In the 18th and 19th centuries, European naturalists observed strange and large bones of creatures that had long been dead, found in the Stonefield mines, England. These bones were sent to them through colonial routes. Both indigenous and general society began to wonder about the remains of similar animals that clearly no longer existed on Earth. In 1824, William Buckland, a geology expert from the University of Oxford, finally named the skeletal fragments from Stonefield as Megalosaurus, which is now believed to be the first dinosaur that ever lived on Earth.

"William Buckland, a geologist who gave the scientific name Megalosaurus, was unaware that the creature was a type of dinosaur because the term 'dinosaur' only emerged 18 years later. Buckland worked during a time when the fields of geology and paleontology were still in their early stages of development, where the identities and broader meanings of fossils were just beginning to be understood. Using comparative anatomy, Buckland believed that Megalosaurus was a type of giant reptile. Buckland imagined that the creature had characteristics similar to a crocodile. The presence of crocodile teeth and turtle shells in the same discovery location further supported this idea."

Two centuries after being dubbed Megalosaurus, human views on this creature have significantly changed. Paleontologists have revisited its original bones and the dinosaur literature in the history of science to bring back Megalosaurus as a bipedal predator that roamed the Jurassic coastline. Megalosaurus was one of the largest carnivores of its time, with adult lengths exceeding 20 feet. Walking on two legs, this meat-eating creature had a long and flat skull with curved teeth. It is also estimated to have had short and sturdy arms with large claws, similar to its relative, Torvosaurus.

Until now, a complete framework of Megalosaurus has never been found. Experts have connected early bones described by Buckland with other fossils from England and other places. However, some parts of Megalosaurus are missing. Roger Benson, a paleontology expert at the American Museum of Natural History, noted that some Megalosaurus fossils illustrated in scientific literature in the 1700s, such as jaws, teeth, and labeled "scrotum humanum" femur ends, cannot be found in any museum collection, and their existence is unknown. This uncertainty has led to various interpretations of Megalosaurus over time.