Megalosaurus bucklandii, 1st described dinosaur, Jaw & Teeth #504 replica

Megalosaurus bucklandii

Jurassic Age

Stonesfield Quarry, Oxfordshire, England

Dimensions: 11.5' long, up to 2.5" teeth

Material: solid resin

This bipedal meat-eater was up to about 26 ft (8 m) long. Fossils have been found in England and France. Megalosaurus was named by Wm. Buckland in 1824 (it was found by workers in an Oxfordshire, England limestone quarry and is now lost). The type species is M. bucklandii.

Note: there are a total of 7 teeth including 2 of which are erupting the gum line.

HISTORY:

In 1824 Megalosaurus bucklandii became the first "dinosaur" to be described and given a proper scientific name. It was Scientist and British geologist, William Buckland (1784–1856), the Dean of Westminster, who first described Megalosaurus.

Megalosaurus literally means “big reptile.” Its remains were discovered in a quarry at Stonesfield in Oxfordshire, England. At that time, however, the word 'dinosaur' did not yet exist. Although Megalosaurus was a typical two-legged meat-eater, (Therapod) in 1824 it was thought to walk on four legs like a big lizard and be an extinct relative of the modern iguana. It wasn't until 20 years later, in 1842, that Sir Richard Owen came up with the word 'dinosauria' which means "terrible reptiles" to describe these spectacular fossil creatures which were being discovered.