Penn researchers will be the stars of a documentary to air beginning tonight and four more times during the coming week. The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt, details the finding of a new species of dinosaur--Paralititan stromeri, one of the most massive animals ever to walk the earth--by a group of Penn paleontologists, whose work was announced in 2001 (Almanac September 4, 2001).

The seven-week Penn dig that uncovered Paralititan in January and February 2000 was funded primarily by Cosmos Studios, which has financed the feature-length documentary on the dig in the Bahariya Oasis. The documentary, The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt, is the first in an upcoming series of two-hour science-based entertainment specials on A&E Network.

Below are the dates and times when The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt will air:

A 67-inch humerus (above) of the herbivore which was standing on the edge of a tidal channel in very shallow water when it perished 94 million years ago was found in a corner of Egypt by the Penn team. Its size suggests that the new-found creature is very close to the size of Argentinosaurus, currently the largest dinosaur known to man. Lead author Joshua B. Smith, then a Penn doctoral student in earth and environmental science and the discoverer of Paralititan, estimates that the giant four-legged beast may have measured 80 to 100 feet long and weighed 60 to 70 tons.

  Almanac, Vol. 49, No. 7, October 8, 2002