All language subtitles for Worlds.Biggest.Beasts.2015.720p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

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Narrator:
BEFORE HUMANS RULED THE WORLD,

PLANET EARTH
WAS A LAND OF GIANTS.

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SNAKES THE LENGTH OF BUSES.

Man: I AM STILL, TO THIS DAY,

COMPLETELY AMAZED
BY THIS ANIMAL.

Narrator:
OCEAN KILLERS WITH JAWS

BIG ENOUGH
TO SWALLOW A PERSON WHOLE.

Man: THESE JAWS WERE ABLE TO
RIP OUT THIS BIG CHUNK OF CAR.

Narrator: AND PREDATORS
THAT DWARF T. REX.

Man: WE'RE TALKING SOMETHING
OF ENORMOUS LENGTH,

THAT COULD SLICE YOU
WITH ONE MOTION.

Narrator: BUT OF ALL THE
MONSTERS THAT HAVE EVER LIVED,

WHICH IS THE BIGGEST?

USING THE LATEST DISCOVERIES
AND CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE,

WE'RE GOING TO REVEAL A TOP 10
OF THE BIGGEST BEASTS EVER,

THAT HAVE WALKED THE EARTH,

SWUM THE SEAS,

AND SOARED THE SKIES.

Man: THIS IS AWESOME!

[GROWLING]

Narrator: ANALYZING
THE ULTIMATE GIANT BEASTS

ACROSS THE ANIMAL KINGDOM,
SPECIES BY SPECIES,

AND USING LENGTH
AS OUR ULTIMATE GUIDE,

WE COUNT DOWN FROM 10.

AND FIRST ON OUR LIST IS
A CREATURE YOU'D NEVER EXPECT,

A TERRIFYING BEAST,

THE BIGGEST INSECT
THAT EVER LIVED.

♪

LONG BEFORE THE DINOSAURS,

A WINGED GIANT
TERRORIZED THE SKIES.

♪

FLYING AT OVER 20 MILES PER HOUR

AND WITH JAWS THAT COULD
CUT SMALL REPTILES TO PIECES,

ITS COMMON NAME IS...
THE GRIFFINFLY.

A CLUE TO THIS ANCIENT MEGA-BUG

WAS DISCOVERED IN 1940
IN NOBLE COUNTY, OKLAHOMA.

TODAY, IT'S THE JOB
OF INSECT EXPERT BRIAN FARRELL

TO TAKE CARE OF THAT CLUE,

A FRAGILE FOSSIL
THAT'S 275 MILLION YEARS OLD.

Brian Farrell: THIS REALLY
IS A SPECTACULAR FOSSIL.

Narrator: THIS FOSSIL IS

THE LARGEST INSECT WING
EVER DISCOVERED.

Farrell: TO GET AN IDEA
OF JUST HOW BIG THIS INSECT WAS,

THIS IS A REASONABLY LARGE-SIZED
MODERN DRAGONFLY FOR COMPARISON.

IT'S ABOUT ONE FIFTH THE SIZE,
AT MOST, OF THIS MEGANEUROPSIS.

Narrator:
LOOKING AT THIS SINGLE WING,

IT'S CLEAR JUST HOW BIG
THE GRIFFINFLY COULD GET.

♪

♪

IT HAD FOUR WINGS,

THE BIGGEST PAIR SPANNING
TWO AND A HALF FEET ACROSS.

THAT MAKES IT SIX TIMES LARGER
THAN MANY MODERN DRAGONFLIES.

IF IT WAS AROUND TODAY,
IT WOULD BE A MATCH FOR A HAWK

AND SPAN THE OUTSTRETCHED ARM
OF A SIX-FOOT MAN.

FROM SMALLER
BUT MORE COMPLETE FOSSILS,

EXPERTS HAVE DISCOVERED
THAT GRIFFINFLIES DIDN'T MERELY

LOOK LIKE TODAY'S DRAGONFLIES,

THEIR ANATOMY
WAS INCREDIBLY SIMILAR,

SO IT'S LIKELY
THEY BEHAVED THE SAME WAY, TOO--

AS DEADLY HUNTERS.

Hans-Dieter Sues: GRIFFINFLIES
PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN

AT THE TOP OF AT LEAST
THE INSECT FOOD CHAIN,

AND AS THERE WEREN'T ANY REALLY
LARGE VERTEBRATES AROUND,

THEY MAY HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY

THE TOP PREDATOR ON LAND,
PERIOD.

Narrator: ANTHONY LEONARDO
IS A WORLD EXPERT

IN DRAGONFLY FLIGHT.

HE'S UNLOCKING THE SECRETS

OF WHAT MAKES THESE FLYING ACES
SUCH EXPERT KILLER BEASTS.

THEY HAVE FOUR WINGS
THAT CAN BEAT INDEPENDENTLY.

Anthony Leonardo: IF YOU LOOK
AT THE WINGS CLOSELY,

YOU CAN SEE
THAT THEY'RE QUITE AMAZING.

THE DRAGONFLY CAN FLY FORWARDS,
BACKWARDS, UPSIDE DOWN.

IT CAN ALSO PULL THESE
INCREDIBLY SHARP 6-G TURNS.

Narrator: THEY ALSO HAVE EYES

WITH VIRTUALLY
360-DEGREE VISION,

POWERFUL LEGS
FOR GRABBING INSECT PREY,

AND KILLER JAWS.

Leonardo: THEY HAVE
THESE MASSIVE MANDIBLES

AND THESE KIND OF
PINCHING CRUNCHERS,

AND THEY VERY QUICKLY CUT
AND SLICE ALL THIS PREY

UP INTO LITTLE BITS
THAT THE ANIMAL THEN SWALLOWS.

Narrator: BUT HOW DID
THE GRIFFINFLY GET SO BIG,

AND WHY ARE MODERN DRAGONFLIES
SO MUCH SMALLER?

THE ANSWER LIES IN THE WAY
ALL INSECTS BREATHE.

Leonardo:
INSECTS DON'T HAVE LUNGS.

ON THE OUTSIDE
OF THE DRAGONFLY'S BODY

ARE LITTLE OPENINGS
CALLED SPIRACLES,

AND THESE ARE LITTLE HOLES
THAT OPEN AND CLOSE,

AND THEY BASICALLY
ARE LITTLE PUMPS

LETTING AIR
INTO THE DRAGONFLY'S BODY

AND THEN PUSHING IT BACK OUT.

Narrator:
ONCE THROUGH THE SPIRACLES,

THE AIR MOVES THROUGH A NETWORK
OF TUBES CALLED TRACHEA.

THIS WAY, OXYGEN IS FED DIRECTLY

TO EVERY SINGLE CELL
OF THE BODY.

THE PROBLEM IS
THERE ARE SO MANY TUBES,

THERE'S LITTLE ROOM LEFT

FOR THE EXTRA MUSCLE NEEDED
TO MOVE A BIGGER BODY.

AND THAT'S WHAT
PREVENTS TODAY'S DRAGONFLIES

FROM GETTING ANY LARGER.

SO, HOW DID THEY EVER REACH

THE MONSTROUS SIZE
OF THE GRIFFINFLY?

HOW DID THEY PACK ENOUGH MUSCLE
INTO THEIR BODIES

TO POWER GIANT WINGS?

ONE PALEOBIOLOGIST AT MIDWESTERN
UNIVERSITY, JOHN VANDENBROOKS,

BELIEVES HE HAS THE ANSWER.

HE'S DOING EXPERIMENTS
TO UNCOVER THE SECRETS

TO WHAT MAKES A BIGGER BUG.

♪

JOHN THINKS THAT GROWING BIGGER

WAS ALL DOWN TO THE AMOUNT OF
OXYGEN IN THE AIR THEY BREATHED.

John Vandenbrooks: OXYGEN
WAS MUCH HIGHER IN THE PAST.

TODAY OXYGEN'S ABOUT 21 PERCENT
OF THE ATMOSPHERE AROUND YOU.

IN THE PAST, IT WAS
AS HIGH AS 31 PERCENT.

Narrator: AN EXTRA 10 PERCENT
MIGHT NOT SOUND LIKE MUCH,

BUT THAT'S 50 PERCENT MORE
OXYGEN THAN WE BREATHE TODAY.

Vandenbrooks:
SO, PERHAPS THAT INCREASE

IN OXYGEN IN THE ATMOSPHERE
IS WHAT LED TO THE POSSIBILITY

THAT THOSE INSECTS
GET AS LARGE AS THEY DID.

Narrator: TO INVESTIGATE,

JOHN DECIDED
TO DO SOMETHING RADICAL--

CHANGE THE OXYGEN
THE BUGS COULD BREATHE.

FIRST, HE TAKES COCKROACHES

AND BREEDS THEM AT FAR LOWER
LEVELS OF OXYGEN THAN TODAY.

Vandenbrooks:
IN THIS TOP CHAMBER,

WE HAVE COCKROACHES REARED
UNDER LOWER OXYGEN LEVELS,

ABOUT 12 PERCENT,

AND YOU CAN SEE HOW LARGE
THIS INDIVIDUAL IS.

Narrator: IT MAY LOOK LARGE,

BUT IT'S ACTUALLY SMALL
FOR THE SPECIES.

JOHN THEN REARS OTHER ROACHES

AT THE OXYGEN LEVELS
OF THE PAST.

Vandenbrooks: COMPARATIVELY,
THE COCKROACHES REARED DOWN HERE

ARE BEING REARED
IN A HIGH OXYGEN LEVEL

OF ABOUT 31 PERCENT,

AND YOU CAN SEE NOW
HOW LARGE THIS INDIVIDUAL IS,

MUCH, MUCH LARGER
THAN THOSE REARED

AT THE LOWER OXYGEN LEVELS.

AND IT'S EVEN MORE PRONOUNCED

IF WE'RE ABLE
TO COMPARE THE TWO ANIMALS.

Narrator: THE RESULTS
ARE CLEAR AND ASTONISHING.

MORE OXYGEN MEANS BUGS CAN HAVE

A SMALLER INTERNAL
BREATHING SYSTEM.

Vandenbrooks:
WE CAN NOW DEFINITIVELY SAY,

AS OXYGEN GOES UP,

IT ACTUALLY ALLOWS
FOR THE ANIMAL

TO PUT MORE THINGS
INSIDE ITS BODY,

SO IT CAN HAVE MORE MUSCLE,

AND IT CAN BECOME ONE OF THESE
REALLY LARGE, VICIOUS PREDATORS

THAT WE SEE
300 MILLION YEARS AGO.

Narrator: HAD WE BEEN AROUND
TO WITNESS IT,

THE GRIFFINFLY WOULD HAVE BEEN
A TRULY TERRIFYING SIGHT.

THIS WAS THE BIGGEST INSECT
EVER TO FLY EARTH'S SKIES,

BUT OUR NEXT BEAST
IS FAR, FAR BIGGER.

FAST-FORWARD FROM GRIFFINFLY
TO 27 MILLION YEARS AGO.

THEN THE SKIES WERE RULED
BY A FEATHERED GIANT.

WITH WINGS AS WIDE
AS A TWO-LANE HIGHWAY

AND A CRUISE SPEED
FASTER THAN USAIN BOLT,

IT COULD TRAVEL TO EVERY CORNER
OF THE PLANET.

[SQUAWKS]

THE EVIDENCE OF THIS GIANT FIRST
CAME TO LIGHT IN SOUTH CAROLINA,

IN THE CITY OF CHARLESTON.

IN 2010,
PALEONTOLOGIST DAN KSEPKA

DISCOVERS A COLLECTION OF BONES

IN A STOREROOM
OF THE CHARLESTON MUSEUM.

Dan Ksepka:
WHEN WE PULLED OPEN THE DRAWER

AND I SAW THIS
FOR THE FIRST TIME,

IT WAS JUST
ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR.

Narrator: LAYING THE BONES OUT,

DAN COULD SEE
THIS WAS NO ORDINARY FIND.

Ksepka: IT HAS THIS SKULL
WITH THESE BONY-TOOTHED JAW

THAT ALMOST
LOOKS LIKE A CROCODILE.

Narrator: BUT IT WASN'T
ANY KIND OF REPTILE.

WHAT DAN HAD DISCOVERED WAS THE
LARGEST FLYING BIRD OF ALL TIME,

A NEW SPECIES THEY CALLED
PELAGORNIS SANDERSI.

Ksepka: THIS MASSIVE ELEMENT
HERE IS THE HUMERUS.

THIS IS THE FIRST BONE
OF THE WING SKELETON,

SO IT'S EQUIVALENT TO THE UPPER
ARM BONE IN A HUMAN SKELETON.

THIS BONE, IN PARTICULAR,
IS LONGER THAN MY ENTIRE ARM,

AND SO WE HAVE
A REMARKABLY LONG WING.

Narrator: THE GIANT BIRD'S BODY
WAS SIX FEET LONG.

WITH A WINGSPAN OF 24 FEET,

THE LARGEST BIRD ALIVE TODAY,
THE WANDERING ALBATROSS,

COULD FIT UNDER JUST ONE
OF ITS WINGS.

PELAGORNIS' WINGSPAN RIVALED
THAT OF A HARRIER JUMP JET.

BY MODERN STANDARDS,

IT SEEMS LIKE THIS BIRD
WAS TOO BIG TO FLY.

Sues: TODAY, WE HAVE
SOME LARGE BIRDS AROUND

LIKE EMUS AND OSTRICHES,
BUT THESE ARE NOT FLYING BIRDS,

AND WHEN WE GO BACK
INTO THE FOSSIL RECORD,

WE SEE THE SAME THING.

