Jou nal o Geek S udies
jgeeks udies.o g
When wa ching, eading o playing
wo ks o ic ion, we a e he ype o biolo-
gis s who ge annoyed wi h silly mis akes.
Like when a mo ie has a bi d sound ha ’s
no app op ia e o he egion o ha be-
longs o a di e en bi d species han shown;
common cases include he sc eaming piha,
he loon and he bald eagle s ed- ailed
hawk, which ha e become mo e o com-
mon knowledge o la e (Vox, 2021; Ebe -
wein, 2025). We unde s and ha some imes
choices a e made in de imen o eal-wo ld
biology, like Robin’s obin in Honkai: S a
Rail (Sal ado , 2024), and ha is absolu ely
ine. S ill, i can be qui e disappoin ing
when mis akes could ha e been p e en ed
wi h a i e-second Google sea ch, like he
o he Robin’s obin in Fa e/G and O de (Sal-
ado , 2024; Sal ado & Tomo ani, 2024)1 o
he many issues wi h he ecen dinosau
ilms (e.g., Igielman, 2022).
On he o he hand, we canno help bu
beam wi h happiness when c ea o s hi a bi-
ological nail igh on i s head. Tha was he
case wi h a dinosau depic ion in an anime
we ecen ly wa ched, Chap e 2 o P incess
P incipal: C own Handle (by Ac as, 2021).
G an ed, i is a e y mino appea ance wi h
no ele ance o he plo wha soe e , bu
s ill, he e is such an in e es ing s o y be-
hind i ha we jus had o w i e abou i .
DINOS & DRAGONS
P incess P incipal is se in Albion, a ic-
ional s eampunk analogue o ea ly 20 h-
cen u y B i ain. The o iginal anime se ies
ai ed in 2017 and now he C own Handle se-
ies is being eleased as six ilms (we’ e cu -
en ly in he 4 h one). The s o y ollows a
g oup o i e gi ls doing spy hings; du ing
C own Handle Chap e 2, hey go o he he-
a e du ing an in es iga ion. And he e, he
small de ails included on his scene makes
all he di e ence (Fig. 1).
In on o he hea e he e a e wo
liza d-like s a ues. Chise doesn’ know
wha hey a e, so Ange explains o he ha
hey a e ex inc animals called dinosau s.
Seems s aigh o wa d enough, bu he e
a e a couple o hings o unpack he e. Fi s ,
while he B i ish public a ha ime was a-
milia wi h dinosau s (mo e on ha la e ),
ha was no necessa ily he case elsewhe e,
including Japan, whe e Chise comes om.2
Secondly, while he s a ues migh look
127
S eampunk dinosau s and Vic o ian-e a
palaeon ology
Rod igo B. Sal ado ¹ & Ba ba a M. Tomo ani¹,²
¹Zoology Uni , Finnish Museum o Na u al His o y, Uni e si y o Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
²Depa men o A c ic and Ma ine Biology, UiT – The A c ic Uni e si y o No way, T omsø, No way.
Emails: sal ado . od [email protected]; ba ba a. omo ani@ui .no
Ci e his a icle as: Sal ado , R.B. & Tomo ani, B.M. (2025) S eampunk dinosau s and Vic o ian-e a palaeon ology.
Jou nal o Geek S udies 12(2): 127-136. h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17559145
1 No o men ion he ac ha FGO w i e s did no know ha Sou h Ame ica and Cen al Ame ica a e wo di e en
hings, and ha Mexico is loca ed in nei he o hem.
Sal ado & Tomo ani
wei d gi en ou cu en unde s anding o
dinosau s, i is spo on o he pe iod in
which he anime akes place (mo e on ha
la e as well). O cou se, he e a e some nice
“ex a” ouches, like he s eam coming ou
o he s a ues’ nos ils, which is a he same
ime e y s eampunky and in line wi h he
d agon heme o he play a he hea e.
The dinosau depic ed in he anime is
Iguanodon, and i s wei d liza d-like ap-
pea ance wi h a ho n on i s nose was jus
he i s i e a ion o one o he mos e ised
and ein e p e ed dinosau s in he his o y
o palaeon ology.
