Rare, 2.65" Megalosaurus Caudal Vertebra - England

This is a rare, 2.65" tall, caudal vertebra of Megalosaurus bucklandi collected near Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. It is wonderfully preserved with minimal erosion to the surface. Any British dinosaur material is difficult to acquire, particularly that of Megalosaurs.

Megalosaurus (meaning "Great Lizard") is an extinct genus of large meat-eating theropod dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic period of Southern England. Although fossils from other areas have been assigned to the genus, the only certain remains of Megalosaurus come from Oxfordshire and date to the late Middle Jurassic. Megalosaurus was, in 1824, the first genus of non-avian dinosaur to be validly named.

Megalosaurus was about six meters long, weighing about seven hundred kilograms. It was bipedal, walking on stout hind limbs, its horizontal torso balanced by a horizontal tail. Its forelimbs were short, though very robust. Megalosaurus had a rather large head, equipped with long curved teeth. It was generally a robust and heavily muscled animal.