THERE ARE
SOME TRULY ENORMOUS BIRDS,

BUT THERE'S AN UPPER SIZE LIMIT
FOR WHAT YOU CAN DO AS A FLYER.

Ksepka: AND SO THIS BIRD
CLEARLY BLOWS RIGHT THROUGH THAT

WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
NEAR SEVEN METERS,

AND SO IT'S DEFINITELY
CHEATING IN SOME WAY.

Narrator:
EVERYTHING ABOUT THE SKELETON

TELLS US
THIS BIRD MUST HAVE FLOWN,

BUT HOW COULD IT POSSIBLY
HAVE STAYED AIRBORNE?

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BONES
PROVIDES DAN WITH A VITAL CLUE.

LIKE FLYING BIRDS TODAY, ITS
BONES ARE HOLLOW AND SUPER THIN.

Ksepka: THE BONE WALL
IS ABOUT A MILLIMETER THICK,

AND SO THIS ANIMAL
WOULD HAVE BEEN

VERY LIGHTWEIGHT FOR ITS SIZE.

THERE'S LESS WEIGHT
TO SUPPORT IN FLIGHT.

Narrator: IT RIVALED
THE WINGSPAN OF A FIGHTER JET,

BUT THIS GIANT BIRD
WEIGHED ONLY 48 POUNDS,

LESS THAN A THIRD OF THE WEIGHT
OF AN ADULT HUMAN.

LIGHT AS IT WAS,

ONE BONE STILL CASTS DOUBT
ON ITS ABILITY TO FLY.

Ksepka: THIS BONE, THE SCAPULA,

IS THE EQUIVALENT
TO OUR OWN SHOULDER BLADE,

AND YOU CAN SEE IT'S,
IT'S JUST SO SMALL.

IT'S ACTUALLY
ALMOST COMICALLY SMALL,

AND THIS CERTAINLY REVEALS

THAT THIS BIRD WAS NOT
A HIGH-POWERED FLAPPER.

Narrator:
IF IT WASN'T FLAPPING ITS WINGS,

HOW DID PELAGORNIS FLY?

FLIGHT BIOMECHANICS EXPERT
MIKE HABIB

BELIEVES THE ANSWER LIES
WITH THIS.

Mike Habib: I AM OUT HERE TO TRY
HANG GLIDING FOR THE FIRST TIME.

I'M REALLY EXCITED.

I'M HOPING THIS
WILL GIVE ME SOME IDEA

OF WHAT BEING A PELAGORNIS
WOULD BE LIKE.

Narrator: A HANG GLIDER HAS A
SIMILAR WINGSPAN TO PELAGORNIS.

IT'S ALSO LIGHTWEIGHT,
HAS A HOLLOW, TUBULAR SKELETON,

AND A LARGE RIGID WING.

Habib: THE PHYSICS DON'T CHANGE,

SO AN AIRPLANE WING
OR HANG GLIDER WING

LOOKS FUNDAMENTALLY
VERY SIMILAR TO AN ANIMAL WING,

EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE
MADE OF DIFFERENT STUFF.

Narrator: THE ONLY WAY MIKE,
OR PELAGORNIS,

COULD GET AIRBORNE
WOULD BE TO RUN INTO THE WIND.

Habib: I'M HOPING THAT
I RUN PROPERLY AND WE LAUNCH,

AND I DON'T HAVE TO BE
LIKE ONE OF THESE PEOPLE

THAT GETS DRAGGED ALONG
ON THEIR FACE.

Man: OKAY,
YOU READY TO TAKE OFF?

Habib: READY TO TAKE OFF.

Man: OKAY.

Habib: THIS IS AWESOME!

AH, MAN!

THIS IS GIVING ME
A LITTLE BIT OF A GLIMPSE

OF WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE

TO BE A GIANT FLYING ANIMAL
IN THE PAST.

THIS IS AN AMAZING FEAT
OF ENGINEERING,

AND IT'S A GREAT WAY OF SOARING,

BUT PELAGORNIS DID A LOT BETTER.

Narrator:
27 MILLION YEARS AGO,

NATURE PRODUCED A GLIDER

THAT WAS ABOUT FOUR TIMES MORE
EFFICIENT THAN THIS HANG GLIDER.

IN FACT, PELAGORNIS WAS
A BETTER GLIDER THAN ANYTHING

THAT HAS EVER LIVED OR THAT
TECHNOLOGY HAS EVER PRODUCED.

♪

Habib: SO, WE WERE IN THE AIR
FOR A GOOD 10 MINUTES,

A NICE, LONG FLIGHT,

BUT PELAGORNIS WOULD HAVE BEEN

ONE OF THE CHAMPIONS
OF LONG-DISTANCE FLIGHT,

PROBABLY COULD STAY IN THE AIR
FOR WEEKS AT A TIME,

MAYBE EVEN MONTHS AT A TIME.

Narrator:
STAYING ALOFT FOR LONG PERIODS

WAS ESSENTIAL FOR PELAGORNIS.

ITS BONY TEETH, IDEAL
FOR CATCHING SLIPPERY FISH,

REVEAL IT WAS A SEABIRD.

Ksepka: 27 MILLION YEARS AGO,

PELAGORNIS WAS LIVING
IN THIS OPEN SEA ENVIRONMENT.

PELAGORNIS COULD PROBABLY TRAVEL

ACROSS THOUSANDS OF MILES
OF OCEAN WITHOUT MUCH THOUGHT.

Narrator:
SO, HOW DID PELAGORNIS MANAGE

SUCH AN EXTRAORDINARY FEAT?

DAN THINKS THE CLUE MAY LIE

WITH THE MODERN MASTER
OF OCEAN FLIGHT,

THE WANDERING ALBATROSS.

ALBATROSSES MAKE USE OF THE WAY
AIR FLOWING OVER THE OCEANS

CAN CHANGE SPEED.

THEY PERFORM A DAREDEVIL
MANEUVER CALLED DYNAMIC SOARING.

DAN BELIEVES IF PELAGORNIS
WAS TO SURVIVE OUT AT SEA,

IT MUST HAVE
DONE THE SAME THING.

Ksepka:
SO, IF WE LOOK AT THE WAVES,

THE WIND ABOVE THE WAVES
IS GOING MORE SLOWLY

THAN THE WIND HIGHER UP,

AT A HIGHER ALTITUDE
ABOVE THE WAVES,

ESPECIALLY OUT ON THE OPEN SEAS,

AND DYNAMIC SOARING BIRDS
CAN USE THIS TO THEIR ADVANTAGE.

Narrator: THEY SWOOP DOWN
TO THE OCEAN SURFACE,

THEN PULL UP AT THE LAST SECOND.

PULLING UP
GIVES A BIRD ENOUGH MOMENTUM

TO RISE UP AND CATCH
FASTER MOVING AIR CURRENTS.

FLYING IN LOOPS LIKE THIS,

PELAGORNIS WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO COVER VAST DISTANCES

AND SNATCH PREY
OUT OF THE WATER,

WHILST BURNING
VERY LITTLE ENERGY.

THIS WAS THE BIGGEST
AND MOST EFFICIENT FLYING BIRD

IN THE HISTORY OF THE PLANET.

IT RULED THE OCEAN SKIES.

PELAGORNIS WAS AT THE LIMIT

OF HOW BIG BIRDS COULD GET
AND STILL LAUNCH INTO THE AIR,

BUT IF YOU THINK THAT'S BIG,

COMING UP AT NUMBER 8
IS AN ABSOLUTE WHOPPER.

[GROWLING]

♪

IMAGINE WALKING
INTO A MODERN ZOO

WHERE THEY'D SOMEHOW
MANAGED TO RESURRECT

THE LARGEST MAMMAL
TO WALK THE EARTH.

WHAT YOU'D SEE IS THIS,

20 TONS OF HIDE-BOUND FLESH,

STANDING
MORE THAN TWO STORIES TALL.

EVIDENCE OF THIS ANCIENT
MEGA-MAMMAL EMERGED IN 1911,

IN WHAT IS NOW PAKISTAN,

BUT TODAY, THE CLUES
ARE HIDDEN IN LONDON, U.K.

PALEONTOLOGIST MIKAEL FORTELIUS
IS INVESTIGATING

AN EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTION
OF THE BEAST'S BONES

IN LONDON'S
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM.

THIS COLOSSAL SKULL IS TESTIMONY
TO ITS SHEER SIZE.

Mikael Fortelius: THE HEAD
SITS ON A VERY LONG NECK.

THERE'S NEVER BEEN
ANYTHING SIMILAR TO THIS.

Narrator:
PUT ALL THE BONES TOGETHER,

AND YOU GET SOMETHING

THAT LOOKS LIKE A CROSS BETWEEN
A GIRAFFE AND AN ELEPHANT.

IT'S CALLED PARACERATHERIUM.

IT WAS SO BIG, A SIX-FOOT MAN

COULD EASILY FIT
BETWEEN ITS LEGS.

IT STOOD 25 FEET HIGH.

IT WAS NEARLY TWICE AS TALL
AND THREE TIMES AS HEAVY

AS THE BIGGEST LAND MAMMAL
TODAY, THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT,

AND 26 FEET FROM NOSE TO TAIL,

IT WAS AS LONG
AS AN ABRAMS BATTLE TANK.

[ROARS]

NOW, THE OBVIOUS QUESTION HAS
TO BE, WHY DID IT GET SO BIG?

BUT THERE'S
AN ADDED COMPLICATION.

WHILE SOME SCIENTISTS BELIEVE

THE PARACERATHERIUM
LIVED IN THICK FORESTS,

MIKAEL FORTELIUS THINKS THIS
CREATURE'S HABITAT WAS HARSH...

AFFLICTED BY DRY SEASONS,

WHEN WATER WAS SCARCE
AND VEGETATION SPARSE.

HOW DOES AN ANIMAL
BECOME A GIANT

WHEN FOOD IS IN SHORT SUPPLY?

FORTELIUS BELIEVES THE ANSWER
LIES IN THE TEETH.

Fortelius: LOOKING AT THE TEETH
WILL ALLOW US TO UNDERSTAND

WHY THIS ANIMAL
GOT SO VERY LARGE.

THE TEETH ARE WORN IN A WAY

THAT ONLY HAPPENS
WHEN YOU'RE EATING LEAVES.

Narrator:
FOR EATING LEAVES, SHEER HEIGHT

WOULD GIVE THIS ANIMAL
A MASSIVE ADVANTAGE.

LIKE A GIRAFFE,
IT COULD GET TO FOOD

THAT'S BEYOND THE REACH
OF MOST ANIMALS.

Sues: SO, WE HAVE
THESE ENORMOUS PLANT EATERS,

AND BASICALLY THEIR ENORMOUS
SIZE WOULD HAVE PROTECTED THEM

FROM ANY PREDATORS
THAT WERE ALIVE AT THAT TIME,

AND THEY WERE BASICALLY
THE TOP PLANT EATERS

IN THEIR RESPECTIVE ECOSYSTEMS.

Narrator: SO THAT EXPLAINS
PARACERATHERIUM'S HEIGHT,

BUT NOT ITS MASSIVE BULK.

FORTELIUS BELIEVES THAT A HARSH
ENVIRONMENT IS THE EXPLANATION,

THAT THE ANIMAL GREW SO BIG
BECAUSE OF, NOT IN SPITE OF,

ITS TOUGH SURROUNDINGS.

Fortelius: IF YOU'RE SMALL,
JUST ONE DAY WITHOUT WATER

IS A TERRIBLE THING
AND MAY KILL YOU,

BUT THE LARGER YOU ARE,
THE MORE BUFFERED YOU ARE,

THE MORE YOU CAN DEAL
WITH HARSHNESS IN THIS SENSE.

YOU CAN GO WITHOUT FOOD,
WITHOUT WATER.

I THINK THAT'S WHAT WAS DRIVING
THE SIZE INCREASE.

Narrator: NOT EVERYONE AGREES
WITH FORTELIUS' THEORY,

BUT THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT
SOMEHOW PARACERATHERIUM THRIVED.

AND IT MUST HAVE CONSUMED

VAST QUANTITIES
OF VEGETATION EVERY DAY.

TO FIND ENOUGH FOOD,

IT NEEDED TO RANGE
OVER HUNDREDS OF SQUARE MILES,

AND THAT MAY BE THE REASON
FOR WHAT IS, PERHAPS,

THE MOST REMARKABLE THING
ABOUT THIS AMAZING ANIMAL,

ITS FEET.

BIOMECHANICS EXPERT
JOHN HUTCHINSON

HAS ANALYZED
PARACERATHERIUM'S FOOT BONES

AND PRODUCED A 3-D MODEL.

HE'S STRUCK BY JUST HOW MUCH
IT RESEMBLES THE FEET

OF ONE OF TODAY'S GIANTS--
THE RHINOCEROS.

IN FACT, WEIGHING IN
AT ONLY ONE SIXTH OF ITS SIZE,

THE RHINO IS PARACERATHERIUM'S
CLOSEST LIVING RELATIVE,

AND HUTCHINSON'S RESEARCH SHOWS

THAT, IN TERMS
OF SIZE TO WEIGHT,

ITS FEET MUST BEAR
THE HEAVIEST LOADS.

John Hutchinson: RHINOCEROS,

THE PRESSURES OF ITS FEET

ARE WAY HIGHER THAN IN A HORSE,

A HUMAN, EVEN AN ELEPHANT.

