Dino of the Week: Megalosaurus

Type Species: Megalosaurus bucklandii
Classification: Dinosauria - Saurischia - Theropoda - Carnosauria - Megalosauroidea - Megalosauria - Megalosauridae - Megalosaurinae
Time Period: Middle Jurassic
Location: Europe (England)
Diet: Carnivore

The remains of Megalosaurus were first documented in the 17th century, and the bone discovered was described by Robert Plot as the thighbone of a Roman war elephant; it was later attributed to one of the giants of biblical lore. In the 18th century, the first name given to it was Scrotum humanum; in the next century, scientists began realizing they'd stumbled upon something extraordinary. In 1824, realizing that the bones probably belonged to a giant reptile, its name was changed to Megalosaurus, and in 1827 it became Megalosaurus bucklandii. Its name literally means 'Great Lizard.' Sir Richard Owen, who coined the name Dinosauria, included reproductions of Megalosaurus in the Crystal Palace. His depiction of Megalosaurus looks nothing like what modern paleontologists believe it to have looked like. Owen's recreations were founded on the assumption that dinosaurs were nothing more than big lizards, and the recreations muddled discoveries from different dinosaurs into a somewhat-coherent picture:

As dinosaur discoveries have intensified, more remains of Megalosaurus have been discovered, offering a more complete picture of this theropod. Megalosaurus reached up to twenty feet long snout-to-tail, and it weighed around 1500 pounds. It was bipedal, walking on stout hind legs and balanced by a tail held horizontal from the body. Its arms were robust but short. It had a large head filled with curved teeth. While many of the early theropods were lithe and agile, or at least stream-lined, Megalosaurus was robust and heavily-muscled.

This Jurassic theropod was smaller than its Cretaceous descendants, but that didn't make it any less ferocious. For many years, any theropod fossils discovered were deemed as Megalosaurus. Famous dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus, Allosaurus, and Dilophosaurus were thrown into the Megalosauridae family, making it the "waste-basket" of theropod dinosaurs. Nowadays, however, paleontologists have distinguished Megalosaurus from its ancestors and descendants, and Megalosaurus stands in a category all its own.