Local Geology
The dinosaurs of Oxfordshire
Dinosaurs were reptiles that once lived on land; they didn't fly like the pterosaurs or live in aqueous environments like the plesiosaurs and icthyosaurs. Unlike crocodiles and lizards, who walk with their legs held to the side of their body, dinosaurs walked with their legs held directly below their body.
The first dinosaur known to science was discovered in Oxfordshire and described by Oxford academic, William Buckland, before the word 'dinosaur' had even been coined. Four species are particularly associated with the county: Cetiosaurus oxoniensis, Cumnoria prestwichii, Eustreptospondylus oxoniensis and Megalosaurus bucklandii
The holotypes for these species may be found in the excellent Museum of Natural History in Oxford.
Cetiosaurus oxoniensis Middle Jurassic
pronounce: see-teo-sore-us
name translated: 'whale lizard'
Owen 1842
Phylum: Chordataa
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: †Sauropodomorphia
Family: †Cetiosauridae
Genus: †Cetiosaurus
Cumnoria prestwichii Upper Jurassic
pronounce: come-nor-ee-ah
name translated: Latinised name for Cumnor, Oxfordshire
Hulke 1880
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Ornithischia
Suborder: †Ornithopoda
Clade: †Styracosterna
Genus: †Cumnoria
Eustreptospondylus oxoniensis Middle Jurassic
pronounce: u-strep-toe-spond-di-luss
name translated: 'well-reversed spine/well-curved spine''
Walker 1964
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Therepoda
Family: †Megalosauridae
subfamily: †Eustreptospondylinae
Megalosaurus bucklandii Middle Jurassic
pronounce: meg-ah-low-sore-us
name translated: 'great lizard'
Buckland 1824
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Family: †Megalosauridae
Subfamily: †Megalosaurinae
The images used to illustrate these pages were drawn by Andrew Orkney and commissioned by Oxford Geology Group.