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Megalosaurus

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A classic 19th-century illustration showing two dinosaurs, Iguanodon and Megalosaurus, in a prehistoric landscape.

Megalosaurus

Megalosaurus was a big, ancient dinosaur that lived a very long time ago. Its name means "great lizard" because it was one of the first big dinosaurs scientists ever found. It lived during the Middle Jurassic, about 166 million years ago, in what is now southern England.

This dinosaur was about as long as two school buses put together! It walked on two strong legs and had a long tail to help it balance. Megalosaurus had sharp teeth and loved to eat other dinosaurs. It lived on an island that was part of Europe long before countries like France, the Netherlands, and Belgium existed.

People first found pieces of Megalosaurus in the 1600s, but it was given its name in 1824 by a scientist named William Buckland. This made Megalosaurus the very first dinosaur to ever have a name! Finding these dinosaur pieces helped scientists learn that dinosaurs were special ancient creatures.

Megalosaurus shared its island home with other dinosaurs, like the big plant-eater Cetiosaurus. Even though we have found many bones, we still do not have a complete skeleton, so scientists are not totally sure what it looked like. But we do know it was one of the biggest hunters on its island!

Images

An old scientific drawing showing the fossilized lower jaw of Megalosaurus, an early discovered dinosaur, from a museum in England.
A fossilized vertebra from Megalosaurus, an ancient dinosaur, showcasing what scientists have discovered about prehistoric life.
A famous 19th-century model of a dinosaur on display in Crystal Palace Park, London.
A historical scientific drawing showing the bones of a Megalosaurus, an ancient meat-eating dinosaur.
Fossil footprints of a Megalosaurus, an ancient dinosaur, displayed at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
A skeleton of the Megalosaurus dinosaur on display at the World Museum in Liverpool, England.
A diagram showing how big the Megalosaurus dinosaur was compared to a person.
Fossil fragments of Megalosaurus, an ancient dinosaur, showcasing parts of its bones preserved over millions of years.
Scientific illustration of a Megalosaurus skull, showing detailed anatomy for learning about dinosaurs.
Fossil jaw bone of Megalosaurus bucklandi, an early discovered dinosaur from England.
Fossilized tooth from a Megalosaurus, an ancient dinosaur.
Fossil tooth of Megalosaurus, an ancient dinosaur discovered in Munich.

Related articles

Dinosaur
Lizard
Middle Jurassic
England
William Buckland
Cetiosaurus

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Megalosaurus, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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