DISCOVERY AND NAMING
In he ea ly 19 h cen u y, he B i ish (and
he Eu opean scien i ic communi y a la ge)
we e becoming acquain ed wi h ossils o
la ge ep ilian animals, la gely hanks o
Ma y Anning (Fig. 2), who was unea hing
plesiosau s and ich hyosau s in Lyme Regis
(Fallon, 2020; Sal ado , 2021). S ill, some
ossils we e e y puzzling and didn’ seem
o i well wi h o he hen known ep iles.
Those included a hand ul o bones, ee h,
and agmen s ha we e la e desc ibed as
Megalosau us (Buckland, 1824), Iguanodon
(Man ell, 1825), and Hylaeosau us (Man ell,
1833).
In 1842, he na u alis Richa d Owen
coined he name ‘Dinosau ia’ o a new an-
imal g oup ha could house all hose wei d
ossils, including ca ni o ous and he bi o-
ous “ ep ilian” animals (Cos an ino,
2015).3 Tha kick-s a ed discussions and
s udies abou such “new” animals, uelled
by mo e disco e ies being made a ound he
wo ld. And Iguanodon has been in he cen e
o discussions e e since.
2 While cu en paleon ological ad ances s a ed o become a ailable in Japan du ing he Meiji e a, alongside some
s o ies like Julio Ve ne’s gaining ac ion, he mo e “mains eam” dinosau boom in Japan came in he 1980s wi h
he amazing new disco e ies ha we e happening in Fukui, now known as he Dinosau Kingdom (Ma sukawa e
al., 2006; Fukui S a ion Dinosau A ea Po al Si e, 2024). Technically, he i s dinosau disco e ed in Japan was
Nipponosau us sachalinensis, bu i was ound in Sakhalin (Nagao, 1936), which is now pa o Russia.
3 The name i s appea ed in 1841 in a alk o he B i ish Associa ion o he Ad ancemen o Science. The p oceed-
ings o ha mee ing we e published in he ollowing yea (Owen, 1842: 102).
Figu e 1. The eam a i es a he hea e and a e
g ee ed by wo dinosau s a ues. Images a e sc een
cap u es o he ilm.
Jou nal o Geek S udies 12(2): 127-136 (2025).
The i s Iguanodon ossils came om
Whi emans G een. They we e ock-embed-
ded ee h and we e ei he ound by Gideon
Man ell and/o his wi e Ma y Ann (no An-
ning!) o acqui ed om he local qua y
a ound 1820–1821 (Dean, 1999). A i s ,
Man ell hough he ee h belonged o a
la ge c ocodile, bu soon ealized hey be-
longed ins ead o a e y la ge he bi o ous
ep ile. Tha was a i s , as no p ehis o ic
ep ilian he bi o es we e known so a (Os-
e lo , 2020). Among he known ep iles,
he iguana had he mos simila -looking
ee h, al hough he ossils we e many imes
la ge . Thus, he new ossil species was
named Iguanodon ( ha is, “iguana oo h”)
by Man ell in 1825 (Fig. 3).4
In he yea s ha ollowed, Man ell kep
looking o mo e ossils, bu ound only
mo e ee h and isola ed and agmen a y
bones (Os e lo , 2020). Then, nea ly a
decade la e , in 1834, mine wo ke s ound a
mo e comple e specimen o Iguanodon in
Maids one.5 Man ell a elled o Maids one
o s udy he new specimen, which was used
as he basis o he i s a emp o econ-
s uc his ex inc animal’s skele al s uc u e
–and also o he i s a is ic ende ings o
he species (Fig. 4). S ill, he ossil was in a
a he poo shape and led o some misin e -
p e a ions, he mos in amous o which was
he ho n. Iguanodon was econs uc ed as
ha ing a ho n on i s nose, like a hino ( e-
membe he depic ion in C own Handle ;
Figu e 3. The o iginal illus a ion o Iguanodon’s ee h,
wi h a compa a i e igu e o an iguana’s ee h.
Sou ce: Man ell (1825).
S eampunk dinos & Vic o ian palaeon ology
129
Figu e 2. Ma y Anning and he ossil disco e ies.
Well, kinda. This is he a wo k (by Riyo) o he
S age 3 ascension o Ma y Anning in Fa e/G and O -
de , because we canno ha e an a icle abou B i ish
palaeon ology and no alk abou he . Sou ce: Fa e/
G and O de Wiki.
4 Wei dly, Man ell did no p o ide he ull binomial ha is needed o a species scien i ic name (like Homo sapiens).
Tha was la e coined by Holl (1829): Iguanodon anglicus.
