Large carnivorous reptiles from parts of Europe. They have been known to reach ~40ft (12m) in length making them one of the largest land predators. Megalosaurs are revered for their great strength on which they use to hunt Iguanodon.
In recent times, Megalosaurs have been a frequent nuisance and sometimes hunters of man. The reduction of Iguanodon certainly contributed to their more aggressive behavior as of late. Without a main prey source, they now encroach on our space.
With populations steadily dwindling, it's only a matter of time until they join the ranks of the extinct.
EVOLUTION OF PALEOART : Tyrannosaurus, Apatosaurus, Megalosaurus
Many other examples of how our perception of prehistoric animals changed as more discoveries were made over the decades are festured on this SERIES OF VIDEOS
These posters are available for PRINTS and other items HERE
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…April fools! Let's turn that text the right way around:
April Fools 2026: The Backwards Elasmosaurus
In 1869, American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope published a description and reconstruction of a newly-discovered plesiosaur, Elasmosaurus platyurus.
But there was a big problem: the head was on the wrong end.
It also didn't have hind flippers, since no limb material had been found and Cope assumed the long "tail" was the primary means of propulsion.
By the next year the mistake had been recognized, pointed out by Cope's mentor Joseph Leidy (and not his Bone Wars rival Othniel Charles Marsh, despite later retellings). Cope hurriedly published a corrected edition with the same title and date, and it seems he was embarrassed enough to attempt to cover up the whole affair, even recalling and replacing most of the preprint copies he'd sent out to colleagues around the world.
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References:
Cope, E. D. "Synopsis of the Extinct Batrachia and Reptilia of North America, Part I." Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. New Series, 14 (1869):1-235. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/39852079#page/113/mode/1up
Davidson, Jane P. "Bonehead mistakes: The background in scientific literature and illustrations for Edward Drinker Cope's first restoration of Elasmosaurus platyurus." Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 152.1 (2002): 215-240. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232690093_Davidson_JP_Bonehead_Mistakes_The_Background_in_Scientific_Literature_and_Illustrations_for_Edward_Drinker_Cope%27s_First_Restoration_of_Elasmosaurus_platyurus_Proceedings_of_the_Academy_of_Natural_Scie
Everhart, Mike. "The tale of a tail: Or how easy it was to put the head on the wrong end of Elasmosaurus platyurus Cope 1868." Oceans of Kansas, 05 Aug. 2013, https://oceansofkansas.com/tale-tail.html
“March 8th.” Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 22.1 (1870): 9–11. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4624068
The Onion. "Paleontologists: 'We've Been Looking At Dinosaurs Upside Down'." The Onion, 23 Feb. 2010, https://theonion.com/paleontologists-weve-been-looking-at-dinosaurs-upside-1819571340/
Storrs, Glenn W. "Elasmosaurus platyurus and a page from the Cope-Marsh war." Discovery 17.2 (1984): 25-27. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236201644_Elasmosaurus_platyurus_and_a_page_from_the_Cope-Marsh_War
Wikipedia contributors. “Elasmosaurus” Wikipedia, 26 Mar. 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elasmosaurus
