > 0:46:39whose ancestors, in fact, were around
0:46:39 > 0:46:41at the same time as the ichthyosaurs.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46Today, they come ashore to nest in many places,
0:46:46 > 0:46:47including the Caribbean.
0:46:49 > 0:46:54This huge leatherback turtle is laying her eggs.
0:46:54 > 0:46:59She's hauled her way up from the sea and dug a hole
0:46:59 > 0:47:03and now she's depositing about 100 of them.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07She'll then fill in the hole
0:47:07 > 0:47:11and then work her way down back to the sea.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15It's clearly a very laborious process.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21And that's the challenge facing all reptiles that live in the sea -
0:47:21 > 0:47:25having to come onto land to lay eggs.
0:47:27 > 0:47:32Ichthyosaurs were reptiles and they lived in the sea,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35but they were so well adapted to a life at sea,
0:47:35 > 0:47:39that they gave birth to live young
0:47:39 > 0:47:41and that would have saved the sea dragons
0:47:41 > 0:47:44making the dangerous journey onto land.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51There is remarkable evidence that ichthyosaurs gave birth
0:47:51 > 0:47:53to live young in the Stuttgart museum.
0:48:20 > 0:48:27And here is a truly extraordinary, beautiful, almost poignant fossil -
0:48:27 > 0:48:32proof positive that ichthyosaurs gave birth to live young.
0:48:34 > 0:48:39Here is the baby, just at the moment that it's leaving the birth canal.
0:48:39 > 0:48:44It comes out tail first and as soon as it was freed,
0:48:44 > 0:48:49it would have risen to the surface to take its first breath.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52But something happened before that did
0:48:52 > 0:48:55and here is the proof.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00Whatever it was, death must have been instant.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06So, ichthyosaurs gave birth to live babies,
0:49:06 > 0:49:09just as many sharks do today.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33After several weeks of research,
0:49:33 > 0:49:35the team at Bristol University have managed
0:49:35 > 0:49:40to reconstruct the skull of the temnodontosaurus
0:49:40 > 0:49:43so that they can analyse the power of its jaws.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47How do you assess the strength of this animal's bite?
0:49:47 > 0:49:49Well, the first thing that we need to know
0:49:49 > 0:49:52is the volume of muscle that could fit into the back of the skull.
0:49:52 > 0:49:53So the muscles are attaching round here
0:49:53 > 0:49:55and also there's a group of muscles
0:49:55 > 0:49:57that are attaching further forward here
0:49:57 > 0:49:59and if we know how much muscle volume there is,
0:49:59 > 0:50:01we can estimate how much force that muscle can generate.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03And what did you discover?
0:50:03 > 0:50:06We found out that our upper estimate of bite force
0:50:06 > 0:50:09was around 30,000 Newtons and to put that in a modern day context,
0:50:09 > 0:50:13that's twice as powerful as the largest saltwater crocodile
0:50:13 > 0:50:16- that's been measured. - Twice as powerful?- Yeah.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19- So that's enormous, yeah.- Yeah, it's a very powerful bite force.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30So, this must have been the animal
0:50:30 > 0:50:33with the most powerful bite of its time, mustn't it?
0:50:33 > 0:50:35That's absolutely right, yeah.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37Of its time, it would have been.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39Not only did it have a powerful bite,
0:50:39 > 0:50:42its jaw-closing muscles also attach quite close to the jaw joint.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44Now, normally in animals where that happens,
0:50:44 > 0:50:47they have quite a fast, but less forceful bite,
0:50:47 > 0:50:49but the fact that this animal is actually so big
0:50:49 > 0:50:51means that it has a fast bite,
0:50:51 > 0:50:52but also by virtue of its sheer size,
0:50:52 > 0:50:55it also has quite a powerful bite as well, too,
0:50:55 > 0:50:57so it basically has the best of both worlds.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00- So, this was the king of the Jurassic sea.- Or queen!
0:51:00 > 0:51:01Sorry!
0:51:04 > 0:51:06- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:51:08 > 0:51:12So, it seems fairly likely that temnodontosaurus was strong enough
0:51:12 > 0:51:17not only to kill our sea dragon, but to rip its head clean off.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23It must have been a terrifying battle.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05Our investigations have given us
0:52:05 > 0:52:10a pretty good idea of how our sea dragon died.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14But can the reconstruction work
0:52:14 > 0:52:19carried out at Bristol University tell us more about its life?