RHINOS ALREADY TODAY
ARE LIVING AT AN EXTREME

IN TERMS OF FOOT PRESSURE,

AND PARACERATHERIUM
SEEMS TO HAVE

PUSHED THAT EXTREME FURTHER.

Narrator:
ON THE FEET OF BOTH THE RHINO

AND ITS ANCIENT COUSIN,

THERE ARE THREE GIGANTIC
HOOF-LIKE NAILS.

THERE'S ALSO A FATTY PAD

DESIGNED TO ACT
AS A SHOCK ABSORBER.

THE PARACERATHERIUM'S FOOT

IS PROPORTIONALLY
MORE SLENDER THAN A RHINO'S,

MEANING IT HAS TO BEAR
EVEN MORE STRESS.

Hutchinson:
MY CALCULATIONS SUGGEST

THAT PARACERATHERIUM
MIGHT HAVE BORNE

AS MUCH AS 50 PERCENT
MORE PRESSURE ON ITS FEET

THAN A RHINOCEROS DOES.

Narrator: THIS WAS THE HEAVIEST
MAMMAL EVER TO WALK THE EARTH,

AND JOHN'S CALCULATIONS
SUGGEST ONE EXTRAORDINARY FACT.

Hutchinson:
PARACERATHERIUM WOULD HAVE PUT

MORE PRESSURE ON ITS FEET

THAN AN AVERAGE TANK'S TREADS
WOULD PUT ON THE GROUND.

THAT'S PRETTY STAGGERING.

Narrator: PARACERATHERIUM WAS
THE BIGGEST LAND MAMMAL EVER,

AND WITH FOOTSTEPS THIS HEAVY,

YOU'D HAVE BEEN WELL-ADVISED
TO STAY OUT OF ITS PATH.

SO FAR
ON "WORLD'S BIGGEST BEASTS,"

WE'VE MET...

A DEADLY DRAGONFLY
THE SIZE OF A HAWK,

A GIANT BIRD THE SIZE
OF A PLANE,

AND A MEGA-MAMMAL TWICE THE SIZE
OF AN AFRICAN ELEPHANT.

BUT NEXT UP
IS AN EVEN BIGGER BEAST

THAT COULD LAUNCH
INTO THE SKIES.

[GROWLING]

♪

THIS IS THE CLOSEST
EARTH HAS EVER GOT

TO A REAL-LIFE WINGED DRAGON.

70 MILLION YEARS AGO, WHILE
THE DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH,

THE SKIES WERE RULED
BY PTEROSAURS.

THEIR NAME MEANS WINGED LIZARDS,

AND PALEONTOLOGIST
GARETH DYKE

HAS SPENT MORE THAN 10 YEARS
OF HIS LIFE HUNTING THEM.

Gareth Dyke:
PTEROSAURS ARE INTERESTING

BECAUSE THEY'RE THE FIRST GROUP
OF VERTEBRATES

TO EVOLVE POWERED FLIGHT,

LONG BEFORE BIRDS
AND LONG BEFORE BATS.

Narrator: THE HUNT
HAS BROUGHT HIM TO ROMANIA,

TO THE REGION OF TRANSYLVANIA,

BETTER KNOWN AS THE HOME OF
THAT LEGENDARY MONSTER, DRACULA.

Dyke: 70 MILLION YEARS AGO,

THE CLIMATE IN THIS AREA
WAS MUCH DIFFERENT.

BIG ISLANDS IN A TROPICAL SEA

WITH LUSH VEGETATION,

LOTS OF ANIMAL AND PLANT LIFE,
AND QUITE HIGH TEMPERATURES.

IT COULDN'T BE MORE DIFFERENT
TO THE WEATHER TODAY.

Narrator:
THESE RED SANDSTONE CLIFFS

HOLD A HUGE NUMBER OF FOSSILS.

AS THE ROCK ERODES,
MORE AND MORE ARE REVEALED.

Dyke: SO, WHAT WE HAVE HERE

ARE SOME OF THE BONES
OF PTEROSAURS

THAT WE'VE COLLECTED FROM THIS
AREA IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.

THIS ONE, FOR EXAMPLE, IT'S
ABOUT SIX CENTIMETERS IN LENGTH,

SO IT WOULD HAVE COME
FROM AN ANIMAL

THAT WOULD HAVE HAD A WINGSPAN
OF ONE OR TWO METERS, SIX FEET,

AVERAGE SIZE FOR PTEROSAURS.

Narrator: BUT THEN, IN 2008,

GARETH'S COLLEAGUES
CLIMBED DOWN THE CLIFFS

AND DISCOVERED
SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY.

Dyke: THIS NECK VERTEBRA IS

FROM THE SAME PART OF THE NECK
IN A GIANT PTEROSAUR.

IT'S QUITE SHORT, QUITE ROBUST,

BUT GIGANTIC COMPARED TO A
NORMAL-SIZED PTEROSAUR VERTEBRA

THAT YOU CAN SEE HERE,
AND YOU CAN SEE IMMEDIATELY

THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ANIMALS
OF GIGANTIC PROPORTIONS.

Narrator:
WHEN THE NECK BONE WAS MAPPED

ONTO A MODEL
OF A PTEROSAUR SKELETON,

IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THIS WAS
ONE OF THE LARGEST MEMBERS

OF THE PTEROSAUR FAMILY
EVER DISCOVERED,

COMPARABLE TO GIANT SPECIES
FOUND IN THE U.S.A.

UP TO 16 FEET TALL,
THESE MASSIVE PTEROSAURS

COULD STAND NEARLY THREE TIMES
TALLER THAN A HUMAN,

TALL ENOUGH TO LOOK
A GIRAFFE IN THE EYE.

THEIR FRONT LIMBS
WERE ALSO VAST WINGS

THAT, WHEN UNFURLED, COULD
STRETCH UP TO 36 FEET ACROSS,

THE SAME AS A MODERN LEARJET.

THE GIANT HEAD,
WITH ITS FIVE-FEET-LONG BEAK,

SEEMS PERFECTLY SUITED
TO PREYING OFF OTHER ANIMALS,

AND NO LIVING CREATURE
HAS EVER HAD A LARGER WINGSPAN.

WHILE IT SEEMS OBVIOUS
THAT GIANT PTEROSAURS FLEW,

THEY'RE SO LARGE,

EXPERTS HAVE PUZZLED OVER HOW
THEY EVER GOT OFF THE GROUND.

WE ALREADY KNOW THAT PELAGORNIS,
WITH ITS 24-FEET WINGSPAN,

WAS AS BIG AS A BIRD COULD GET
AND STILL FLY.

THE DIFFICULTY OF JUST GETTING
OFF THE GROUND AT THIS SIZE

PREVENTED FLYING BIRDS
FROM GETTING ANY BIGGER.

SO, HOW DID
A 550-POUND PTEROSAUR,

WITH A 36-FEET WINGSPAN,
GET INTO THE AIR?

FLIGHT BIOMECHANICS EXPERT
MIKE HABIB

HAS MADE IT HIS MISSION
TO FIND OUT.

HE HAS BEEN STUDYING THE BONES

OF ONE PARTICULAR GIANT
PTEROSAUR, QUETZALCOATLUS.

DISCOVERED IN TEXAS, THIS
SPECIES IS OF SIMILAR GIANT SIZE

TO THE ONE FOUND
IN TRANSYLVANIA.

MIKE FOCUSED HIS ATTENTION
ON THE PTEROSAUR'S WING.

Habib: THIS IS THE SKELETON
OF QUETZALCOATLUS.

YOU CAN SEE THE MASSIVE BONES
OF THE WING.

THIS IS CALLED THE HUMERUS.
IT'S THE BONE OF THE UPPER ARM.

Narrator: MIKE CONDUCTED A
FORENSIC ANALYSIS OF THE BONES.

Habib: I USED CT SCANS
TO LOOK INSIDE OF THE BONES,

AND I FOUND THAT
MOST OF THE BONES IN THE WING

WERE VERY HOLLOW.

THE BONE WALL IS ONLY
THREE MILLIMETERS THICK.

IT'S MOSTLY AIR BY VOLUME.

Narrator: THIS MAKES
THE SKELETON VERY LIGHT,

BUT INSIDE THE UPPER ARM BONE,

A DENSE INTERNAL SCAFFOLD
REINFORCES THE BONE,

ESPECIALLY NEAR THE SHOULDER,

AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU SEE
IN A BIRD WING.

THIS BONE IS FAR STRONGER
THAN NEEDED FOR FLIGHT,

STRONGER EVEN
THAN NEEDED FOR WALKING.

SO, WHY WOULD THE PTEROSAUR

POSSIBLY NEED
SUCH POWERFUL FORELIMBS?

THEN MIKE NOTICED ANOTHER CLUE,
A GIANT GROOVE IN THE BONE.

THIS COULD ONLY MEAN ONE THING:
A HUGE TENDON.

Habib: A GIANT TENDON WOULD
RUN IN, ALONG THE GROOVE HERE,

AND THEN WRAP AROUND
THE WING PIVOT JOINT,

AND END UP AT THE TIP
OF THE WING.

THE TENDON WOULD HAVE BEEN
ABOUT AS BIG AROUND AS MY WRIST.

Narrator:
THE SUPER SIZE OF THIS TENDON

LED MIKE TO FORM
A UNIQUE THEORY.

THE PTEROSAURS WERE USING
THE TENDON'S ELASTIC POWER

TO CATAPULT THEMSELVES
INTO THE AIR.

Habib: TENDONS, AND THE MUSCLES
ATTACHED TO THEM,

HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT
OF SPRINGINESS.

YOU CAN STRETCH THEM,
AND THEN THEY SNAP BACK,

BASICALLY A GIANT CROSSBOW.

Narrator: MIKE USED THE SKELETON
TO MODEL HOW THIS MIGHT WORK.

Habib: A GIANT PTEROSAUR
LIKE THIS ONE, TO TAKE OFF,

WOULD START BY CROUCHING
ON ITS BACK LEGS,

AND THEN IT WOULD
UNLOAD THE LEGS FIRST,

VAULTING OVER THE GIANT WING,

AND THEN IT WOULD PUSH
AGAINST THE GROUND,

USING UP ALL THAT STORED ENERGY

AND PUSHING ITSELF AS FAST
AS POSSIBLE INTO THE AIR.

Narrator: THERE IS STILL
ONE LIVING CREATURE

THAT USES THIS KIND
OF VAULTING LAUNCH.

IT'S PLAIN TO SEE WHEN YOU WATCH
A VAMPIRE BAT TAKE OFF.

BUT VAMPIRE BATS
ONLY WEIGH TWO OUNCES,

SO COULD THE SAME PRINCIPLE

WORK ON THE SCALE
OF A GIANT PTEROSAUR?

MIKE HAS COME TO A LOCAL
FIRING RANGE TO INVESTIGATE.

Habib: SO, WHAT WE HAVE HERE
IS A MODERN CROSSBOW,

AND IT'S A VERY EFFECTIVE WAY
OF TALKING ABOUT PTEROSAURS.

GIANT PTEROSAURS
WOULD BE STRETCHING

ITS TENDONS BY CROUCHING,

AND THE CROUCH PHASE
WOULD BE MUCH SLOWER

THAN THE LAUNCH PHASE,

SO IT PUTS THE ENERGY IN SLOWLY,
THEN LETS IT OUT QUICK.

SO, I'M GOING TO PUT IN
THE ENERGY HERE NICE AND SLOW.

YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE LIMBS
ON THE CROSSBOW ARE BENDING.

THAT'S THE ENERGY BEING STORED
IN THE FLEXING OF THE LIMBS.

THERE'S A LOT OF ENERGY IN HERE,

AND WHEN I LET IT OUT
TO FIRE THE BOLT,

IT'S GOING TO GO
REALLY, REALLY FAST.

Narrator: THIS CATAPULT CROSSBOW
STORES SO MUCH ENERGY,

IT CAN FIRE A BOLT
AT UP TO 218 MILES PER HOUR.

Habib: WOW!

IT'S A LOT OF ENERGY
IN THIS BOW.

IT DOESN'T HAVE MUCH KICK,

BECAUSE IT'S REALLY
WELL ENGINEERED,

BUT YOU CAN TELL THAT BOLT'S
COMING OUT OF THERE REAL FAST.

Narrator: THE CROSSBOW
CAN FIRE THIS LIGHTWEIGHT BOLT

HUNDREDS OF FEET
THROUGH THE AIR.

Habib: NOT A BAD SHOT.

Narrator:
BUT HOW DO THESE MECHANICS

SCALE UP
TO A 550-POUND PTEROSAUR?

Habib: BY STORING ALL THIS
ENERGY IN THIS GIANT TENDON,

BIG PTEROSAURS WOULD HAVE BEEN
ABLE TO TAKE OFF LIKE A ROCKET,

LAUNCHING A MASS
ABOUT THE SAME AS A GRIZZLY BEAR

INTO THE AIR
IN UNDER HALF A SECOND.

Narrator:
MIKE CALCULATED THE PTEROSAURS

ONLY NEEDED TO GET
SIX FEET OFF THE GROUND.

THAT WOULD GIVE THEM
JUST ENOUGH ROOM

TO UNFURL THEIR VAST WINGS
AND BEAT FOR THE FIRST TIME.

THEN, WHEN THEY'RE AIRBORNE,

JUST LIKE GIANT BIRDS,
THEY GLIDE.

THESE GIANTS WERE THE LARGEST
FLYING CREATURES EVER,

BUT THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN
NO MATCH

FOR THE NEXT BEAST ON OUR LIST,

A SNAKE OF ASTONISHING SIZE.

