By Will Dunham (Reuters) – On February 20, 1824, English naturalist and theologian William Buckland addressed the Geological Society of London, describing enormous jaw and limb bones unearthed from a slate quarry in the village of Stonesfield near Oxford. Buckland recognized that these fossils belonged to a huge, bygone reptile, and gave it a formal … Read more
Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s science newsletter Wonder Theory. To receive it in your inbox, Register for free here. Dinosaurs are all around us, figuratively and literally speaking. Most of these diverse creatures became extinct 66 million years ago, but the ancient ancestors of modern birds are ingrained in the … Read more
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more. Huge fossilized bones that emerged from slate quarries in Oxfordshire, England, in the early 17th century were an immediate mystery. In a world where evolution and extinction were unknown concepts, the experts of the time … Read more