How were dinos discovered?

THE FIRST SPECIES TO BE IDENTIFIED and named were the carnivore Megalosaurus (‘great lizard’) and herbivores Iguanodon (‘iguana tooth’) and Hylaeosaurus (‘forest lizard’). Fossils from all three were discovered in England in 1824, 1825 and 1833 respectively, and described by geologists like William Buckland. Naturalists recognised that the trio were all giant reptiles, but they weren’t grouped together. Then, in 1842, the brilliant English anatomist Richard Owen realised they had a common feature – four or more vertebrae near the hip region, double the number seen in living reptiles. Based on their large size, Owen dubbed the group ‘dinosaurs’, which translates to ‘terrible lizard’ but in the sense of ‘fearfully great lizard’. Owen thought dinosaurs were awesome, not awful. Owen was an influential figure. He was founder of the Natural…

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Bbc Wildlife (Digital) - 1 Issue, August 2024

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