Unraveling the Enigma of Dinosaurs: 200 Years of Discoveries and Continuing Mysteries
Exploring the fascinating world of dinosaurs, as we celebrate 200 years since the discovery of Megalosaurus Uncover the remarkable knowledge gained about these ancient creatures and the mysteries that still remain
Subscribe to CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter for the latest news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements, and more. Delve into the mysteries of the universe.
In a world without knowledge of evolution and extinction, people searched for an explanation. Some speculated that the bones belonged to a Roman war elephant or a giant human. It wasn't until 1824 that William Buckland, Oxford University's inaugural geology professor, identified and named the first known dinosaur. The discovery was based on a lower jaw, vertebrae, and limb bones found in local quarries. The largest thigh bone measured 2 feet, 9 inches in length and nearly 10 inches in circumference.
Buckland presented the bones in a scientific paper as belonging to Megalosaurus, or great lizard, to the Geological Society of London on February 20, 1824. He believed it was a carnivorous creature measuring over 40 feet (12 meters) in length and with the mass of an elephant, likely living partly on land and in water. "This was a radical idea," said Steve Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh and author of "The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of Their Lost World." "In some ways he got a lot right. This was a group of extinct giant reptilian creatures."
"We all grew up watching dinosaur cartoons and seeing Jurassic Park, with dinosaurs on our lunchboxes and toys. But picture a world where the term 'dinosaur' has no meaning, where the idea of a dinosaur is unheard of, and you are the first to realize this simply by examining a few large bones unearthed from the ground."
An illustration depicts geologist William Buckland teaching in an Oxford University lecture room on February 15, 1823.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
It wasn't until 20 years later that the word "dinosaur" was coined by anatomist Richard Owen, the founder of the Natural History Museum in London. He based the term on shared characteristics he identified in his studies of Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hylaeosaurus, which were first described in 1825 and 1833, respectively. The Megalosaurus paper solidified Buckland's professional reputation in the emerging field of geology, but its importance as the first scientific description of a dinosaur was only recognized in hindsight.
The discovery of complete fossils of giant marine reptiles such as the ichthyosaur and plesiosaur collected by paleontologist Mary Anning on Englands Dorset Coast eclipsed Megalosaurus in the public imagination at the time. No complete skeleton of Megalosaurus has been found.
The Megalosaurus dinosaur statue in Crystal Palace Park in London dates back to 1854. Paleontologists of the time believed that this prehistoric creature walked on four legs. (Image credit: Loop Images Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo)
The Megalosaurus left a lasting impression on popular culture, inspiring Charles Dickens to include it in the opening of his 1852 novel "Bleak House." In 1854, it was among the three model dinosaurs showcased at London's Crystal Palace, which was home to the world's first dinosaur park. Although the model's head shape was accurate, we now know that the Megalosaurus was around 6 meters (20 feet) long and walked on two legs, not four. Despite this, the model remains on display at the Crystal Palace to this day.
Who was Buckland?
How Buckland developed his expertise as a geologist isnt clear.
A scholar with great ambition and charisma, he studied classics and theology at Oxford, graduating in 1805. He took a diverse range of classes, including anatomy, and was in contact with renowned natural scientists of the time, such as Charles Cuvier in France, known for his work comparing living animals with fossils.
According to Susan Newell, a historian and associate researcher at the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History, he was the first to question the origin of fossils found in a quarry near Oxford. He hired local quarrymen to search for and collect fossils for him.
"He started to piece together the jigsaw."
The Megalosaurus jaw is depicted in an engraving based on Mary Morland's 1824 drawings from William Buckland's "Notice on the Megalosaurus or great Fossil Lizard of Stonesfield." (The Picture Art Collection/Alamy)
A year after publishing his Megalosaurus paper, Buckland married his unofficial assistant, Mary Morland. She was a talented naturalist and artist of the illustrations of Megalosaurus fossils in the paper. Later in his career, Buckland realized that most of the United Kingdom had been covered in ice sheets after a trip to Switzerland, understanding that glaciation had shaped the British landscape rather than a biblical flood.
Buckland's scientific career was cut short due to a mental breakdown, ultimately preventing him from teaching. He passed away in a London asylum in 1856.
The 200-year anniversary of the first scientific naming of a dinosaur is a moment for paleontologists to reflect on the knowledge gained in the field over the past two centuries.
Today, paleontologists believe that Megalosaurus would have walked on two legs.
Julien Behal/PA Wire/AP
Dinosaurs were once considered evolutionary failures due to their disappearance. However, they actually survived and thrived for 165 million years, much longer than the roughly 300,000 years that modern humans have so far inhabited the planet. Currently, approximately 1,000 dinosaur species have been identified, with about 50 new species being discovered each year, according to Brusatte.
Brusatte stated that the science is still in the discovery phase, despite being 200 years old. Only a small amount of the dinosaurs that have ever existed have been found. He also noted that birds today are descendants of dinosaurs, with over 10,000 species currently living. Given that dinosaurs lived for well over 150 million years, it is likely that there were thousands, if not millions, of different dinosaur species.
Repenomamus robustus attacks Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis moments before a volcanic debris flow buries them both, ca. 125 million years ago.
Michael W. Skrepnick
A fossil discovered in China in the 1990s unveiled an extraordinary scene of a dinosaur and mammal engaged in a fierce battle, offering a rare glimpse into prehistoric life. This discovery solidified the theory that dinosaurs had feathers, providing concrete evidence that they are the evolutionary ancestors of modern birds.
The present era of paleontology is truly golden, not only because of incredible fossil finds, but also due to advancements in technology. With the use of CT scanning and computational methods, paleontologists are able to reconstruct and comprehend dinosaurs with unprecedented precision. For instance, in feathered fossils, the preservation of tiny structures called melanosomes, which once held pigment, allows scientists to compare them with those of modern birds, revealing the potential original colors of the feathers.
Much is still unknown about how and why dinosaurs grew to such large sizes, as well as the sounds they may have produced. "It is nearly impossible for us to imagine a time when dinosaurs were not known by people," Brusatte commented.
In 2024, the London Natural History Museum and The Geological Society will host special events commemorating the 200th anniversary of the discovery and naming of the first dinosaur. It's likely that people in the future will wonder how we didn't know about this important event in 2024, so this anniversary should provide some perspective.
