TheropodaMegalosauroidea

Megalosaurus bucklandi

Megalosaurus bucklandi skeletal reconstruction, left lateral view, reconstructed length ~8 m.
Scale bar = 1 meter
Taxon
Megalosaurus bucklandi Mantell, 1827
Reconstructed length
~8 m (26 feet)
View
Left lateral
Drawing
© Scott Hartman
Drawn
2013, revised 2019
Clade
  1. Theropoda
  2. Tetanurae
  3. Megalosauroidea

Available for editorial, museum & print licensing — inquiries & rates →

Megalosaurus was a large megalosaurid (bet you didn’t see that one coming) theropod from the Middle Jurassic of England. It was the first dinosaur to be scientifically named, in 1824, and was one of the original three members of Dinosauria when Owen named the group in 1842 (along with Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus). Over time Megalosaurus became something of a wastebasket name for miscellaneous European predators (heck, Dilophosaurus was first described as a species of Megalosaurus!). Modern work removed the material that shouldn’t have been included, and now the famous species is represented by much more limited material, which you can see in the known-material skeletal below.

The evidence

What the specimen actually preserves

Known skeletal material of Megalosaurus bucklandi: preserved elements shown in white against a black body silhouette.
Known material: elements preserved in the specimen are shown in white; unpreserved regions are left as black silhouette. Drawn 2013, revised 2019