Megalosaurus
The Big Lizard
Megalosaurus means something like big lizard in German. But he could also have the name “the first”.
It was the first dinosaur fossil ever discovered. It was also the first dinosaur genus ever to be scientifically named.
And in February 2020, Britain's Royal Mint released the first of three 50p coins to commemorate the discovery of the first three dinosaurs discovered in England
Megalosaurus was discovered in England in 1676.
The bones found were given to Robert Plot, then curator of the Ashmolean Museum and professor of chemistry at Oxford University.
Plot thought the femur was that of a Roman war elephant. He later changed his mind and considered the bone to be that of a giant human, as described in the Bible.
In 1824 it got its scientific name from William Buckland.
Later in 1827, Gideon Mantell pointed this out in his book “The Geology of the southeast of England” The binomial that is valid today for the type specimen is: Megalosaurus bucklandii.
| Profile | Megalosaurus |
|---|---|
| epoch | Jurassic, about 181-169 million years ago |
| Order | Lizard-pelvis dinosaur (Saurischia) |
| Subordination | Theropoda |
| Family | Megalosauridae |
| group | Megalosaurinae |
| genus | Megalosaurus |
| Art | Megalosaurus bucklandii |
| Height | 3 meters |
| length | 9 meters |
| Weight | 1 ton |
| Locations | Europe; England |
Megalosaurus was a carnivore.
Originally, Megalosaurus was incorrectly reconstructed as a four-footed lizard.
Only later was it realized that it was a bipedal predatory theropod. With short arms and hands with 3 fingers equipped with sharp claws.
It had long, serrated, blade-like teeth in its jaws.
They are similar to those of other theropods such as: Allosaurus. A close relationship to Allosaurus is suspected.
A possibly related genus of Megalosaurus excavated in Normandy, France, was destroyed in World War II; Poekilopleuron.
Megalosaurus had two powerful hind legs. Its short, strong neck supported a large head, typical of carnivorous dinosaurs. His body and his cock were massive. The toes of the hind legs also had sharp claws.
Image sources: Eotyrannu5, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Slate Weasel, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons