Worth the wait: Scientists recreate dinosaur 162 years after it was found

The fossilised remains of the Scelidosaurus had lain in the archives of the Natural History Museum for decades
The fossilised remains of the Scelidosaurus had lain in the archives of the Natural History Museum for decades Credit: John Sibbick/University of Cambridge

Most fossil hunters have to spend days digging in rock beds to unearth startling new dinosaur discoveries, but for a paleontologist from Cambridge found his forgotten in a museum.

Now, after three years hard work, Dr David Norman and his team from the University's Department of Earth Sciences, have recreated a creature last seen roaming what is now the Dorset countryside more than 200 million years ago.

The skull of the dinosaur Credit: University of Cambridge

The remains of the animal - called Scelidosaurus - were originally found 162-years-ago from the shore beneath Black Ven at Charmouth in west Dorset. It was the first near-complete skeleton of a dinosaur ever found.

But after an initial flurry of academic interest the remains were filed away. Eventually they ended up in the National History Museum where they remained until 2017 when Dr Norman and his team began to study them.

Now three years later the findings have been published and have thrown more light on the dinosaur 'family tree'

The results of the research helped depict the creature and has helped improve what we know about dinosaurs.