Megalosaurus (‘giant lizard’) is the only carnivorous dinosaur depicted at Crystal Palace. The sculpture is specifically intended to represent Megalosaurus bucklandii, named after geologist William Buckland who described it in 1824, even before the term ‘dinosaur’ had been coined. It lived 168–166 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. The sculptor, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, has captured the strong musculature, powerful jaws and fearsome sharp teeth of this predator, which appears poised to strike. The most significant difference between the sculpture and modern reconstructions of Megalosaurus is that it is shown standing on four legs whereas it is now understood to have stood on two, with short three-fingered forelimbs and without the large hump on its shoulders. In 2020 a large chunk of the lower jaw fell off. It has been repaired with a new ‘prosthetic’ jaw in light-weight plastic, 3D printed and based on accurate models like this one.
Model by Rhys Griffin ©Rhys Griffin/FCPD & Historic England
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