The recent discovery of a gigantic fossilized ichthyosaur tooth root in the Swiss Alps, dating from 208 million years ago, has led one palaeontologist to suggest that it belongs to a predator measuring about 36 meters long.
If the existence of this creature is confirmed, it would be the largest animal of all time. Its extraordinary size raises many questions about the food resources that would have been required to feed a Leviathan such as this and its descendants.
By scouring the sedimentary layers from the era of the dinosaurs in excavation sites, several teams of paleontologists are gradually unearthing answers. They are discovering, not just complete fossil remains of other ichthyosaurs that ruled the oceans for 130 million years, but also of their potential prey. Using innovative tools for analysis, they are reconstructing these giants’ biology, anatomy and environment... and estimating the staggering sizes they attained.
Direction: Bertrand Loyer
Production: Saint Thomas Productions for China Media Group & Ushuaïa TV
Delivery: End of 2025