The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

I recently paid a visit to see the model dinosaurs that are the last remnant of the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace.  Also known as “Dinosaur Court”, they were the first dinosaur sculptures to go on public show anywhere in the world.  For the time people could see what prehistoric animals were like.  Not surprisingly, the world’s first “Jurassic Park” caused a sensation especially as the extinction of these creatures implied a timescale and a process of evolution that was at odds with the teaching of the bible.

The dinosaurs were designed in 1852 and unveiled in 1854.  Their creator, Waterhouse Hawkins, worked closely with the leading dinosaur expert of the day, Sir Richard Owen, to try and make them as accurate as possible.  However, further discoveries of dinosaur fossils since the mid-19^th century have revealed that the sculptures were sometimes inaccurate.

The sculptures show fourteen different species of extinct animals grouped on three islands in Crystal Palace Park.  The islands broadly correspond with three great eras of time.  The first island corresponds with the Palaeozoic era (550 – 250 million years ago), the second island with the Mesozoic era (250 – 65 million years ago) and the third island with the Cenozoic era (still ongoing after 65 million years). Thus, taken together, the three islands form a timeline showing the development of life on earth since the earliest times.  The monsters have been also been given the right setting among plants, ferns and suitable geological features.

Four species are gathered on the first island: Labyrinthodon, Plesiosaurus, Dycinodon and Icthyosaurus.  Six species are gathered around the second island: Mosasaurus, Hylaeosaurus, Pterodactylus, Iguanodon, Megalosaurus and Teleosaurus.  Four species are to be found on the fourth island: Megaloceros, Anoplotherium, Megatherium and Palaeotherium.  There are a total of 29 different animals.  Sculpted from stone they have carefully been repainted in their original colours.

Please see the photographs below.

Labyrinthodon (above) was a fish-eating carnivorous dinosaur that lived in the Permian and Triassic periods about 250 million years ago. It’s name is Latin for “maze tooth” as a cross-section of a tooth reveals a maze-like structure. There are three in the park, consisting of both smooth-skinned (salamandroides) and rough-skinned species (pachygnathus). As the Victorians had then only a fossilized skull to work on the body is shown as frog-like. However, subsequent discoveries have shown that it was more like a crocodile.

Plesiosaurus (above) is one of the better known dinosaurs in the park. It was a carnivorous fish-eating dinosaur that lived in the late Triassic and Jurassic eras about 200 million years ago, when it dominated the seas. It died out in the early Cretaceous period although the Loch Ness Monster (if it exists) is said to be a distant relative of the plesiosaur. The name means “ribbon reptile” and the earliest fossils were found in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England between 1800 and 1820. There are three species in the park namely macrocephalus (long-headed), dilochoderius (long-necked) and hawkinsii (named after Thomas Hawkins who discovered it).  The models are fairly accurate but subsequent discoveries showed the necks did not twist in the way shown.

Dycindon (above) was a herbivore that that lived in the Permian and Triassic periods about 250 million years ago. It completely died out in a mass extinction that took place at the end of the Triassic period. Its name means “two dog teeth” and the fossils were found in India and South Africa. Due to a scarcity of bones it was wrongly shown as a turtle-like creature. More recent finds have shown that it was more like a hippopotamus.  There are two in the park.

Icthyosaurus (above) is another of the more famous dinosaurs in the park.  It lived in the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and emerged about 220 million years ago.  The models are largely accurate except for the shape of the tail and the omission of the dorsal fin. The creature is also wrongly shown as coming out of the water to lay eggs on the land. It was actually very well adapted to life in the sea, as it name “fish lizard” implies, and gave birth to live young there. The Natural History Museum in London now has a fossilised specimen of a female and a baby who had both died during giving birth.  There are three species shown in the park – platydon (flat-toothed), tenuirostris (slender snouted) and communis (common).

Mosasaurus (above) was a marine carnivore that ate fish and other sea creatures in the late cretaceous period. Its name means “Meuse Lizard” after the river in which its fossils were first found in the early nineteenth century. At the time that the model was made the only fossils available were of the head.  Thus the creature was submerged in the lake to hide the fact that it was incomplete. Later complete fossil skeletons were found which showed that it had a serpent-like body with about 100 sections of backbone.

Hylaeosaurus (above) or “woodland lizard” was a herbivore that lived in the late Cretaceous period. The first fossils were found in Tilgate Forest in Southern England. It was heavily protected from predators by spikes along its neck and sides, and oval-shaped armoured plates along its back. It was 4 metres long and ate low-lying plant material.  Few fossils have been found and the model in the park faces away from the public as so much of its frontal appearance is presumed. The original head broke off some years ago and has been replaced by a fibre glass one.

Pterodactylus (above) or “flight finger” was a flying reptile that lived in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.  It ate insects, lizards and fish and also scavenged on dead creatures like modern day vultures. The fossils were widespread from England to East Africa. The original models were damaged and removed years ago but were replaced by restored versions based on contemporary photographs.

Iguanodon (above) or “Iguana tooth” is the most recognizable and most commonly shown of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs.  It was a herbivore that lived in the Cretaceous period about 120 million years ago. Its remains have been found in Europe and North America. The model was a constructed as a quadruped but later fossils suggested that it was a biped that walked upright.  However, fossilized tracks have shown that it could walk on either two or four legs. The model also shows a spike on its nose whereas today these are known to be thumb spikes situated on the front two wrists.  On New Years Eve 1853 a banquet was actually held inside the Iguanodon attended by Hawkins, Owen and 20 other leading figures of the day.

Megalosaurus (above) or “great lizard” was a carnivorous dinosaur from the cretaceous period and preyed on other dinosaurs such as Iguanodon. Its remains were found in England and it was the first dinosaur to be described. As no complete skeleton had been found at the time, this model is the most inaccurate one in the park. It is shown as a quadruped although later finds showed it to be a biped. Nonetheless it is a visually impressive model. 

Teleosaurus (above) or “end reptile” was a fish-eating carnivore from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.  It actually survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. It was like a salt-water crocodile with long thin jaws and small eyes.  The first fossils were found in Yorkshire, England.  This is considered to be the most accurate of Hawkins’s models.

Megaloceros (above) or “giant antler” was a giant Elk which emerged about 400,000 years ago and lived through the Ice Age. The best fossils have come from Ireland which is why they are sometimes called “Irish Elk”.  The family group of male, female and fawn were the last models to be made and were the most recent of the parks animals to become extinct.  The models used to have real antlers but these have been replaced.  They needed to eat a lot of vegetation to survive but suffered in the Ice Age when their habitats were covered with thick layers of snow.

Anoplotherium (above) or “short canine teeth” lived in the Tertiary period about 50 million years ago. Their remains have been found in Europe. They were omnivores and are now considered to be closely related to pigs or the hippopotamus. Two species are shown in the park – gracilis (graceful) and commune (common).  The modellers have given them hooves but they are now known to have been clawed animals.

Megatherium (above) or “giant beast” was a herbivore that lived in the Ice Age and only died out about 11,000 years ago.  Its remains have been found in North and South America.  It was like a giant ground sloth and used to pull up trees to eat roots and leaves. Samples of skin and hair have now been found to show that this creature was covered with long, dark, shaggy brown hair.

Palaeotherium (no photograph) or “ancient beast” was a herbivore that lived in the Tertiary period about 50 million years ago. The models show them as tapir-like animals but it is today thought that they are linked to the horse family. They were forest-dwellers that lived in herds and used their snouts to dig the ground for food.