[GROWLING]

THIS IS THE STORY OF A CREATURE

THAT LOOKS LIKE IT BELONGS
IN A HOLLYWOOD B MOVIE.

IT BEGINS IN 2004,

IN THE COLOMBIAN REGION
OF CERREJON.

A VAST MINING OPERATION
HAD EXPOSED A FOSSILIZED FOREST,

DATING TO JUST AFTER
THE EXTINCTION OF THE DINOSAURS.

PALEONTOLOGIST JONATHAN BLOCH
LED AN EXPEDITION TO THE SITE.

HE RETURNED
WITH SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY.

Jonathan Bloch:
THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND.

THIS IS A RECOGNIZABLE VERTEBRA.

WHEN WE ORIGINALLY
DISCOVERED THIS,

WE THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS
THE VERTEBRA OF A CROCODILE.

Narrator:
BUT THIS WAS NO CROCODILE.

JOHN HAD IDENTIFIED THE VERTEBRA

OF THE LARGEST SNAKE
EVER TO ROAM THE EARTH--

TITANOBOA.

Bloch:
THIS IS THE LARGEST VERTEBRA

FROM THE BACKBONE
OF A 17-FOOT-LONG ANACONDA,

WHICH IS THE MOST MASSIVE SNAKE
ALIVE TODAY.

Narrator: WHEN YOU COMPARE
THE ANACONDA VERTEBRA

TO THE 60-MILLION-YEAR-OLD
FOSSIL,

TITANOBOA'S
TRUE SIZE BECOMES CLEAR.

Bloch: THAT COMPARISON
IS REALLY INCREDIBLY DRAMATIC.

IT EVEN STILL
TAKES MY BREATH AWAY.

Narrator: USING THE ANATOMY OF
TODAY'S GIANT SNAKES AS A GUIDE,

BLOCH'S TEAM SET OUT

TO RECONSTRUCT
TITANOBOA'S SKELETON,

PIECING TOGETHER THE FRAGMENTS.

THEY CALLED IN FOSSIL
SNAKE EXPERT JASON HEAD

TO VERIFY THEIR FINDINGS.

Jason Head:
THE NUMBERS THAT WE KEPT GETTING

WERE SO INCREDIBLE IN TERMS

OF ITS WEIGHT
AND ITS LENGTH AND ITS GIRTH,

AT FIRST I WAS SUSPICIOUS
WE WERE DOING THE MATH RIGHT.

Narrator:
AT TWO AND A HALF FEET ACROSS,

TITANOBOA WOULD STRUGGLE
TO FIT THROUGH YOUR FRONT DOOR.

WEIGHING IN AT OVER A TON,
IT WOULD BE FOUR TIMES HEAVER

THAN THE LARGEST SNAKES
ALIVE TODAY.

AND AT 45 FEET, IT WOULD BE
AS LONG AS A SCHOOL BUS.

Head: SO, WE'RE LOOKING
AT A LOWER JAW

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN,
YOU KNOW, THIS LONG,

ABOUT FOUR TIMES THE SIZE
OF A LARGE GIANT PYTHON TODAY.

TITANOBOA THEORETICALLY COULD
HAVE PROBABLY OPENED ITS MOUTH

WIDE ENOUGH FOR YOU OR I
TO ACTUALLY STAND IN IT.

Bloch: RIGHT.

Narrator:
WHAT'S CLEAR IS THAT THIS SNAKE

WAS SIMPLY TOO LARGE
TO LIVE ON LAND.

Bloch: BECAUSE IT WAS
SUCH A MASSIVE SNAKE,

IT WOULD HAVE HAD TROUBLE
SUPPORTING ITS OWN WEIGHT.

THIS ANIMAL PROBABLY WOULD HAVE
HAD TO SPEND MOST, IF NOT ALL,

OF ITS TIME IN THE WATER.

Sues: THE ISSUES OF WEIGHT

DISAPPEAR BECAUSE THE WATER

SUPPORTS YOU,

AND THAT'S THE REASON

WHY WE HAVE SO MANY REALLY

BIG CREATURES IN THE WATER,

BECAUSE WEIGHT IS NOT AN ISSUE,

WHEREAS WEIGHT
IS AN ISSUE ON LAND,

AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE LIMBS,
THAT HOLDS AN ADDITIONAL ISSUE.

Narrator: IN THE WATER, IT WOULD
HAVE FOUND PLENTY TO PREY ON.

Head: IN ITS ECOSYSTEM,

TITANOBOA LIVED
WITH GIANT CROCODILIANS,

LIVED WITH GIANT TURTLES
AND THESE GIANT FISHES,

AND IT PROBABLY COULD HAVE EATEN
ALL OF THEM.

Narrator:
IT'S BEEN 60 MILLION YEARS

SINCE TITANOBOA BECAME EXTINCT,

SO IT'S A LITTLE DIFFICULT
TO MEET ONE NOW,

BUT, AGAIN, EXPERTS CAN USE
TODAY'S SNAKES TO GET CLOSE.

THIS IS A RETICULATED PYTHON,
THE LONGEST SPECIES ALIVE TODAY.

Head: THESE ARE THE CLOSEST
LIVING RELATIVES TO TITANOBOA,

AND A LOT OF THEIR ANATOMY
IS SIMILAR TO TITANOBOA,

AND, FROM THAT, WE INFER
VERY SIMILAR BEHAVIORS--

CONSTRICTION, AMBUSH PREDATION.

IN THE CASE OF ANACONDAS,
LIVING IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS.

[CHOKING]

Narrator:
AT THIS MOMENT IN OUR INTERVIEW,

GOLDIE THE PYTHON
CHOOSES TO FLEX HER MUSCLES.

Head: THAT'S BETTER.

Narrator: THIS ISN'T AN ATTEMPT
TO TREAT JASON AS PREY.

IT'S SIMPLY HER NORMAL MOVEMENT.

Head:
IS SHE IN A GOOD MOOD STILL?

Narrator: BUT WHEN ACTUALLY
ON THE HUNT, SHE'S DEADLY.

Head: WHEN BOAS AND PYTHONS
CONSTRICT THEIR PREY,

THEY'RE PUTTING
SO MUCH PRESSURE

ON THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
OF THE PREY ANIMAL

THAT THEY ACTUALLY
INDUCE A HEART ATTACK.

THEY CAN STOP THE HEART
BY SQUEEZING SO HARD.

Sues: SO, IF YOU HAVE
LIKE A METER-LONG BOA,

CAN REALLY ALREADY PUT
QUITE A SQUEEZE ON YOU,

AND BY THE TIME YOU GRADUATE

TO, SAY, HOLDING A MEDIUM-SIZED
ANACONDA, YOU KNOW,

IF THAT ANACONDA DECIDES
TO CONSTRICT AROUND YOU,

IT TAKES CONSIDERABLE EFFORT
TO GET IT TO CHANGE ITS WAYS.

Narrator:
SNAKES HAVE BEEN RECORDED

CONSTRICTING AT 25 POUNDS
PER SQUARE INCH.

DELIVERED BY A SNAKE
TITANOBOA'S SIZE,

THAT WOULD EASILY BE ENOUGH
TO CRUSH PREY AS BIG AS A RHINO.

TO FIND OUT WHAT THIS KIND
OF FORCE LOOKS LIKE,

SNAKE EXPERT RHYS JONES
IS OVERSEEING A LITTLE TEST,

USING A COLLECTION
OF HEAVY MACHINERY.

Rhys Jones:
WE'VE GOT AN EXPERIMENT SET UP

WHICH WILL HELP US TO TRY
AND VISUALIZE

EXACTLY THE TYPE
OF FORCES NEEDED

TO OVERCOME
THESE HUGE PREY ITEMS.

SO, WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE,
WE'VE GOT A TRUCK.

THIS IS FIXED IN PLACE.

THIS BIG YELLOW ROPE HERE
IS REPRESENTATIVE OF OUR SNAKE,

AND IT'S GOT, AS YOU CAN SEE,

TWO COILS HERE
AROUND THIS OIL DRUM.

THE OIL DRUM IS REPRESENTING
OUR PREY ITEM.

IT'S FULL OF WATER.
IT'S SEALED.

THAT'S GOING TO
TAKE SOME PRESSURE

TO BE ABLE TO CRUSH THAT,

SO WE'RE GOING TO NEED MUSCLE.

Narrator:
CUE A SEVEN-TON TRACTOR

WITH A 190-HORSEPOWER ENGINE.

THIS VERSUS A SEALED BARREL
OUGHT TO BE A TOUGH TEST.

[CREAKING]

AS THE TRACTOR PULLS ON,
THE PRESSURE PASSES 25 PSI.

THAT'S THE CRUSHING POWER
OF TYPICAL CONSTRICTORS TODAY,

BUT TITANOBOA
HAD FOUR TIMES THE BULK,

AND ESTIMATES SAY IT COULD
PULL OFF CRUSHING FORCES

OF UP TO 110 POUNDS
PER SQUARE INCH,

THE SAME PRESSURE
AS HAVING AN EIGHT-TON TRUCK

PARKED ON YOUR CHEST.

Jones: LOOK, IT'S JUST SQUEEZED
IT LIKE A TOY, HASN'T IT?

THAT IS JUST INCREDIBLE.

I THINK OUR SNAKE PRETTY MUCH
NAILED IT, DON'T YOU?

Narrator: IT ONLY TOOK 55 PSI
TO BURST THE BARREL,

HALF WHAT TITANOBOA
MIGHT HAVE DONE,

BUT MORE THAN ENOUGH

TO CRUSH THE LIFE
OUT OF ANY LIVING THING.

Jones: I MEAN, LOOK
AT THE DAMAGE TO THIS OIL DRUM.

CAN YOU IMAGINE IF THAT TYPE
OF PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO YOU?

YOU WOULDN'T LAST TWO SECONDS.

Narrator: TITANOBOA'S PHENOMENAL
CRUSHING FORCE

MADE IT THE APEX PREDATOR
ON EARTH FOR 10 MILLION YEARS.

♪

[GROWLING]

TITANOBOA WAS THE LARGEST SNAKE
IN EARTH'S HISTORY,

NEARLY TWICE THE WINGSPAN
OF THE BIGGEST FLYING BIRD

AND ALMOST 10 FEET LONGER

THAN THE WINGSPAN
OF THE LARGEST FLYING CREATURE,

BUT AS MASSIVE
AS THIS PREDATOR WAS,

NEXT UP IS SOMETHING BIGGER
AND EVEN MORE TERRIFYING.

AT FIRST GLANCE,
THIS BEAST LOOKS LIKE A CROSS

BETWEEN A GIANT TURTLE
AND A MEGA-CROCODILE.

BUT WHAT THIS SUBMARINE-SIZED
SEA MONSTER REALLY WAS,

AND HOW IT BECAME APEX PREDATOR,

HAS BECOME
A 100-MILLION-YEAR-OLD MYSTERY.

IN 2003,
NEW EVIDENCE CAME TO LIGHT

ON THE SOUTH COAST OF THE U.K.

IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR FOSSILS,
THE JURASSIC COAST OF DORSET

IS ONE OF THE MOST FERTILE
HUNTING GROUNDS ON EARTH.

KEVAN SHEEHAN HAS BEEN COMING
HERE FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS.

Kevan Sheehan:
I SAW THREE PIECES

OF WHAT I THOUGHT
WAS FOSSILIZED WOOD.

I GOT REALLY EXCITED
BECAUSE I THOUGHT,

"WOW, THERE'S GOT TO BE
MORE OF THIS,"

AND THEN, JOY OF JOYS, THERE'S
THIS HUGE PIECE OF BONE STUCK.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE A METEORITE
HAS GONE BANG INTO THE CLIFF.

Narrator: EMBEDDED IN THE CLIFF
WERE DOZENS OF PIECES OF FOSSIL.

REASSEMBLED,
THEY MADE SOMETHING INCREDIBLE--

THE MOST COMPLETE SKULL
EVER DISCOVERED OF A PLIOSAURUS.

PALEONTOLOGIST
RICHARD FORREST IS AN EXPERT

ON THESE ANCIENT MONSTERS.

Richard Forrest:
THIS IS A GIANT KILLING MACHINE.

THIS PLIOSAUR
WAS THE TOP PREDATOR.

IT WAS THE PEAK OF THE PYRAMID.

THEY WERE BASICALLY
JUST BIG, POWERFUL BRUTES

THAT DEVASTATED
ANYTHING IN THEIR WAY.

IT'S AN AWESOME ANIMAL.

Narrator:
THE BIGGEST KNOWN PLIOSAURUS

HAD FLIPPERS NINE FEET LONG.

THAT'S LIKE A BASKETBALL PLAYER
AT FULL STRETCH.

IF IT SWAM IN TODAY'S WATERS,

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN
AS BIG AS A NAVAL PATROL BOAT.

THAT'S 45 FEET.

IN TERMS OF WEIGHT, IT WOULD
HAVE TAKEN ABOUT 44 COMPACT CARS

TO BALANCE OUT ONE PLIOSAURUS.

[GROWLS]

THE STRONGEST BITER ALIVE TODAY
IS THE SALTWATER CROCODILE,

WITH A BITE FORCE OF 1.8 TONS.

PLIOSAURUS HAD A BITE
NEARLY 10 TIMES STRONGER.

IT WAS THE T. REX
OF THE OCEAN.

