**Thecocoelurus: An Early Cretaceous Dinosaur**
Thecocoelurus was a type of theropod dinosaur that lived during the early Cretaceous period, around 129 to 125 million years ago.
**Discovery and Naming**
The first remains of Thecocoelurus were found on the Isle of Wight by a Reverend named William Fox in the 19th century. These remains included only a part of a neck vertebra. After Fox passed away, his collection was handed over to the British Museum of Natural History, where it was studied further.
William Davies was the first to look at this dinosaur and thought it was related to another dinosaur called Coelurus. Harry Govier Seeley described it in 1888 and originally named it Thecospondylus daviesi. Later, in 1901, another scientist named Baron Franz Nopcsa renamed it to Coelurus daviesi. However, in 1923, Friedrich von Huene created a new name for it, Thecocoelurus, which combines parts of the earlier names.
The fossil, known as the holotype, is a small piece of vertebra found in rock layers known as the Wessex Formation.
**Classification**
At first, von Huene thought Thecocoelurus belonged to a group called Coeluridae. Later, he suggested it might fit better with Ornithomimidae. Over time, many scientists have debated where exactly Thecocoelurus fits in the dinosaur family tree.
In 2001, a team of researchers, including Darren Naish, thought Thecocoelurus could belong to a group called Oviraptorosauria. This group is known for their plant-eating habits. If this is true, Thecocoelurus would be the only fossil of this group found in Europe.
In 2004, James Kirkland suggested it might not belong to Oviraptorosauria after all. He thought it could actually be related to therizinosaurs, another group of dinosaurs. This would also make it special for being one of the few dinosaur fossils found in Europe from that family.
In 2014, researchers compared Thecocoelurus to fossils of ornithomimosaurs, suggesting it might be one of the earliest known members of that group. They also thought it could be linked to another dinosaur named Valdoraptor. However, some researchers still believe it might be more closely related to therizinosaurs.
So, the exact family of Thecocoelurus is still a mystery, with different scientists offering different ideas about its identity!
**Fun Fact**
Thecocoelurus is fascinating because it helps scientists understand the variety of dinosaurs in Europe during the early Cretaceous period. Despite being known from only a small bone, it raises questions about how many different types of dinosaurs lived in that ancient world!