Chloe Adams
The discovery of dinosaur fossils has been a topic of fascination for centuries. The first documented discovery of dinosaur fossils by a scientist was in 1677 by Robert Plot, who unearthed a massive bone in Cornwell, Oxfordshire, England. Plot believed the fossil was the thigh bone of a giant human or a war elephant and published an illustration of it in his book, The Natural History of Oxfordshire. However, it was not until the early 19th century that William Buckland, the first professor of geology at Oxford University, correctly identified dinosaur fossils as belonging to an extinct, lizard-like creature, which he named Megalosaurus. The study of dinosaur fossils has continued to evolve, with new discoveries constantly challenging our understanding of these prehistoric animals.
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What You'll Learn
- The first dinosaur fossil was discovered in 1676
- The fossil was found in a quarry near Oxford, England
- Robert Plot, Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University, received the fossil
- In 1824, William Buckland identified the fossil as belonging to an extinct lizard
- The lizard was named Megalosaurus, meaning great lizard
The first dinosaur fossil was discovered in 1676
The discovery of the first dinosaur fossil is credited to Robert Plot, an English natural history scholar and the first curator of the Ashmolean Museum. In 1676, workers found a huge bone while quarrying shale in the Stonesfield Slate Quarry near Oxford, England. The bone, which resembled an oversized femur, was given to Plot, who also happened to be a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford.
Plot sketched the fossil and published a description of it in his 1677 book, "Natural History of Oxfordshire." This was the earliest known published illustration of a dinosaur bone. In his book, Plot concluded that the fossil was either the thigh bone of a war elephant or of a giant human as described in the Bible.
Plot's discovery predated the scientific recognition of dinosaurs by over a century. In 1824, William Buckland, the first professor of geology at Oxford University, examined fossils from nearby quarries and recognised them as belonging to an extinct, lizard-like creature. He named this creature Megalosaurus, marking the first time a dinosaur species was named.
It is worth noting that the concept of discovering dinosaur fossils is inherently tied to the terminology and scientific understanding of dinosaurs. The distinction between what constitutes a dinosaur fossil and other ancient remains has evolved over time. Additionally, ancient civilisations such as the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Chinese have documented the discovery of large bones and fossils, influencing mythology and storytelling.
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The fossil was found in a quarry near Oxford, England
The first dinosaur fossil ever documented by a scientist was discovered in 1677. It was a part of a femur found in a shale mine in England. The fossil was then sent to a local museum. The curator, Robert Plot, had never seen anything like it. He thought it must be a thigh bone from a war elephant or a giant human as described in the Bible. Plot published an illustration of the fossil in his 1677 book, 'Natural History of Oxfordshire'.
Plot's discovery was the first of several made by British gentlemen between the 17th and 19th centuries in England. However, it was not until the 19th century that fossils found in English canals and quarries were identified as belonging to an extinct giant reptile species.
In 1815, William Buckland, the first professor of geology at Oxford University, came across some massive bones. These were the same bones that Robert Plot had found over a century earlier. Unlike Plot, Buckland didn't think the bones could belong to a giant human, as they appeared too reptilian. In 1824, Buckland studied more fossils that had been found in nearby quarries and concluded that they came from an extinct giant reptile species. He named it Megalosaurus, meaning "great lizard".
The fossil that sparked Buckland's interest in 1815 was found in a quarry near Oxford, England. This quarry was likely the Stonesfield Slate Quarry, where a fossil had been found in 1676, a year before Plot's discovery.
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Robert Plot, Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University, received the fossil
Robert Plot, Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University, is credited with discovering the first dinosaur bone in 1676 or 1677. Plot unearthed a massive bone, likely a femur, in Cornwell, Oxfordshire, England. Plot believed the fossil was the thigh bone of a giant human or a war elephant, as described in the Bible. He published detailed illustrations and descriptions of the bone in his 1676 or 1677 book, "Natural History of Oxfordshire". Plot's work is significant as it contains the earliest known published illustration and description of a dinosaur bone.
Plot's discovery sparked curiosity and intrigue among scholars and naturalists. In 1815, William Buckland, the first professor of geology at Oxford University, came across Plot's fossil during his travels. Unlike Plot, Buckland recognised that the bones had reptilian characteristics and could not belong to giant humans. Buckland studied more fossils found in English canals and quarries and concluded that they belonged to an extinct giant lizard-like creature. He named this creature "Megalosaurus", meaning "great lizard", marking the first identification and naming of a dinosaur species.
