By Tim Lambert
For centuries, people found fossils, but they did not understand what they were. However, in the early 19th century, it became clear that huge reptiles had once existed. They were later named dinosaurs.
The remains of a mosasaurus were discovered in a quarry in the Netherlands in 1764. At first, people did not understand what it was, but in 1808, a French naturalist, Georges Cuvier, realised it was an extinct marine reptile, but it wasn’t until 1822 that William Conybeare formally named it.
The first pterosaur (flying reptile) was discovered in Germany in 1784, but at first, people were not sure what it was. In 1801, Georges Cuvier realised it was a flying reptile. In 1809, he called it a ptero-dactyle. In 1815, the name was changed to Pterodactylus.
Mary Anning was a fossil hunter in Dorset, England. In 1811, her brother Joseph Anning discovered the skull of an ichthyosaurus (a marine reptile). In 1812, Mary Anning found the rest of its skeleton. The new reptile was first called Ichthyosaurus in 1817. In 1823, she found the first complete plesiosaurus. Then, in 1828, Mary found the first British fossil terosaur.
In 1822, Mary Ann Mantell discovered fossil teeth. Her husband, Gideon Mantell, realised they belonged to an extinct reptile. In 1825, he named it Iguanodon (iguana tooth). In 1834, parts of a skeleton of iguanadon were found, but Mantell thought the animal walked on all fours.
Meanwhile, bones were discovered in a quarry in Oxfordshire, England. In 1818, Georges Cuvier declared that they belonged to a huge land-dwelling reptile. In 1824, William Buckland formally named the animal Megalosaurus, meaning great lizard. He thought, incorrectly, that it walked on all fours. It was the first dinosaur to be named. In 1832, Gideon Mantell discovered another dinosaur, Hylaeosaurus.
Naturalist Richard Owen realised the different dinosaurs belonged to one group of animals, and in 1841, he coined the name ‘dinosauria’. The word ‘dinosaur’ was first used in 1842.
In 1849, a small, bipedal dinosaur, Hypsilophodon, was discovered.
In 1854, a sculptor, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, made sculptures of dinosaurs for Crystal Palace Park in London. Although scientifically inaccurate, they were, and are, a great tourist attraction.
In the USA, Hadrosaurus, a ‘duck-billed’ dinosaur, was discovered in 1858.
In 1859, Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution by natural selection, which showed how life had gradually evolved over vast ages.
In the late 19th century, many new types of dinosaurs were discovered. Polacanthus, an armoured dinosaur, was discovered in 1865. In 1866, Dryptosaurus (tearing lizard), a carnivorous dinosaur, was discovered in the USA. A marine reptile, Elasmosaurus, was discovered in 1867. In 1868, a ferocious marine reptile, Tylosaurus, was discovered. In 1871, Othniel C. Marsh discovered another pterosaur, Pterandon.
Stegosaurus, an armoured dinosaur, was discovered in 1877 by Othniel C. Marsh. The same year, 1877, Marsh discovered a carnivore, Allosaurus. And he discovered a sauropod, Apatosaurus, in 1877.
Stegosaurus
The same year, 1877, two men, Benjamin Mudge and palaeontologist Samuel Williston, discovered another sauropod, Diplodocus.
In 1883, another carnivorous dinosaur, Ceratosaurus, was discovered by Marshall Parker Felch.
Monoclonius, a ceratopsian of horned dinosaurs. Edward Drinker Cope in 1876. The first Triceratops was found in 1887.
A huge number of new dinosaurs were discovered in the 20th century. Among them, the sauropod, Brachiosaurus, was discovered in 1900. A partial skeleton of Tyrannosaurus was discovered in 1902. Ankylosaurus, an armoured dinosaur, was discovered in 1906, and Corythosaurus, another ‘duck-billed’ dinosaur, was found in 1911.
Ankylosaurus
A ceratopsian or horned dinosaur, Styracosaurus, was found in 1913. The same year, 1913, another carnivore, Gorgosaurus, was discovered. It was named in 1914. A ‘duck-billed’ dinosaur, Parasaurolophus, was discovered in 1920. Velociraptor was discovered in 1923.
Of course, many more dinosaurs have been discovered since then, too many to mention here!