'BIG MONSTER DIG', EPISODE 1

[darren.naish@port.ac.uk]

Those of you (in the UK) watching Channel 4 at 20-00 last 
night may have seen episode 1 of 'Big Monster Dig' (no 
comment), the first in a series of seven or so. Two 
palaeontologists (Martill and Gabbott) and one geologist 
(Howell) go out into the field to 'solve a mystery': in this 
case it was the identity and mode of death of a new 
_Iguanodon_ specimen discovered at Hastings, East Sussex. 
For the web site go to...

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/B/big_monster
_dig/

Comparison of the new material with the skeletons at 
Bernissart showed that the Hastings specimen is referable to 
_I. bernissartensis_. Seeing as the new specimen is from the 
Hastings Group (if memory serves), it's older than most 
occurrences of this species - potentially the oldest yet found 
in fact.

Most scientific areas covered in the programme were 
covered as simply as possible and all jargon was avoided. 
Despite this I didn't find my intelligence _that_ insulted, but 
some of the conclusions made were either clearly incorrect 
or distortions for the camera. Overall though I didn't think it 
was that bad. Nice hat Dave.

-- 
Darren Naish
School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
University of Portsmouth UK, PO1 3QL

email: darren.naish@port.ac.uk
tel: 023 92846045