5 This specimen is now conside ed o belong o a di e en species in a ela ed genus, namely Man ellisau us a he -
ieldensis (No man, 2013).
Sal ado & Tomo ani
Fig. 1). Yea s la e , be e p ese ed ossils
showed ha he “ho n” was ac ually a
modi ied humb, bu ha was no an easy
hing o imagine back in he ea ly days o
dinosau esea ch. Speaking o which, in a
sense i was Man ell who s a ed scien i ic
esea ch on dinosau s as he ied, along a
se ies o published pape s (e.g., Man ell,
1848, 1851a), o unde s and Iguanodon and
imagine how i li ed back in he C e aceous
Pe iod.
THE CRYSTAL PALACE
By he la e 1940s and ea ly 1950s, Man-
ell was clashing agains Owen ega ding
Iguanodon. Owen was a c ea ionis and be-
lie ed ha he Biblical god had c ea ed di-
nosau s o be elephan -like o hino-like
c ea u es.6 Man ell, howe e , knew ha
couldn’ be so, as Iguanodon had slende
o elimbs and hus, should walk, mo e and
li e in a comple ely di e en manne (Man-
ell, 1851b; Dean, 1999). Man ell died in
1852, an e en ha esul ed in Owen’s in e -
p e a ion o Iguanodon becoming accep ed
and es ablished o he ollowing decades,
in no small pa hanks o he C ys al Palace
dinosau sculp u es.
Such sculp u es we e commissioned in
1852 o ma k he C ys al Palace’s mo e o
i s new loca ion in London. They we e
made by Benjamin Wa e house Hawkins,
who coun ed wi h scien i ic ad ice o none
o he han Owen (McCa hy & Gilbe ,
1994). When un eiled o he public in 1854,
hey we e he wo ld’s i s sculp u es o ex-
inc animals and should ep esen he la -
es scien i ic knowledge o Vic o ian
palaeon ology (Os e lo , 2023). They in-
cluded species om 15 gene a o ex inc an-
imals (only h ee o which a e ac ual di-
nosau s, by he way). Today, we know he
sculp u es e lec he many mis akes o
ea ly palaeon ology, o which he mos no-
able example is pe haps Owen’s in e p e-
a ion o Iguanodon (Fig. 5; he w ongly po-
si ioned ho n/ humb was Man ell’s aul ,
hough). Al hough many people would
Figu e 4. Man ell’s econs uc ion o Iguanodon would ha e looked like based on he Maids one ossil and he
ana omy o li ing ep iles. Sou ce: Na u al His o y Museum (public domain).
6 Owen appea s in Assassin’s C eed: Syndica e (Ubiso , 2015) as an an agonis in a ques line whe e he main cha -
ac e s wo k alongside Cha les Da win. You can ead a bi mo e abou him in Sal ado (2019).
Jou nal o Geek S udies 12(2): 127-136 (2025).
make un o such mis akes, ha is pa o
how science ad ances and ou p esen -day
knowledge will no doub look silly o e-
sea che s in he nex cen u y.
The sculp u es a e ecognized as ha ing
his o ical impo ance and we e es o ed in
2002, which a enua ed he de py look o
he o iginals (Fig. 5). The dinosau sculp-
u e in C own Handle also a enua ed ha
de piness by gi ing Iguanodon on ee h
(Fig. 1), which made i (pu pose ully o no )
look a bi mo e d agon-like.
IGUANODON 2.0
A be e econs uc ion o wha Iguan-
odon would ha e looked like had o wai
un il he end o he 1870s, when nea ly com-
ple e skele ons o o e 30 indi iduals we e
disco e ed in a coal mine in Be nissa , Bel-
gium (No man, 1980, 2005). These belonged
o a new species, Iguanodon be nissa ensis.
On op o he egula esea ch on hose new
specimens, one skele on was moun ed o
public display in B ussels by Louis Dollo
(Fig. 6). Wi h access o nume ous ossils,
Dollo could see ha Owen’s in e p e a ion
was inco ec (Dollo, 1883). Based on wha
was hen known abou he somewha simi-
la Had osau us in No h Ame ica, Dollo
moun ed he Iguanodon skele on in a
bipedal kanga oo-inspi ed pos u e and hy-
po hesized ha i was amphibious and
used i s ail o swim (Gode ol , 2017).