Sues: PLIOSAURUS
WERE AMBUSH PREDATORS,

SO THEY WOULD BASICALLY
HAVE SPOTTED PREY,

AND THEN JUST LIKE A CROCODILE

GONE FOR SORT OF A QUICK AMBUSH,

AND THEN, OF COURSE,
WITH THIS ENORMOUS MOUTH

FESTOONED
WITH THESE MASSIVE TEETH,

COULD HAVE SUBDUED
ANYTHING THEY WANTED TO EAT.

Forrest: WE HAVE THESE
GREAT TEETH AT THE FRONT,

WHICH IS WHERE
IT GRABS THE PREY.

THAT'S WHAT CATCHES IT.

THEN IT MOVES A BIT FURTHER
BACK, THEN ANOTHER SET OF TEETH,

AND THESE ARE THE ONES THAT
CUT THE PREY UP INTO PIECES.

THEN WE HAVE THESE TEETH,
WHICH ARE HOOKED BACKWARDS,

SO ONCE THE PREY GETS TO THERE,
THERE'S NO WAY OUT.

Narrator:
BUT THAT THROWS UP QUESTIONS.

IF YOU'RE GOING TO
BITE SOMETHING,

YOU'VE GOT TO BE ABLE
TO CATCH IT FIRST.

SO, HOW DOES A 45-FEET PREDATOR

THE SIZE OF A LARGE
SHIPPING CONTAINER

KEEP UP WITH ITS PREY?

THE SECRET MUST LIE IN
THEIR FOUR BOAT-SIZED FLIPPERS.

THE CLOSEST MATCH
TO A PLIOSAURUS FLIPPER TODAY

BELONGS TO A CREATURE
FAR LESS FRIGHTENING.

PENGUINS MAY LOOK FUNNY
WHEN THEY WADDLE ON LAND,

BUT UNDERWATER
THEY'RE LIKE ROCKETS,

WHIZZING AROUND AT SPEEDS
OF UP TO 20 MILES PER HOUR.

BIOMECHANICS EXPERT
FLAVIO NOCA

IS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND

HOW THEY REACH
THESE EXTRAORDINARY SPEEDS.

USING A HIGH-SPEED CAMERA,

HE FILMS PENGUINS
MOVING AROUND UNDERWATER.

Flavio Noca:
THIS CAMERA IS ACTUALLY ABLE

TO GO UP
TO 12,000 IMAGES PER SECOND.

Narrator: THAT MEANS
THAT EVERY MINUTE DETAIL

OF FLIPPER ACTION
IS CAPTURED.

FLAVIO'S FOOTAGE REVEALS

THAT PENGUINS AREN'T SWIMMING
WITH THEIR FLIPPERS.

THEY'RE FLAPPING THEM
LIKE A BIRD.

THEY'RE FLYING UNDERWATER,

AND BY TWISTING THEIR WINGS
AS THEY FLAP,

PENGUINS CAN PROPEL THEMSELVES
FORWARD ON THE UPSTROKE

AS WELL AS THE DOWNSTROKE,

WHICH IS SOMETHING
MOST AIRBORNE BIRDS CAN'T DO.

THE PLIOSAURUS HAD NOT TWO,
BUT FOUR FLIPPERS,

AND THEY WERE GIGANTIC.

ALL SIGNS POINT
TO THIS MEGA-MONSTER

BEING NOT ONLY
ONE OF THE BIGGEST,

BUT ALSO ONE OF THE FASTEST
PREDATORS IN THE OCEAN.

AEROSPACE ENGINEER LUKE MUSCUTT
IS INVESTIGATING HOW THEY MOVED.

USING X-RAYS OF FOSSILS,
LUKE HAS RECREATED

A PAIR OF PLIOSAUR FLIPPERS
HE CALLS WINGS.

Luke Muscutt: PLIOSAURS
WERE REALLY GOOD SWIMMERS,

AND THE AIM OF THE GAME
IS TO CHASE DOWN THE PREY,

AND OBVIOUSLY TO DO THAT,
YOU NEED TO BE VERY FAST.

YOU NEED TO HAVE A HIGH THRUST
AND A HIGH ACCELERATION.

Narrator: BY SUSPENDING
THE WINGS IN A TANK,

HE'S TRYING TO DETERMINE
HOW THE FRONT AND BACK WINGS

WORK TOGETHER
TO PROPEL THE PLIOSAURUS.

BLUE AND RED DYES REVEAL
HOW EACH WING MOVES THE WATER.

LUKE MOVES THE WINGS TOGETHER
IN DIFFERENT WAYS

AND RECORDS THE AMOUNT
OF PROPULSION GENERATED.

HE NOTICES CERTAIN MOVEMENTS

HAVE A EXTRAORDINARY EFFECT
ON THE BACK WING.

Muscutt:
SO, INITIAL RESULTS SUGGEST

THAT THE HIND WING
CAN PRODUCE A THRUST

WHICH IS
ABOUT 50 PERCENT HIGHER

THAN A WING OPERATING
ON ITS OWN.

Narrator: BY HARNESSING THE WAKE
OF THE FRONT WING,

THE PLIOSAURUS COULD GENERATE

TWO AND A HALF TIMES
AS MUCH THRUST

AS IT WOULD
WITH JUST ONE SET OF WINGS.

AND THAT IS HOW THIS MEGA-BEAST

GAINED SUDDEN
AND TREMENDOUS ACCELERATION.

ITS PREY WOULDN'T HAVE
STOOD A CHANCE.

PLIOSAURUS IS JUST THE LATEST

IN OUR LINEUP OF THE WORLD'S
BIGGEST BEASTS EVER.

SO FAR,
WE'VE REVEALED GRIFFINFLY,

THE BIGGEST INSECT
IN EARTH'S HISTORY.

PELAGORNIS, THE BIRD
WITH THE LONGEST WINGSPAN.

PARACERATHERIUM, THE BIGGEST
MAMMAL TO WALK THE EARTH.

GIANT PTEROSAURS, THE LARGEST
FLYING CREATURES EVER.

TITANOBOA, THE LONGEST KNOWN
SNAKE OF ALL TIME.

AND PLIOSAURUS, THE LARGEST
PREDATORY MARINE REPTILE.

BUT COMING UP IS A BIZARRE
DINOSAUR THAT BEATS THEM ALL.

[GROWLING]

NEW DISCOVERIES OF ONE
OF THE STRANGEST DINOSAURS EVER

ARE REWRITING THE TEXTBOOKS--

A MONSTER DINOSAUR
WITH VICIOUS TEETH,

CLAWS ALMOST AS BIG
AS A HUMAN ARM.

Paul Sereno: WE'RE TALKING
SOMETHING OF ENORMOUS LENGTH

THAT COULD SLICE YOU
WITH ONE MOTION.

Narrator:
AND A MASSIVE SPINY SAIL.

Nizar Ibrahim: THE SPINES
ARE TALLER THAN A PERSON.

EVERY NOW AND THEN, WE COME
ACROSS REALLY BIZARRE DINOSAURS.

IN MY BOOK, IT'S THE MOST
BIZARRE DINOSAUR OUT THERE.

Narrator: PALEONTOLOGIST
NIZAR IBRAHIM WAS ON EXPEDITION

TO THE SAHARA DESERT
IN MOROCCO IN 2013.

WHEN HE SAW THE BEAST'S BONES,

HE KNEW
THEY WERE SOMETHING SPECIAL.

THIS WAS A SPINOSAURUS,
OR SPINE LIZARD.

IT LIVED 100 MILLION YEARS AGO.

EVERYTHING ABOUT SPINOSAURUS
IS VAST.

Ibrahim:
SEEING IT IN FRONT OF YOU,

YOU REALIZE,
"WOW, THIS IS ONE BIG PREDATOR."

Narrator:
THE SEVEN-FEET SPINY SAIL

MEANS SPINOSAURUS STANDS

MORE THAN TWICE
THE HEIGHT OF A HUMAN.

AT 50 FEET LONG
FROM SNOUT TO TAIL,

IT IS 10 FEET LONGER
THAN T. REX.

IT'S SO BIG, IT'S THE LENGTH
OF A FIRE TRUCK.

WEIGHING IN AT 22 TONS,

THIS IS THE BIGGEST PREDATOR
TO EVER WALK THE EARTH.

BUT SPINOSAURUS WASN'T THE ONLY
DANGEROUS DINO ON THE BLOCK.

100 MILLION YEARS AGO, THIS
DESERT WAS A VAST RIVER SYSTEM

BURSTING
WITH OTHER GIANT PREDATORS.

Ibrahim:
I CALL IT THE RIVER OF GIANTS

BECAUSE IT WAS HOME TO GIANT
FISH, GIANT FLYING REPTILES,

SEVERAL T. REX-SIZED
PREDATORY DINOSAURS.

IT WAS PROBABLY
THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE

IN THE HISTORY OF OUR PLANET.

Sereno: IT'S JAM-PACKED
WITH ALL THESE PREDATORS,

TO THE POINT WHERE YOU SAY,
"WHAT WERE THEY LIVING ON?

WHERE WERE THE HERBIVORES
TO SUPPORT THIS MANY PREDATORS?"

Narrator: IT WAS A MYSTERY.

WITH SO FEW PLANT-EATING
DINOSAURS TO FEED ON,

WHAT ENABLED SPINOSAURUS
TO SURVIVE HERE

AND BECOME
THE BIGGEST PREDATOR OF ALL?

AS NIZAR AND HIS TEAM
LOOKED CLOSER AT THE BONES,

THEY BEGAN TO FIND CLUES,

STRANGE FEATURES
THAT MARKED THIS PREDATOR OUT

FROM OTHER DINOSAURS
LIKE T. REX.

Ibrahim:
THIS ANIMAL DIDN'T LOOK ANYTHING

LIKE T. REX
OR OTHER PREDATORY DINOSAURS.

IT WAS LIKE WORKING
ON AN ALIEN FROM OUTER SPACE.

Narrator: FOR STARTERS,
THE TEETH WERE AN UNUSUAL SHAPE.

Ibrahim:
SPINOSAURUS IS REALLY ALL ABOUT

GRABBING PREY AND HOLDING IT

IN THESE MASSIVE JAWS
WITH LONG, CONICAL TEETH,

SO THESE TEETH ARE GREAT
TO GRAB SLIPPERY PREY.

Narrator:
AT OVER FIVE FEET LONG,

THESE JAWS WERE CAPABLE

OF SWALLOWING PREY
THE SIZE OF A PERSON, WHOLE.

[SNARLING]

NEXT, NIZAR NOTICED THAT,
FOR A PREDATORY DINOSAUR,

THE FRONT LIMBS
WERE UNUSUALLY LONG.

THOUGH NOT ALL EXPERTS AGREE,

NIZAR BELIEVES SPINOSAURUS
MAY EVEN HAVE WALKED ON THEM,

AND THE BACK FEET
WERE JUST AS STRANGE.

Ibrahim: NOW, THE FEET OF
SPINOSAURUS ARE REALLY BIZARRE.

TYPICALLY
IN PREDATORY DINOSAURS,

THE CLAWS WOULD BE RECURVED

TO GRAB PREY
AND PIN IT TO THE GROUND.

IN SPINOSAURUS,
THE CLAWS ARE ALMOST FLAT,

AND THEY'RE QUITE WIDE.

IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE A PADDLE,
AND I THINK IT'S QUITE LIKELY

THAT THE FEET OF SPINOSAURS
WERE WEBBED,

JUST LIKE
IN MANY BIRDS OR CROCODILES.

Sereno: THIS HAS MORE TO DO
WITH PADDLING AND SWIMMING

THAN RUNNING ON LAND.

Narrator: EVERYTHING
WAS POINTING IN ONE DIRECTION.

THIS LOOKED LIKE A BEAST
THAT HUNTED AND SWAM IN WATER.

Sereno: THIS WAS A DINOSAUR
THAT WAS DOING SOMETHING

NO OTHER PREDATORY DINOSAUR
WAS ADAPTED TO DO.

Ibrahim:
THIS IS A RIVER MONSTER.

Narrator: THIS WAS
AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY.

IT SUGGESTED SPINOSAURUS
HUNTED FISH,

GIVING IT A MAJOR ADVANTAGE

OVER THE OTHER
DINOSAUR PREDATORS.

BUT IF SPINOSAURUS WAS SWIMMING,
HOW DID IT HUNT?

HOW COULD SOMETHING THIS BULKY

CHASE DOWN ENOUGH FAST-MOVING
FISH TO GROW TO MONSTER SIZE?

TO FIND OUT,
THE TEAM SCANNED THE BONES.

A CT SCANNER ALLOWED SCIENTISTS
TO RECORD THE FOSSILS IN 3-D

AND SEE INSIDE THEM.

SUDDENLY, THE SKULL
FROM ANOTHER SPINOSAURUS

STARTED TO REVEAL NEW SECRETS.

Ibrahim: THIS IS THE TIP
OF THE SNOUT OF SPINOSAURUS.

SO, WHEN YOU LOOK
AT THE OUTSIDE OF THE SNOUT,

YOU HAVE ALL THESE OPENINGS,
AND IT'S REALLY UNUSUAL.

Narrator: THE CT SCAN REVEALED
THAT INSIDE THE SKULL

A COMPLEX NETWORK OF TUBES RUNS
FROM THE HOLES TO THE BRAIN.

Ibrahim: IT'S REALLY
A NETWORK OF OPENINGS,

AND SO CLEARLY, THERE'S
SOMETHING HAPPENING THERE.

THERE'S PROBABLY
SOME KIND OF SENSORY FUNCTION.

Narrator: IT REMINDED NIZAR

OF SOME OF TODAY'S
DEADLIEST PREDATORS--

CROCODILIANS.