0:52:21 > 0:52:25All the blocks containing the fossil have now been scanned.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27With those scans,
0:52:27 > 0:52:30the team were able to separate the individual bones
0:52:30 > 0:52:32and then put them back together to create
0:52:32 > 0:52:36a 3D image of the ichthyosaur's body before it was attacked.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41They've added a head
0:52:41 > 0:52:44based on estimates of other ichthyosaur species.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49That's magnificent.
0:52:49 > 0:52:50This is the whole animal
0:52:50 > 0:52:55and we estimate that it may have been up to around 4.5m long.
0:52:55 > 0:52:56Is that bigger than most in Lyme?
0:52:56 > 0:52:58Yes, this is certainly bigger
0:52:58 > 0:53:00than most of the ichthyosaurs that we see at Lyme Regis.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02It looks huge. It looks amazing.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04Here are the forelimbs right at the front
0:53:04 > 0:53:08and we've got hindlimbs here and at the back, we've got a tail bend.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10This is supported by the backbone,
0:53:10 > 0:53:12which extends along the whole length of the body.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15- But that bend is natural, isn't it? That's not a break.- Yes.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18That gives strength to the lower element of the tail
0:53:18 > 0:53:19for driving it forward.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21Much like a shark,
0:53:21 > 0:53:24the tail bend is the main propulsive organ of the animal.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27So, could this be a new species?
0:53:27 > 0:53:29Yes, these pieces of evidence together
0:53:29 > 0:53:33suggest that it is going to be a new species and it's jolly exciting.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36- They don't come along every day. - Historic!- Yes.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40This is wonderful news.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43A sighting by Chris on the beach in Lyme Regis
0:53:43 > 0:53:47has led to the discovery of a new species of ichthyosaur,
0:53:47 > 0:53:50adding to our knowledge of these fascinating creatures.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56It's extraordinary how much you can discover from one single fossil.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59Digital reconstruction has allowed us
0:53:59 > 0:54:04to rebuild this animal to reveal how it looked and how it moved.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07We've discovered, for the first time,
0:54:07 > 0:54:10that this creature was countershaded.
0:54:10 > 0:54:13But that didn't stop it from being attacked.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16By analysing its bones,
0:54:16 > 0:54:19we've been able to work out that its most likely attacker
0:54:19 > 0:54:21was a temnodontosaurus,
0:54:21 > 0:54:25the most ferocious predator of the seas at that time.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33It's been a fascinating journey of discovery, but, for me,
0:54:33 > 0:54:37the real wonder is the bones themselves.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41I can't wait to see what they look like when they're finally cleaned.
0:54:53 > 0:54:58After many months of painstaking and patient preparation,
0:54:58 > 0:55:02Chris and his team have finally completed their work
0:55:02 > 0:55:04on the fossil of our ancient sea dragon.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18Here it is finished.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22Wow!
0:55:22 > 0:55:25It's really beautiful, isn't it?
0:55:25 > 0:55:28- I mean, it is beautiful, that's for sure.- Thank you.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31- It's a great specimen, isn't it?- Lovely.
0:55:31 > 0:55:36And how many new species have been discovered in the last 100 years?
0:55:36 > 0:55:38Very few, very, very few
0:55:38 > 0:55:42and it's thrilling to find something that's just never been seen before.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47Well, it was a long time spent
0:55:47 > 0:55:51just revealing the body of this creature,
0:55:51 > 0:55:54but it's also revealed this extraordinary story
0:55:54 > 0:55:56of life and death,
0:55:56 > 0:56:00predator-prey fighting it out in the seas
0:56:00 > 0:56:04200 million years ago just down there.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Yeah, it's a fantastic story.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10Really, really thrilling and romantic.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16For Chris, this has been a labour of love
0:56:16 > 0:56:22and it's filled in another gap in the palaeontological jigsaw -
0:56:22 > 0:56:24a story that all started
0:56:24 > 0:56:28with an odd-looking boulder on a Dorset beach.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30It's extraordinary to think
0:56:30 > 0:56:36that some 200 million years ago exactly here,
0:56:36 > 0:56:42the greatest predator of its time was swimming around in the sea
0:56:42 > 0:56:46and that's what I really love about fossils and fossil hunting.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50It gives you an extraordinarily vivid insight
0:56:50 > 0:56:55into what the world was like millions of years before
0:56:55 > 0:56:58human beings even appeared on this planet.
0:57:05 > 0:57:10Ichthyosaurs died out around 90 million years ago.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12No-one knows why,
0:57:12 > 0:57:17but standing here and having excavated that spectacular fossil,
0:57:17 > 0:57:20it's not difficult to imagine a time
0:57:20 > 0:57:24when dragons really did rule the seas.