Megalosaurus Megalosaurus

Megalosaurus (meaning “great lizard”, from Greek μέγας, megas, meaning ‘big’, ‘tall’ or ‘great’ and σαῦρος, sauros, meaning ‘lizard’) is an extinct genus of large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic Epoch (Bathonian stage, 166 million years ago) of southern England. Although fossils from other areas have been assigned to the genus, the only certain remains of Megalosaurus come from Oxfordshire and date to the late Middle Jurassic.

The earliest remains of Megalosaurus were described in the 17th century, and were initially interpreted as the remains of elephants or giants. Megalosaurus was named in 1824 by William Buckland, becoming the first genus of dinosaur to be validly named (other than birds, not then recognized as dinosaurs). The type species is M. bucklandii, named in 1827 by Gideon Mantell, after Buckland.