[WILDEBEEST BELLOWING]

CROCS AND ALLIGATORS HAVE
SIMILAR HOLES ON THEIR SNOUTS.

THEY'RE CALLED FORAMINA,

AND, FOR MANY YEARS,
THEY, TOO, MYSTIFIED EXPERTS.

NEUROBIOLOGIST DAPHNE SOARES
MADE IT HER MISSION

TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY WERE FOR.

Daphne Soares:
WOW! AS YOU CAN SEE,

THESE ANIMALS
ARE REALLY WELL ADAPTED

TO LIVING IN THE WATER.

Narrator: DAPHNE DEVISED
AN UNUSUAL EXPERIMENT.

SHE PUT YOUNG ALLIGATORS
INTO A TANK,

BLOCKED UP THE FORAMINA
ON THEIR SNOUTS,

AND THEN TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS.

Soares: I HAVE THE ANIMALS
IN COMPLETE DARKNESS

SO THEY CAN'T SEE,

AND THEIR EARS ARE COVERED
SO THEY CAN'T HEAR.

Narrator:
THEN, TO MIMIC THE MOVEMENT

OF SMALL PREY
FALLING IN THE WATER,

DAPHNE HIT UPON
USING WATER DROPLETS.

Soares:
AND I'M USING WATER DROPLETS

BECAUSE THEY DON'T
SMELL LIKE ANYTHING.

Narrator: WITH ALL THEIR SENSES
NEUTRALIZED,

THE ALLIGATORS
DIDN'T REACT AT ALL.

THEN DAPHNE UNBLOCKED
JUST THE SNOUT HOLES

AND REPEATED THE DRIP TEST.

DAPHNE'S EXPERIMENT REVEALED

THAT THE OPENINGS
IN THE GATOR'S SNOUT

HID PRESSURE SENSORS

THAT CAN PICK UP
THE TINIEST MOVEMENTS IN WATER.

THIS SUPER SENSE GIVES CROCS

AN ASTONISHING REACTION SPEED
OF FIVE HUNDREDTHS OF A SECOND,

AS FAST
AS A LAMBORGHINI GEARSHIFT.

THE HOLES ON SPINOSAURUS' SKULL

LIKELY HID
SIMILAR PRESSURE SENSORS.

Sereno: THIS IS THE SUPER SENSE

THAT ALLOWED SPINOSAURUS
TO BECOME THE ULTIMATE PREDATOR.

Ibrahim:
YOU CAN JUST IMAGINE SPINOSAURUS

PLUNGING ITS HUGE JAWS
IN THE WATER

AND DETECTING MOVEMENT
AND THEN CATCHING PREY.

Narrator: THIS SUPER SENSE

AND THE ABILITY TO HUNT
IN WATER AS WELL ON LAND

MADE SPINOSAURUS THE BIGGEST
PREDATOR TO EVER WALK THE EARTH.

BUT COMING UP,
THE NEXT GIANT BEAST

IS THE BIGGEST APEX PREDATOR
OF ALL TIME.

[GROWLING]

STALKING THE OCEANS

FROM 16 MILLION
TO 3 MILLION YEARS AGO,

THE BIGGEST APEX PREDATOR
EVER--MEGALODON.

THE NAME SIMPLY MEANS BIG TOOTH,

AND IT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN
THE MOST VORACIOUS SHARK EVER.

Stephen Godfrey:
THERE WAS NOTHING THAT WAS
SAFE FROM MEGALODON.

IF IT COULD CATCH IT,
IT COULD KILL IT.

Narrator: MUCH ABOUT THIS GIANT
REMAINS MYSTERIOUS.

BUT NEW CLUES
ARE COMING TO LIGHT

IN PANAMA, CENTRAL AMERICA,

IN, OF ALL PLACES,
A CEMENT QUARRY.

HERE, GIANT EXCAVATORS
ARE DIGGING

THROUGH THE BED
OF AN ANCIENT COASTLINE.

Catalina Pimiento:
10 MILLION YEARS AGO,

THIS AREA
WAS COVERED BY WATER.

WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE OF THE
KINDS OF FOSSILS WE FIND HERE.

FOR EXAMPLE,
WE FIND PLENTY OF THESE SHELLS

THAT ARE TYPICAL
FROM SHALLOW-WATER AREAS.

Narrator: BUT AS WELL AS SHELLS,
PALEOBIOLOGIST CATALINA PIMIENTO

IS ALSO FINDING MEGALODON TEETH,

BUT THERE'S SOMETHING STRANGE
ABOUT THEM.

Pimiento:
THE TEETH THAT WE FIND HERE

FROM MEGALODON ARE VERY SMALL,

RELATIVE TO TYPICAL
MEGALODON TEETH

THAT WE FIND IN OTHER PLACES.

I KNOW THESE ARE MEGALODON TEETH

BECAUSE THEY ARE
A PARTICULAR SHAPE.

THEY ARE TRIANGULAR
AND QUITE SYMMETRICAL,

BUT, MOST IMPORTANTLY,

BECAUSE OF THE SERRATIONS
THEY HAVE ON THEIR EDGES.

Narrator: THERE'S
ONLY ONE LOGICAL CONCLUSION.

Pimiento: THE REASON
IS THAT MOST OF THEM

WERE BABIES OR JUVENILES.

Narrator: CATALINA HAS MADE
AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY,

THE FIRST EVER EVIDENCE
FOR A MEGALODON BREEDING GROUND.

Pimiento: THIS AREA RIGHT HERE

IS THE FIRST NURSERY AREA
FOR MEGALODON.

Narrator: BUT EVEN
AMONG THESE INFANT SPECIMENS,

MEGALODON'S EXTRAORDINARY SIZE
WAS STRIKING.

THE BABY'S TEETH WERE AS BIG AS
THOSE OF TODAY'S DEADLY GIANTS,

THE ADULT GREAT WHITE.

Pimiento:
THIS IS A MEGALODON BABY TOOTH,

AND THIS IS AN ADULT
GREAT WHITE SHARK.

YOU CAN SEE HERE
THAT THE BABY MEGALODON

WAS AS BIG
AS AN ADULT GREAT WHITE.

SO, IMAGINE WHEN THEY BORN,
MEGALODON BABIES WERE HUGE.

Narrator: THE FACT THAT CATALINA
HAD TO MAKE HER DEDUCTIONS

USING TEETH ALONE ISN'T UNUSUAL.

IN FACT, ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT
EXPERTS KNOW ABOUT MEGALODON

COMES FROM LOOKING AT ITS TEETH.

Godfrey: WE DON'T FIND
THE SKELETONS OF MEGALODON

BECAUSE,
JUST LIKE LIVING SHARKS,

THEY'RE MADE OF CARTILAGE,

AND AFTER THE SHARK DIES,
THE CARTILAGE DISINTEGRATES,

BUT WE DO FIND THEIR TEETH,

AND WE CAN USE THESE TEETH
TO RECREATE

WHAT THE JAWS WOULD HAVE LOOKED
LIKE WHEN MEGALODON WAS ALIVE.

Narrator: WHAT THEY TELL US

IS THAT THE ADULT MEGALODON
WAS A GOLIATH.

ITS JAWS ALONE WERE
UP TO SEVEN FEET HIGH,

EASILY TALL ENOUGH
TO SWALLOW A PERSON.

WEIGHING IN
AT A WHOPPING 100 TONS,

IT WAS 100 TIMES HEAVIER
THAN AN AVERAGE GREAT WHITE.

AND, AT 60 FEET LONG,

IT WAS THE LENGTH
OF AN 18-WHEELER.

AND THAT JAW,

UP TO 250 TEETH LINED THE MOUTH
IN SEVERAL ROWS,

WITH EDGES SERRATED
LIKE A STEAK KNIFE.

Godfrey: I MEAN, THESE TEETH
ARE JUST SO POWERFUL.

THE MASSIVE JAW MUSCLES
THAT THIS ANIMAL HAD,

TO CLOSE THESE JAWS,
IT WOULD JUST DISMEMBER

ANY ANIMAL THAT WAS ALIVE
ON EARTH AT THAT TIME.

Narrator:
AND STEPHEN HAS EVIDENCE

OF JUST WHAT
THESE JAWS COULD DO TO PREY.

Godfrey: WE KNOW FROM THE SIZE
AND SHAPE OF THIS BONE

THAT IT IS
A DOLPHIN TAIL VERTEBRA.

IT'S RIGHT DOWN NEAR THE FLUKE.

THERE ARE THESE DEEP GOUGES
ON EITHER SIDE.

THE ONLY WAY THAT THIS FOSSIL
COULD HAVE THESE DEEP GOUGES

WAS THAT IT WAS BITTEN
FORCEFULLY BY A MEGALODON.

OKAY, SO IF WE LOOK
AT A MEGALODON TOOTH.

SO, THE UPPER JAW SLAMS SHUT,

FORCING THE VERTEBRA
DOWN INTO THE WEDGE

BETWEEN TWO ADJACENT TEETH,
DEEPLY GOUGING THE BONE

WITH SUCH FORCE THAT IT PROBABLY
SEVERED THE TAIL OFF.

Narrator: EVERYTHING POINTS TO
AN ASTONISHINGLY POWERFUL BITE,

AND ONE MAN WHO HAS SET OUT

TO CALCULATE
EXACTLY HOW STRONG THAT BITE IS

IS SHARK BIOMECHANICS EXPERT
DAN HUBER.

DAN STARTS WITH A CT SCAN

OF THE SKULL
OF A MODERN GREAT WHITE.

Dan Huber: AFTER THE WHITE
SHARK'S HEAD IS CT SCANNED,

WE CAN CREATE
A COMPUTER MODEL OF IT.

WE CAN SEE THE LOWER
AND THE UPPER JAWS HERE,

AND THEN WE CAN APPLY VIRTUAL
MUSCLES TO THOSE VIRTUAL JAWS

AND RUN SIMULATIONS TO
FIGURE OUT HOW HARD IT CAN BITE.

Narrator: NEXT, DAN SCALES UP
TO MEGALODON SIZE.

Huber: AND IF WE APPLY
THESE NUMBERS TO WHAT WE THINK

IS THE BIGGEST MEGALODON
THAT'S EVER EXISTED,

ITS POSTERIOR BITE FORCE
WAS ABOUT 41,000 POUNDS,

OR ABOUT 18,500 KILOGRAMS.

Narrator: THAT'S LIKE THE WEIGHT
OF A GARBAGE TRUCK

PRESSING DOWN ON THE BACK TEETH.

SO, WHAT DOES A BITE FORCE OF
THIS SIZE LOOK LIKE IN ACTION?

[SIREN]

TO FIND OUT,
DAN IS GOING ON A MISSION.

HE'S JOINING UP
WITH THE TAMPA FIRE BRIGADE,

AND A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT

THEY USE FOR CUTTING VICTIMS
OUT OF CRASHED CARS--

THE JAWS OF LIFE.

Dennis L. Ponce:
IT'S LIGHTWEIGHT.

IT'S REALLY EASILY DEPLOYABLE.

Huber: SO, IS THIS THING
GOING TO BE ABLE TO GENERATE

41,000 POUNDS OF BITE FORCE
AT THE CORNER OF IT?

Ponce: ABSOLUTELY, DAN. THAT'S
EXACTLY WHERE IT'S GOING TO CUT,

SO THIS SHOULDN'T HAVE
ANY TROUBLE AT ALL

WHEN WE NEED TO CUT OPEN CARS.

Huber: SO, THAT'S ACTUALLY
PRETTY SIMILAR

TO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT

WITH THIS ANCIENT SHARK,
MEGALODON.

ALL RIGHT, LET'S SEE
WHAT THIS THING CAN DO.

Ponce:
ALL RIGHT, LET'S DO IT.

Narrator: FIRST, DAN TRIES OUT
THE JAWS ON A COW BONE,

SOMETHING SIMILAR TO
WHAT MEGALODON GOT TO CHEW ON.

Huber: LET'S GO AHEAD.

[WHIRRING]

SEE, IT SPLIT THE THING
IN HALF, NO PROBLEM AT ALL.

Narrator: NEXT UP IS THE CAR.

THE JAWS OF LIFE CAN DELIVER

THE SAME KIND OF BITE FORCE
AS MEGALODON,

ONLY FAR MORE SLOWLY.

MEGALODON
WOULD HAVE BEEN CAPABLE

OF BITING THROUGH
THE CAR IN A SPLIT SECOND.

Huber: FROM THIS,
WE KNOW THAT MEGALODON

COULD TEAR
THROUGH ANCIENT WHALES,

WE KNOW THAT IT COULD TEAR
THROUGH ANCIENT SEA TURTLES,

AND APPARENTLY IT COULD EVEN
TEAR THROUGH THIS CAR.

MEGALODON WAS THE BIGGEST
PREDATOR THAT'S EVER EXISTED,

AND ITS BITE FORCE
WAS THE HIGHEST BITE FORCE

THAT'S EVER HAPPENED
IN ANY ANIMAL

IN THE HISTORY OF THE PLANET.

Narrator: MEGALODON TOPS
ALL OTHER APEX PREDATORS.

IT WAS NEARLY ONE AND A HALF
TIMES THE LENGTH OF TITANOBOA.

IT WAS MORE THAN TWICE THE MASS
OF PLIOSAURUS,

AND IT WOULD HAVE DWARFED
SPINOSAURUS.

