Object of the Week: Cetiosaurus oxoniensis

Unless otherwise stated, all information referenced here comes from the Leicester Museum and Art Gallery display of the dinosaur.

Admittedly quite a large object, the “Rutland Dinosaur” can be easily viewed at the Museum and Art Gallery here at Leicester, and is notable for being one of the most complete dinosaurs of its type (sauropod) found in Britain.

Figure 1: The Cetiosaurus from the front. (Author photo)

Discovered by Bill Boddington (no, I’m not making that name up), the dinosaur was found in 1968 at a quarry in Great Casterton, Rutland. Initially thought to be a plesiosaur (marine reptile), it was soon identified as a large sauropod dinosaur. The following year, some bones are placed on display at the museum. The year after, an American palaeontologist assigns it as a Cetiosaurus. In 1979, work is done on extracting the bones from the surrounding rock matrix, and in 1985 it appears on the TV show Blue Peter. Between then and 1997, the remaining bones are extracted and sculpture of the missing ones is done for it to be placed on display in the current Dinosaur Gallery in 2011.

Figure 2: Viewing the specimen from the rear. (Author photo).

The name means “whale lizard from Oxford” in a mix of Greek and Latin. “Cetiosaurus” stems from the first fragments of the holotype being thought to be a whale-sized crocodile, while “oxoniensis” comes from a skeleton in Oxford. Around 40% of this individual has been found, a large amount for a whole dinosaur skeleton, and while some remains in the museum storage, others are on display in cases as well as in the skeleton.

There is, however, some debate whether this individual is actually Cetiosaurus oxoniensis or if it is a different sauropod from the Middle Jurassic. With further research in the future, the “Rutland Dinosaur” may get a brand new scientific name…

Berengar Needham is currently a student on the MSc Museum Studies programme at the University of Leicester. Editor's note: Make sure to check out Cetiosaurus oxoniensis for yourself at the Leicester Museum and Art Gallery! At 53 New Walk, the museum is open from 11am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday and 11am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.