200th anniversary of the naming of the Megalosaurus
Megalosaurus named 200 years ago today. Credits: Pixabay
Scientists are celebrating the 200th anniversary of the first formal dinosaur naming.
Megalosaurus was named on this day in 1824 by Oxford University geologist, William Buckland, whose initial paper was based on fossils found in the greater Oxfordshire area.
The university called the discovery a “pivotal moment” in the scientific field.
Scotland has made significant contributions to paleontological discoveries over the past few centuries, with the country’s fossil heritage estimated to cover around 1,200 million years of Earth history.
The Isle of Skye in particular has been home to many prehistoric findings, including the first Stegosaur bone to be found in the country back in 2017.
Dr Neil Clark, curator of palaeontology at The Hunterian in Glasgow University, said that Skye has been “very important” to dinosaur discoveries since the 1980s and that locals were aware of remains on the island but decided to keep it a secret from the general public for some time.
Fossils of previously undiscovered species are still being found today, with a new breed of Pterosaur being identified on the island earlier this month.
Dr Clark said: “Worldwide, very little is known about pterosaurs of that time, and dinosaurs of that time, so Skye is crucial to our understanding of the development and the diversification of life.”
Some of the most significant Scottish contributions to the field include the world’s oldest known insect, early tetrapods, key transitional species between amphibians and reptiles, some of the earliest known plants and notable prehistoric mammal remains.
Around 250,000 fossil specimens have been collected and curated in museums across Scotland, with items found from many of the country’s local authorities.
Collections can be found in The Hunterian in Glasgow, the Ecomuseum in Skye, the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and the Staffin Dinosaur museum located in Elishader, Portree.