BUT THOUGH THIS GIANT SHARK WAS
THE BIGGEST APEX PREDATOR EVER,

IT SHARED THE OCEANS WITH
SOMETHING MUCH, MUCH BIGGER.

[GROWLING]

THEY ARE THE LARGEST
LIVING CREATURES ON EARTH

AND THE HEAVIEST IN HISTORY.

PROPELLED BY VAST TAILS,

THEY SPEND MUCH OF THEIR TIME
IN THE DEEP OCEANS.

BUT EVERY YEAR, COME SUMMERTIME,

BLUE WHALES APPEAR IN THE WATERS
JUST OFF LOS ANGELES.

♪

FOR ECOLOGIST ARI FRIEDLAENDER,

IT'S AN UNMISSABLE OPPORTUNITY
TO STUDY THEM.

Ari Friedlaender:
YOU GET CLOSE UP TO THEM,

AND YOU START TO SEE
HOW BIG THEY ARE.

YOU START REMEMBERING
WHAT IT FEELS LIKE

TO BE THIS TINY LITTLE PERSON
IN A PRETTY SMALL BOAT

NEXT TO THIS ENORMOUS WHALE.

IT'S KIND OF DAUNTING, YOU KNOW?

THEY'RE, THEY'RE HUGE.

Narrator:
THE NUMBERS ARE AWE-INSPIRING.

THE BLUE WHALE'S SO BIG
COMPARED TO A PERSON

THAT 90 OF US
COULD FIT ON ITS TAIL ALONE.

ITS 200-TON BULK
MAKES IT 30 TIMES HEAVIER

THAN AN AFRICAN ELEPHANT,

AND, AT 100 FEET, IT'S
THE SAME LENGTH AS A BOEING 737.

SO, HOW DOES A MAMMAL
GET SO BIG?

IT'S ONLY WHEN A WHALE
WASHES UP DEAD ON THE BEACH

THAT SCIENTISTS GET A CHANCE
TO REALLY STUDY THEIR ANATOMY.

Don Croll: NOW WE'RE
IN THE RIB CAGE OF THE WHALE,

AND ON EITHER SIDE OF
THE RIB CAGE WOULD BE THE LUNGS.

YOU'VE GOT THE HEART.
YOU'VE GOT THE STOMACH.

Narrator:
A HEART THE SIZE OF A CAR

CONNECTS TO A MILLION MILES
OF BLOOD VESSELS,

ENOUGH TO REACH
TO THE MOON AND BACK TWICE.

BUT THERE'S ONE FEATURE THAT'S
SUPERSIZED BEYOND ALL OTHERS--

THE MOUTH.

RATHER THAN HUNTING
ONE BIG ANIMAL,

BLUE WHALES
USE THEIR ENORMOUS MOUTHS

TO CATCH ENTIRE SHOALS
IN ONE GO.

THEY FEED ON TINY SHRIMP-LIKE
CRUSTACEANS CALLED KRILL.

Croll: MANY PEOPLE
THINK THAT IT'S AMAZING

THAT THE LARGEST ANIMAL
THAT'S EVER EXISTED

FEED ON SUCH A TINY ANIMAL,

BUT NO BLUE WHALE'S GOING,

"OH, THERE'S A KRILL.
I THINK I'LL TAKE THAT ONE."

WHAT THEY'RE DOING
IS THEY'RE TRYING TO FIND

HUGE, DENSE SWARMS OF KRILL,

AND A PREY ITEM FOR A BLUE WHALE
IS NOT ONE OF THESE GUYS,

IT'S THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS

AND TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF THESE GUYS.

Sues: GOING FOR THE SMALL END
REALLY MAKES VERY GOOD SENSE.

THESE THINGS ARE AVAILABLE
IN UNIMAGINABLE QUANTITIES,

AND YOU GET
A LOT OF PROTEINACEOUS,

RICHLY PROTEINACEOUS FOOD,

BY BASICALLY GETTING
A MOUTHFUL OF OCEAN WATER.

[RUMBLING]

Narrator:
A WHALE'S MOUTH IS SO BIG,

IT CAN TAKE IN 220 TONS OF WATER
IN ONE GO.

FOR ANYTHING ROUGHLY COMPARABLE,

YOU'D HAVE TO LOOK
AT SOMETHING LIKE THIS,

THE DC-10.

A SPECIALLY MODIFIED
FIREFIGHTING AIRLINER,

IT SWAPPED PASSENGER SEATS
FOR A MASSIVE WATER TANK.

Rick Hatton:
THIS IS THE BIGGEST TANKER

FLYING IN THE WORLD.

IT CARRIES 12,000 GALLONS
OR 44,000 LITERS OF LIQUID,

WHICH IS ROUGHLY
FOUR TO TEN TIMES

THE SIZE OF ANY OTHER AIRPLANE.

Narrator:
USED TO FIGHT FOREST FIRES,

THE DC-10 RELEASES ENOUGH WATER
TO COVER

THE LENGTH OF TEN FOOTBALL
PITCHES IN JUST ONE DROP.

BUT A BLUE WHALE PICKS UP
FOUR TIMES THIS MUCH WATER

IN A SINGLE MOUTHFUL.

Hatton: WE'RE VERY PROUD
OF THIS MACHINE,

BUT IF THE WHALE COULD FLY,
WE'D HIRE THE WHALE,

BECAUSE IT'S FOUR TIMES BIGGER.

Narrator: THE WHALE
MORE THAN DOUBLES ITS WEIGHT

WITH EACH GULP,

AND WHAT FOLLOWS IS ONE
OF THE WEIRDEST OPERATIONS

IN THE NATURAL WORLD.

WHEN THE WHALE
OPENS ITS MOUTH TO FEED,

THE WATER PUSHES
ITS ELEPHANT-SIZED TONGUE

ALL THE WAY BACK
TO ITS BELLY BUTTON.

THE TONGUE IS SUPER-STRETCHY
AND EXPANDS OUT,

LINING THE MOUTH
AND CREATING A HUGE SAC

FULL OF WATER AND KRILL.

THEN, MOUTH CLOSED,

THE WHALE RAMS THE TONGUE
FORWARD LIKE A PISTON.

IT FORCES THE WATER OUT

THROUGH SIEVE-LIKE GRILLES
CALLED BALEENS,

UNTIL ONLY THE KRILL
IS LEFT INSIDE.

THE ENERGY REQUIRED TO PERFORM
THIS MANEUVER IS COLOSSAL.

IN FACT, IN A SINGLE DAY,

BLUE WHALES BURN
UP TO THREE MILLION CALORIES,

THE EQUIVALENT
OF 10,000 HAMBURGERS.

Sues:
YOU KNOW, AT A CERTAIN POINT,

IT JUST SIMPLY BECOMES
DIFFICULT TO BREATHE,

TO MOVE BLOOD AROUND,

TO REGULATE BODY TEMPERATURE,
ALL THAT.

Friedlaender: JUST TO SATISFY

THEIR ENERGETIC DEMANDS
FOR A DAY,

IT PROBABLY TAKES
ABOUT A METRIC TON,

OR 1,000 KILOGRAMS OF KRILL.

Narrator: HOW DOES A CREATURE
BURNING THIS MUCH ENERGY

FIND ENOUGH FOOD
TO BECOME A GIANT?

THE ANSWER MUST LIE
IN HOW THEY HUNT.

BUT SINCE WHALES HUNT KRILL
HUNDREDS OF FEET UNDERWATER,

WITNESSING THIS BEHAVIOR

HAS BEEN ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE
UNTIL NOW.

ARI FRIEDLAENDER IS USING A TAG

THAT ENABLES HIM
TO SPY ON WHALES

EVEN WHEN THEY'RE DEEP
BELOW THE SURFACE.

IT CONTAINS A CAMERA
AND MOTION DETECTORS,

LIKE THE ONES
FOUND IN A SMARTPHONE.

ALL HE NEEDS TO DO NOW
IS ATTACH IT TO A 200-TON WHALE.

Friedlaender: YOU ALWAYS ARE A
LITTLE NERVOUS APPROACHING THEM.

THEY'RE WILD ANIMALS,

SO YOU NEVER KNOW
HOW THEY'RE GOING TO REACT.

Narrator:
ARI GETS INTO POSITION.

GOT IT.

ARI RETURNS TO BASE TO TRACK
THE WHALE ON HIS COMPUTER.

AS ARI PLOTS
THE WHALE'S POSITION IN 3-D,

HE SPOTS
SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY.

Friedlaender:
INCREDIBLY EXCITING.

UP UNTIL NOW,

WE BASICALLY THOUGHT THEY
JUST WENT THROUGH THE WATER,

TAKING THESE MUNCHES,
AND LUNGING,

SORT OF IN A STRAIGHT LINE,

BUT WE NOTICED THE ANIMALS
DIVING DOWN TO DEPTH

AND THEN IS DOING
THESE 360-DEGREE ROLLS.

THIS KIND
OF ACROBATIC MANEUVERING

IS SOMETHING WE HAD NO IDEA
AN ANIMAL THIS BIG COULD DO.

Narrator:
IMAGES FROM THE CAMERA

REVEAL THE WHALE ROLLS

JUST BEFORE IT OPENS
ITS MOUTH TO FEED.

Friedlaender:
THIS IS THE MECHANISM

THAT ALLOWS WHALES
TO GET SO BIG.

IF YOU'RE A WHALE, YOUR EYES ARE
ON THE SIDE OF YOUR HEAD.

THEY DON'T HAVE THIS
BINOCULAR VISION LIKE WE HAVE,

WHERE YOU CAN SEE
DIRECTLY FORWARD,

SO, IN ORDER FOR THAT ANIMAL
TO SEE ITS PREY IN FRONT OF IT,

IT KIND OF NEEDS
TO ROLL ITS BODY,

SO YOU MAXIMIZE
THE AMOUNT OF FOOD YOU GET,

AND YOU LIMIT THE AMOUNT
OF ENERGY IT TAKES TO DO IT.

Narrator:
FAR FROM JUST SUCKING UP KRILL

LIKE A 200-TON
DEEP-SEA JUGGERNAUT,

IT TURNS OUT THE BLUE WHALE
IS THE OCEAN'S BIGGEST ACROBAT.

SO FAR ON
"WORLD'S BIGGEST BEASTS,"

WE'VE MET THE HAWK-SIZED
GRIFFINFLY,

A BIRD THE SIZE
OF A FIGHTER PLANE,

A MAMMAL AS BIG AS A TANK,

A PTEROSAUR
THE SIZE OF A LEARJET,

A SNAKE THE LENGTH
OF A SCHOOL BUS,

AN OCEAN KILLER
NEARLY 50 FEET LONG,

A DINOSAUR THAT DWARFS T. REX,

A SHARK 100 TIMES HEAVIER
THAN A GREAT WHITE...

AND THE LARGEST CREATURE
EVER TO SWIM EARTH'S OCEANS.

THE BLUE WHALE IS VERY NEARLY

THE LARGEST BEAST
THAT'S EVER LIVED,

BUT THERE'S ONE BEAST
THAT'S EVEN LONGER,

AND IT TAKES THE TITLE
OF WORLD'S BIGGEST BEAST.

[GROWLING]

[GROWLING]

MARCH 2015.

IN SOUTHERN ARGENTINA, IN THE
REMOTE PROVINCE OF PATAGONIA,

A TEAM OF PALEONTOLOGISTS
IS ON STANDBY.

[HORN HONKS]

LUCIO IBIRICU HAS BEEN WAITING
FOR THIS MOMENT FOR MONTHS.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Narrator: INSIDE THIS TRUCK

ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST BONES
ON THE PLANET.

Lucio Ibiricu:
IT'S VERY GOOD. I'M VERY HAPPY.

EVERYTHING HERE NOW.

Narrator: AND AFTER FIVE YEARS
IN THE UNITED STATES

UNDERGOING SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS,
THEY'RE COMING HOME.

MORE THAN 50 CRATES HOLD
THE BONES OF JUST ONE DINOSAUR.

EACH BONE IS ENORMOUS.

YET, AS BIG AS THEY ARE,
THESE BONES ARE JUST A CLUE

TO A CREATURE
THAT WAS EVEN LARGER,

THE BIGGEST BEAST
EVER TO WALK THE EARTH.

THE JOURNEY TO THIS MOMENT
BEGAN IN 2005.

LUCIO WAS PART
OF A TEAM OF PALEONTOLOGISTS

PROSPECTING FOR DINOSAUR BONES.

THEY WERE IN A REMOTE AREA OF
PATAGONIA KNOWN AS THE BADLANDS.

Narrator: THE ANCIENT ROCKS
REVEAL THE AREA

WAS ONCE A PERFECT HABITAT
FOR DINOSAURS,

BUT TODAY, THE LUSH FORESTS
HAVE GIVEN WAY TO HARSH DESERT.

AS THE TEAM SURVEYED THE LAND,

ONE OF THEM CAME UPON
A SMALL PIECE OF EXPOSED BONE.

Kenneth Lacovara: YOU SIT THERE,
AND YOU LOOK AT THIS OBJECT,

AND YOU REALIZE
THAT YOU'RE THE FIRST PERSON

TO EVER SEE THIS THING.

YOU'RE THE FIRST PERSON
IN HISTORY TO KNOW ABOUT THIS.

Narrator: THEY HAD FOUND
A GIANT THIGH BONE

OVER SIX FEET LONG.

Narrator:
IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE,

BUT BONES OF A BEAST
BIGGER THAN THIS

HAVE OCCASIONALLY
BEEN DISCOVERED.

WHAT WAS REMARKABLE
ABOUT THIS FIND

WAS JUST HOW COMPLETE
THE SKELETON WAS.

