200 years since first dinosaur, found near Oxford, named
On this day in 1824 the jaw and limb bones were unearthed in a slate quarry near the city.
Scientists are celebrating the 200th anniversary of the first formal naming of a dinosaur.
English naturalist William Buckland described the species 'Megalosaurus' to the Geological Society of London in 1824.
Dr Emma Nicholls - Collections Manager for Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History says:
"Back then the word dinosaur didn't exist, and so people were working within the confines of what they knew and understood."
"Buckland recognised that fossil he was working with were related to modern mammals but were nothing like an animal that we know today."
William Buckland described the 'Megalosaurus' as a giant lizard. [First for all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, at hitsradio.co.uk and on the Hits Radio app.](http://hits.listennow.link/249136){:target=_blank}