What is Scrotum humanum and why didn't it replace the name Megalosaurus, per Emily Rayfield?

Emily Rayfield explains that Robert Plot illustrated the end of a giant thigh bone in 1677, and in 1763 the physician Richard Brookes reprinted the drawing labelled Scrotum humanum. Because 1763 post-dates Linnaean taxonomy, a 1990s petition argued the label should take priority over Megalosaurus bucklandi. The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled it a lost, forgotten name, so Megalosaurus stands.

• Plot had obtained the bone from Stonesfield quarry, which was dug for Cotswold roofing slate.
• Plot's era explained such bones as Roman war elephants or biblical giants.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on In Our Time (2026-11-05). Read the whole episode summary →

▸More from this episode