IT TOOK SEVERAL EXPEDITIONS
TO UNCOVER IT ALL.

Lacovara: AT THE END OF THREE
SEASONS OF EXCAVATING THERE,

WE HAD 145 BONES.

Narrator: AND THE STATE OF THEM
WAS SURPRISING.

Narrator: AT FIRST,
IT WAS HARD TO UNDERSTAND

WHY THE SKELETON
WAS SO WELL PRESERVED,

BUT THEN, ANALYSIS OF
THE TERRAIN PRODUCED AN ANSWER.

Lacovara: IT'S EVIDENT TO US,

FROM THE SEDIMENTS
THAT ENTOMB THIS ANIMAL,

THAT IT WAS POSSIBLY KILLED
AND CERTAINLY BURIED

IN A STORM EVENT ALONG A RIVER

WHERE THE LEVEE BROKE
ON THE FLOODPLAIN.

IT BECAME
SOMETHING LIKE QUICKSAND,

AND THIS ANIMAL QUICKLY SANK
INTO THIS MIRE,

REMOVING IT FROM WEATHERING
AND FROM PREDATORS

AND ALLOWING IT TO HAVE

THIS EXTRAORDINARY DEGREE
OF PRESERVATION.

Narrator: THE UPSHOT WAS
THAT THEY WERE NOW IN POSSESSION

OF WHAT WAS EFFECTIVELY
A TIME CAPSULE,

ONE THAT COULD REVOLUTIONIZE
OUR UNDERSTANDING

OF THE BIGGEST BEASTS
TO EVER ROAM THE EARTH.

KEN TOOK THE BONES BACK
TO HIS LAB IN PHILADELPHIA.

HERE, CAREFUL CLEANING,
3-D SCANNING,

AND FORENSIC EXAMINATION
ALL STARTED TO REVEAL

HOW THESE EXTRAORDINARY BEASTS
LOOKED AND LIVED.

THE BEAST'S SHEER SIZE
WAS APPARENT AT EVERY TURN.

Lacovara: THE SCALE
JUST STAGGERS THE IMAGINATION.

THIS ANIMAL WAS 85 FEET LONG
FROM HEAD TO TAIL.

IT WAS TWO AND A HALF STORIES
TALL AT THE SHOULDER.

Narrator:
THIS DINOSAUR WAS A NEW SPECIES,

BELONGING TO A DIVERSE GROUP

OF LARGE PLANT EATERS
NAMED TITANOSAURS.

KEN NAMED HIS GIGANTIC
TITANOSAUR DREADNOUGHTUS,

MEANING FEARS NOTHING.

Lacovara: DREADNOUGHTUS
ISN'T GOING TO HAVE

ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT
IN TERMS OF PREDATION.

THESE ARE BIG, NASTY, CAPABLE,
VIGOROUS CREATURES

THAT DESERVE A LOT OF RESPECT.

Narrator:
DREADNOUGHTUS WAS CLEARLY

A MINE OF INFORMATION
FOR THE SCIENTISTS,

BUT IT HELD ONE SURPRISE
WHICH RELATES DIRECTLY

TO THE SIZE
OF THE VERY BIGGEST TITANOSAURS.

CUTTING INTO THE BONES,
KEN STARTED TO FIND EVIDENCE

OF HOW OLD THIS DREADNOUGHTUS
WAS WHEN IT DIED.

Lacovara: CAN YOU SEE HERE
THESE BIG OVAL BONE CELLS HERE?

THAT'S INDICATIVE OF BONE
THAT'S NOT GROWING ANYMORE,

AND THEN, AS WE MOVE TOWARDS
THE OUTER EDGE OF THE BONE,

YOU'LL NOTICE THAT
THAT TEXTURE CHANGES,

AND THAT IS INDICATIVE
OF RAPIDLY GROWING BONE.

Narrator: AND THAT COULD
MEAN ONLY ONE THING--

KEN'S DREADNOUGHTUS,
THOUGH VAST,

WAS NOT FULLY GROWN.

Lacovara: WE KNOW THAT IT WAS
GROWING RAPIDLY WHEN IT DIED,

SO, 65 TONS AND NOT
YET DONE GROWING.

THAT MEANS THERE ARE BIGGER
DREADNOUGHTUS OUT THERE.

WE DON'T KNOW HOW BIG
THIS DINOSAUR COULD HAVE GOTTEN.

Narrator:
BUT THEN COMES ANOTHER CLUE.

TITANOSAURS WEREN'T LIKE
OUR OCEAN GIANTS

MEGALODON AND BLUE WHALE.

THEY DIDN'T START OUT
AT MONSTER SIZE.

PALEONTOLOGIST
GERALD GRELLET-TINNER

HAS UNCOVERED STUNNING EVIDENCE

THAT REVEALS
THE LAST PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.

HE'S INVESTIGATING
A SITE IN NORTHERN ARGENTINA,

AN AREA THAT WAS ONCE
A HARSH VOLCANIC LANDSCAPE.

Narrator:
AT THE TIME OF THE DINOSAURS,

THIS AREA
WAS A GEOTHERMAL HOTSPOT,

WITH STEAMING VENTS
AND HOT WATER POOLS.

GERALD HAS FOUND EVIDENCE

THAT SOME SPECIES OF TITANOSAURS
CAME HERE TO LAY THEIR EGGS.

Narrator: REMARKABLY,
AS BIG AS TITANOSAURS COULD GET,

THEIR EGGS WERE ONLY
ABOUT THE SIZE OF OSTRICH EGGS.

BUT SOME OF THEM
HAD INCREDIBLY THICK SHELLS.

Narrator: GERALD THINKS
THAT THE SHELLS BEGAN THIS THICK

TO SHIELD THE EMBRYO INSIDE
FROM THE GEOTHERMAL CHEMICALS,

BUT THEN THESE CHEMICALS
HELPED MAKE IT POSSIBLE

FOR THE BABY TITANOSAURS
TO HATCH.

Narrator:
AND FOR AN INCUBATING EGG,

THE CHOICE OF THIS SITE
OFFERED A MAJOR PLUS.

IT HAD CONSTANT HEAT.

BUT BABY TITANOSAURS
HAD ONE BIG PROBLEM.

ONCE HATCHED, THEY WERE
NO BIGGER THAN DOMESTIC CATS,

NOT GREAT IN A WORLD TEEMING
WITH HUNGRY PREDATORS.

Lacovara: THERE'S A PREMIUM ON
GROWTH WHEN YOU'RE ON THE MENU,

AND SO THEY GROW VERY RAPIDLY
TO GET TO THE POINT

WHERE THEY CAN BE IMPERVIOUS
TO PREDATION.

Narrator:
AND GOING FROM THE SIZE OF A CAT

TO HAVING THIGH BONES
OVER SIX FEET LONG

MEANS ONE SERIOUS RATE
OF GROWTH.

Lacovara: BABY TITANOSAURS
HAVE AN EARLY BURST OF GROWTH,

AND THAT BURST NEVER STOPS.

THEY JUST KEEP GROWING
AS FAST AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN.

Narrator:
IT SHOULD NOW BE POSSIBLE

TO PULL ALL THE CLUES TOGETHER

AND BUILD A PICTURE OF
WHAT THESE BEASTS LOOKED LIKE.

STARTING WITH SCANS
OF THE BONES,

KEN LACOVARA WORKS ON A 3-D
DIGITAL MODEL OF DREADNOUGHTUS.

THE COMPLETENESS OF THE SKELETON

MEANS THIS MODEL
IS FAR MORE ACCURATE

THAN FOR ANY PREVIOUS SPECIES
OF TITANOSAUR,

AND THIS GIVES US
AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY.

WE CAN TAKE THE MODEL
AND SCALE IT UP

TO MATCH THE BONES OF THE
LARGEST TITANOSAUR EVER FOUND--

ARGENTINOSAURUS.

ONLY A HANDFUL
OF ARGENTINOSAURUS' BONES

HAVE EVER BEEN DISCOVERED,

SO THIS MAY BE OUR BEST POSSIBLE
CHANCE TO FILL IN THE BLANKS

AND SEE WHAT THE BEAST
MIGHT HAVE LOOKED LIKE.

JUST HOW BIG THAT IS
MUST BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED.

Narrator: USING DREADNOUGHTUS'
SKELETON AS A GUIDE,

LUCIO MAPS OUT
HOW ARGENTINOSAURUS

MAY HAVE STOOD ON THIS GROUND.

ITS TAIL ALONE WOULD BE THE
LENGTH OF TITANOBOA AT 45 FEET.

Narrator: ADDING ITS BODY
TAKES LUCIO TO 70 FEET,

LONGER THAN MEGALODON.

Narrator: THE NECK AND HEAD
IS ANOTHER 60 FEET,

GIVING
A TOTAL LENGTH OF 130 FEET.

THAT'S BIGGER THAN BLUE WHALE

AND PARACERATHERIUM
PUT TOGETHER.

ALL THE PIECES IN PLACE,

IT'S TIME TO REVEAL THE BIGGEST
BEAST EVER TO WALK THE EARTH.

[GROWLING]

MEET ARGENTINOSAURUS,
THE WORLD'S BIGGEST BEAST.

[ROARING]

Narrator:
TOWERING OVER 30 FEET IN THE AIR

WITHOUT EVEN LIFTING ITS HEAD,

AND WITH A NECK
LIKE THE ARM OF A CRANE,

THE BIGGEST KNOWN TITANOSAURS

WOULD HAVE BEEN
A FEARSOME SIGHT.

STANDING
OVER THREE STORIES TALL,

A SIX-FOOT PERSON
WOULDN'T EVEN REACH

THE KNEE OF AN ARGENTINOSAURUS.

AT 90 TONS, IT LIKELY WEIGHED
AS MUCH AS 11 T. REXES.

AND 130 FEET
FROM TAIL TO MOUTH,

IT WAS THE LENGTH
OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITER.

TITANOSAURS WERE MEGA-VERSIONS

OF LONG-NECKED,
LONG-TAILED SAUROPODS.

JUST THEIR STOMACHS ALONE WERE
LIKELY THE MASS OF AN ELEPHANT,

AND JUST ONE FOOT WAS
BIG ENOUGH TO CRUSH 20 PEOPLE.

TO REACH
THIS EXTRAORDINARY SIZE,

EXPERTS CALCULATE
THAT AN INFANT ARGENTINOSAURUS

COULD DOUBLE IN MASS
IN JUST FIVE DAYS.

WITH THAT KIND OF GROWTH RATE,
AN EIGHT-POUND HUMAN BABY

WOULD WEIGH AS MUCH
AS AN ADULT WITHIN A MONTH.

EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
IT WOULD TAKE JUST OVER 20 YEARS

TO REACH 90 TONS.

SO WHAT WAS THE SECRET
TO THEIR MEGA-SIZE?

HOW DID THEY EAT ENOUGH
TO GROW THIS FAST?

THE ANSWER APPEARS TO LIE WITH
THE ONE THING ABOUT TITANOSAURS

THAT ISN'T GARGANTUAN...

THEIR HEADS.

Narrator:
DREADNOUGHTUS ONLY HAD A HEAD

AS BIG AS THAT OF A HORSE,

AND ITS SECRET LAY
NOT IN SOMETHING IT DID

BUT IN SOMETHING
IT DIDN'T DO.

Lacovara:
THE SKULL IS BASICALLY A PLACE

TO HOUSE THE SENSORY ORGANS
AND A PLANT VACUUM,

AND THAT'S THE ONLY FUNCTION
THAT IT DOES.

THEY DON'T HAVE
THE ABILITY TO CHEW.

Narrator: WHAT THAT MEANS IS

THAT THE BIGGEST TITANOSAURS
HAD THE CAPACITY

TO CONSUME OVER TWO TONS
OF VEGETATION EVERY DAY.

THAT'S ENOUGH SALAD
TO FEED 40,000 PEOPLE.

Lacovara: DREADNOUGHTUS
COULD STAND IN ONE PLACE

WITH ITS MASSIVE BODY
AND NOT MOVE THAT BODY,

AND MAYBE SPEND AN HOUR

TAKING IN TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF CALORIES,

AND THEN AT THE END OF THAT,

TAKE A FEW STEPS TO THE RIGHT
AND SPEND ANOTHER HOUR OR SO

CLEARING OUT ANOTHER
GIANT ENVELOPE OF VEGETATION,

SO BY EXPENDING
VERY FEW CALORIES ITSELF,

IT TAKES IN
MASSIVE QUANTITIES OF FOOD.

Narrator: THIS BASIC STRATEGY
MADE TITANOSAURS

SOME OF THE MOST EFFICIENT
EATERS OF ALL TIME,

AND IT ALLOWED THEM
TO REACH MONSTER SIZE,

AND YET, AS BIG AS THEY WERE,

EXPERTS ARE CONVINCED
THAT SOMEWHERE OUT THERE,

HIDDEN IN THE ROCKS,

ARE EVEN BIGGER SPECIMENS
STILL TO BE UNCOVERED.

THE WORLD'S BIGGEST BEASTS

ARE GIANT CREATURES AT THE TOP
OF THEIR EVOLUTIONARY TREES--

BEASTS THAT HUNT, KILL,

WALK, SWIM, AND FLY

AT SIZES THAT DWARF ALL OTHERS.

BETWEEN THEM,
THEY'VE MYSTIFIED SCIENTISTS,

BROKEN THE RECORD BOOKS,

AND COLONIZED
EVERY CONTINENT ON THE PLANET.