Lhuyd's book mainly contained fossils from the Coal Measures, the strata in which much of Earth’s early vegetation is preserved
ALAMY X2, GETTY X5, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY X1
FIRST DESCRIPTION OF A DINOSAUR TOOTH
Dinosaur fossils have been studied for hundreds of years, but scientists didn’t know what they were – everything from giant elephants to dragons were suggested instead. In 1699, Edward Lhuyd published a catalogue of fossils that included the tooth of a sauropod – think Diplodocus – called Rutellum impicatum, found in Caswell, Oxfordshire. It was the first example of a named entity now recognisable as a dinosaur.