 Description:
This is a large example of a tooth from the dinosaur Megalosaurus
bucklandi coming from the Middle Cretaceous Bathonian Stage deposits
of the Taynton Stone, Oxfordshire, United Kigdom. Notice the fine
serrations present which attest to the meat eating habits of this
dinosaur which was the first dinosaur to be described scientifically
by William Buckland and W. D. Conybeare in 1824, making this a significant
historical specimen. At that time, only a genus was assigned. Some
8 years later the species name was given in Buckland’s honor.
Richard Owen  coined
the term dinosaur, and recognized that Megalosaurus was indeed one
of these “fearfully great reptiles” Like most found,
this is a shed tooth. Dinosaurs continually replaced their teeth
so as to keep a sharp set always deployed. This one came from a
large example (estimated maximum size was 8 meters), one that would
have been the terror of its domain. Few are ever offered for sale;
this one has a restored tip (note the color difference) made of
resin. Were this to be a pristine example, the price would me more
than triple the asking figure. The restoration seen here was an
early attempt at depicting this dinosaur. It is now know to be a
bipedal type much like Allosaurus. It is unusual in that both the
part and counterpart are offered here.
William Buckland. "Notice on the Megalosaurus
or great Fossil Lizard of Stonesfield." Transactions of the
Geological Society of London, series 2, vol. 1 (1824), pages 390–396.
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