1677 in paleontology explained

Events

• Robert Plot misinterprets a piece of Megalosaurus thigh bone as belonging to a war elephant brought to Britain when the region was under the control of the Roman Empire.^[1] Despite recognizing this find as a petrified bone, he would later make the curious claim that fossils were made by God to decorate the inside of the Earth, and were thus never part of real animals.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Robert Plot: A brief biography of this important geologists life and work . Oxford University Museum of Natural History . 4 . 14 June 2013.
2. Book: Farlow, James O.. M. K. Brett-Surmann. The Complete Dinosaur. Indiana University Press. 1999. Bloomington, Indiana. 5. 0-253-21313-4.