An amateur fossil hunter has raged at the BBC, saying he is “appalled” at being airbrushed out of a David Attenborough documentary.
Respected palaeontologists have also called the oversight “inexcusable” and an “injustice” after Phil Jacobs, 69, wasn’t named for finding the ginormous pliosaur sea monster at the centre of the Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster TV programme, reports MailOnline.
Mr Jacobs, spotted the 16-inch long fossilised snout of the 150-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex out on the seas during a walk along Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset, in April 2022.
His discovery set in motion the mammoth task of excavating the rest of the 7ft long skull from the cliffs which is the biggest and most complete pliosaur skull ever found.
The show aired on New Year’s Day and follows Sir David “as he unearths the discovery of a lifetime”.
On his Facebook page Mr Jacobs said he was appalled and added: “I’ve been completely airbrushed out of my own discovery, not even a mention. I have no words.”
Mr Jacobs supplied his own video footage of the moment it was discovered and was interviewed by the channel – but he was only referred to as only a “fossil enthusiast” in the show.
A number of respected palaeontologists have slammed the show for not giving Mr Jacobs proper credit.
Now an online petition has been launched to name the new species of pliosaur after Mr Jacobs as well as calls to for the BBC to re-edit the documentary.
Dr Dean Lomax, a paleontologist and author, said: “Philip Jacobs deserves a huge amount of credit, not only for making the discovery but for ensuring that it was saved for science.
“It is a real oversight for them (BBC) not to – at the very least – have name-checked Philip.”
Dr Paul Davis, a former registrar of the Natural History Museum in London, said: “It is hugely disappointing that poor editing of the programme left out proper credit to Philip Jacobs as the finder.”
Nigel Larkin, a natural history conservation specialist, said: “(It) is terrible and inexcusable of the BBC. Watching it, I assumed that Philip Jacobs must have specifically asked not to be named – that seemed the only explanation.”
Wolfgang Grulke, a palaeontologist from Dorset, said: “In the BBC documentary the person who actually found the fossil, Philip Jacobs, was not even mentioned.”
Express.co.uk has approached the BBC for comment.
A spokesperson for the BBC told MailOnline: “The production team worked with Philip Jacobs to include his discovery film in the documentary and he was credited at the end.
“This programme predominantly concerned the excavation, preparation, and scientific analysis of the complete pliosaur skull.”
