Megalosaurus: the first dinosaur to ever be scientifically named

8 Oct, 2026 560 Fossils and prehistoric life

The first dinosaur to ever be scientifically named, almost 20 years before we even had the word ‘dinosaur’. In 1824, the geologist and priest William Buckland (1784-1856) stood before the Geological Society of London and announced something that would kickstart two centuries of dinosaur science. He’d been studying large, fossilised bones which didn’t resemble those of any living animal - and, as he told his rapt audience at that meeting, he had a new name for this mysterious and unusual creature: Megalosaurus. Misha Glenny and his guests discuss why the 19th century was such profound period of theological and scientific change, and how our understanding of mid Jurassic dinosaurs has changed since. This In Our Time episode examines the story of a dinosaur that led to palaeontology as we know it today. The discussion explores the influential roles of William and Mary Buckland, how we learn about animals from over 160 million years ago, and why you’d never have seen a Megalosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus Rex together.

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Guests

  • Emily Rayfield 3 episodes
    Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Bristol
  • Emma Nicholls No other episodes
    Vertebrate Palaeontologist and Collections Manager at Oxford University Museum of Natural History
  • Steve Brusatte 5 episodes
    Professor of Palaeontology and Evolution at the University of Edinburgh

Reading list

  • Terrible Lizard: The First Dinosaur Hunters and the Birth of a New Science
    Deborah Cadbury (Owl Books, 2002) Google Books →
  • Impossible Monsters: How the Discovery of Dinosaurs Changed the World
    Michael Taylor (Bodley Head, 2024)
  • A description of Megalosaurus bucklandii (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Bathonian of the UK and the relationships of Middle Jurassic theropods
    Roger B. J. Benson (Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 158, 2010)
  • XXI.--Notice on the Megalosaurus or great Fossil Lizard of Stonesfield
    William Buckland (Transactions of the Geological Society of London, 2:1, 1824) Google Books →
  • Utilizing X-ray computed tomography for heritage conservation: The case of Megalosaurus bucklandii
    P. Wilson et al (2017 IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference 12MTC, Torino, 2017)

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Programme ID: m0032fqb

Episode page: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0032fqb

Auto-category: 567.91 (Dinosaurs)