Archaeologists have discovered more than 1,000 unique species of non-avian dinosaurs. Visitors can see complete and partial dinosaur skeletons at museums the world over. However, archaeologists were mystified when they first discovered dinosaur bones.
Robert Plot, a professor of geology at Oxford University, is generally credited as the first person to discover a dinosaur bone. Plot enjoyed many academic and professional achievements leading up to the discovery, including numerous publications on natural phenomena. Professor Plot disagreed with the prevailing notion that fossils were bones of previously living organisms. He developed theories involving ancient floods and the grand design of an omnipotent creator. When Plot discovered a large bone in a quarry outside Cornwell, England, he believed the bone, later identified as part of a megalosaurus thighbone, belonged to a war elephant from ancient Rome. Plot published his findings in Natural History of Oxfordshire. While his ideas about the discovery have not stood the test of time, his illustrations were so accurate that modern paleontologists have identified multiple fossil species using Plot’s drawings as references. It took 160 years for William Buckland, another Oxford professor, to discover another megalosaurus fossil, which began the formal identification and study of dinosaurs.
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AuthorJeffrey Autrey - Experienced Pharmaceutical Submission Manager. Archives
February 2023
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