Buckland's work sparked a fossil rush, with amateurs and professionals alike scouring quarries and canals for more bones. This led to further significant discoveries, such as the identification of "Iguanodon" by Mary Ann Mantell in 1822 and the naming of the group "Dinosauria" by Richard Owen in 1841. Owen coined the term "dinosaur" by combining the Greek words "deinós", meaning terrible, and "saûros", meaning lizard.
The discovery of dinosaur fossils has captivated humans for centuries, with ancient civilisations also unearthing and attempting to explain these mysterious remains. The ancient Greeks, for example, created epic tales of giants and mythical creatures to make sense of the large bones they discovered. However, it was the scientific examination and classification of these fossils by scholars like Plot and Buckland that paved the way for the field of palaeontology and our understanding of these ancient reptiles.
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In 1824, William Buckland identified the fossil as belonging to an extinct lizard
The first documented discovery of dinosaur fossils was made by a scientist around 350 years ago, in 1677. The fossil was a part of a femur discovered in a shale mine in Oxfordshire, England. Robert Plot, a naturalist, and the first person to document a dinosaur fossil, believed it to be the thigh bone of a giant human or a war elephant. He published an illustration of the bone in his 1677 book, "The Natural History of Oxfordshire".
In 1815, William Buckland, a geology professor at Oxford University, came across the same massive bones that Plot had described. Unlike Plot, Buckland thought the bones belonged to some kind of extinct lizard. In 1824, Buckland studied fossils of limbs, a lower jawbone, and some vertebrae found in nearby quarries and canals. He identified them as belonging to a giant, extinct, carnivorous lizard and named it "Megalosaurus", or "great lizard". Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur species to be named, even before the word "dinosaur" was coined.
Buckland's identification of the Megalosaurus sparked a fossil rush, with amateurs and professionals alike scouring English canals and quarries for dinosaur remains. This led to the discovery and naming of more dinosaur species, such as Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus. In 1841, naturalist Richard Owen created the term "Dinosauria" to refer to this group of ancient reptiles, coining the term "dinosaur".
While Buckland's work in the early 19th century is often credited as the starting point of dinosaur research, there is evidence that civilizations have been unearthing and discovering dinosaur bones for much longer. Ancient cave paintings and folklore from around the world describe and depict creatures that closely resemble dinosaurs. For example, in North America, the Anasazi people created cave paintings of dinosaur footprints between 1000 and 1200 CE. Similarly, Indigenous Australians identified dinosaur footprints as belonging to a legendary "Emu-man". These early discoveries of dinosaur remains often led to the creation of mythical creatures and stories about giants and dragons.
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The lizard was named Megalosaurus, meaning great lizard
The discovery of the first dinosaur fossil is generally credited to the unearthing of a massive bone by the English naturalist Robert Plot in 1676 or 1677. Plot believed the fossil came from a giant human and categorized it as such in his book, "The Natural History of Oxfordshire". However, it was not until the work of William Buckland, the first professor of geology at Oxford University, that a dinosaur fossil was correctly identified. In 1815, Buckland came across the same massive bones that Plot had found, but he concluded that they belonged to an extinct, carnivorous lizard. He named this ancient lizard "Megalosaurus", meaning "great lizard", although he did not realize that his specimen was a dinosaur.
The identification and naming of Megalosaurus sparked two centuries of dinosaur research and worldwide fascination with these ancient creatures. It also marked the beginning of a fossil rush, with amateurs and professionals alike scouring English canals and quarries in search of more bones. Despite being an early theropod about half the size of a T. rex, Megalosaurus holds the distinction of being the first named species of dinosaur.
The discovery of dinosaur fossils predates the time of Robert Plot, with evidence suggesting that ancient civilizations such as the ancient Greeks, Chinese, and indigenous peoples in Africa and North America encountered and attempted to explain fossilized remains. These early findings often led to the creation of mythical creatures and stories about giants and dragons that once roamed the Earth. For example, the ancient Greeks tried to explain fossilized remains through epic tales of giants, while Chinese writings described the discovery of "dragon bones". In North America, the Anasazi people created cave paintings depicting dinosaur footprints, and Indigenous Australians identified similar footprints as belonging to a legendary "Emu-man".
While the discovery by Robert Plot in the 17th century is often credited as the first, recent evidence suggests that the first dinosaur bones may have been discovered in Africa as early as 500 years before Plot's find. This is supported by the abundance of fossilized bones in various regions of Africa, such as the Kem Kem beds in Morocco and the Rift Valley in East Africa. These sites have provided accessible fossils for our ancestors to discover and interact with throughout history.
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