Why is Megalosaurus less famous than T. rex, according to Emma Nicholls?

Emma Nicholls blames Hollywood. Megalosaurus started dinosaur science, but early films such as the silent The Lost World in 1925 and Disney's Fantasia in 1940 put North American dinosaurs on screen, including T. rex, Allosaurus, Stegosaurus and Triceratops. Tyrannosaurus, named in 1900, was also known from more of its skeleton, while Megalosaurus survives only as scattered bones.

Nicholls says audiences fled the cinema at The Lost World, thinking the stop-motion animals were real.
Steve Brusatte calls Megalosaurus an early, smaller cousin of T. rex in looks.

▸In their words

“I'm going to lay the blame at the feet of Hollywood.” Emma Nicholls · at 38:54 — open in the transcript →

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

Q1Who really came up with the name Megalosaurus, according to Emma Nicholls on In Our Time?Q2What did Emily Rayfield say William Buckland got right and wrong about Megalosaurus?Q3How does Steve Brusatte describe William Buckland's eccentric habits?Q4How did William Buckland reconcile Megalosaurus with the Bible, according to Steve Brusatte?Q5How fast could Megalosaurus move, according to Emily Rayfield's reading of the Oxfordshire trackways?Q6What did Emma Nicholls find at the Dewars Farm dinosaur trackway site?Q8What is Scrotum humanum and why didn't it replace the name Megalosaurus, per Emily Rayfield?

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