131
Figu e 5. Iguanodon sculp u es a he C ys al Palace. Le : be o e es o a ion (1995). Righ : a e es o a ion (2014).
Sou ces: Wikimedia Commons, espec i ely (Caslibe , 2006; public domain) and FunkMonk (2014; CC BY-SA 2.0).
Figu e 6. Skele on o Iguanodon be nissa ensis being
moun ed o display in he S . Geo ge Chapel in B us-
sels. Sou ce: Wikimedia Commons (Aimé Ru o ,
1882; public domain).
S eampunk dinos & Vic o ian palaeon ology
Sal ado & Tomo ani
Impo an ly, Dollo was able o see ha
he “ho n” was ac ually a modi ied humb
ha looks like a spike (Fig. 7). To his day,
palaeon ologis s s ill do no know wha he
hell is going on wi h his humb. Some a -
gue ha i was used as a de ensi e weapon;
o he s say i is a specializa ion o s ipping
lea es om b anches, like he panda’s
“ humb”. In any e en , iguanodons’
humbs would ha e been e en la ge in li e,
as he bone could ha e been co e ed wi h
ke a in (Os e lo , 2020).
A e ha , esea ch on Iguanodon slowed
down as in e es in i waned, and wa s, eco-
nomic dep ession, and he ise o ascism
changed he p io i ies in Eu ope away om
dinosau s. Then, as i is widely known, a
“dinosau enaissance” s a ed a ound he
1960s, when new da a and esh esea ch
s a ed o indica e ha dinosau s we e no
sluggish o e g own liza ds bu a he ac-
i e wa m-blooded animals (Bakke , 1986).
Such ein e p e a ion s a ed o show di-
nosau s unde a di e en ligh , as animals
capable o complex beha iou s like o ming
social s uc u es and ca ing o hei young
( o ins ance, Maiasau a is he classic exam-
ple o pa en al ca e; Ho ne & Makela,
1979). I ook a while, bu e en ually, in he
1980s, he enaissance mo emen eached
Iguanodon.
New esea ch was done in skele al
ana omy, p o iding new ideas on opics
like eeding mechanisms, pos u e and
mo emen . Among he palaeon ologis s
s udying Iguanodon, Da id No man was
pe haps he mos p oli ic and ac i e (see,
o ins ance, No man, 1980, 1986). One ma-
jo ealiza ion was ha Dollo’s kanga oo
pos u e was impossible, because i equi ed
a lexible ail; he ossils clea ly showed ha
he ail o iguanodons was s aigh and
could no bend he way Dollo displayed.
Thus, he new econs uc ions ha e iguan-
odons as e es ial animals walking wi h
hei body and ail held pa allel o he
Figu e 7. The hand o an Iguanodon specimen om he
Na u al His o y Museum (London, UK) showing he
modi ied spike-like humb. In all hones y, i does look
like a ho n o some hing simila . Sou ce: Wikimedia
Commons (Ballis a, 2006; CC BY-SA 3.0).
Figu e 8. Mode n econs uc ion o Iguanodon be nissa ensis. Sou ce: Wikimedia Commons (Sau oa chi e, 2025;
CC BY 4.0).
Jou nal o Geek S udies 12(2): 127-136 (2025).
g ound, and wi h a ms o e ing u he
suppo o he body (Fig. 8). The e we e also
disco e ies abou hei beha iou , as ich
ossili e ous deposi s in Nehden, Ge many,
showed ha iguanodons we e g ega ious
animals (No man, 1987).
Iguanodon was no he only one ha wen
h ough ein e p e a ions o e he decades.
So, i is in e es ing o see how hose o he
dinosau econs uc ions om he C ys al
Palace compa e o mode n “pos - enais-
sance” in e p e a ions (Fig. 9).
FINAL THOUGHTS
Iguanodon, while no as well immedia ely
ecognizable o he public like T- exes,
s egosau s and ice a opses, a e s ill a he
common in pop cul u e om A hu Conan
Doyle’s The Los Wo ld (1912) o Disney’s
Dinosau (2000) and Ju assic Wo ld Dominion
(Uni e sal Pic u es, 2022). They ha e long
been p esen as collec ibles oo, s a ing
pe haps wi h he ca ds in Ge man chocola e
ba s du ing he 1900s–1910s (Fig. 10) and
con inuing o p esen -day gashapon minia-
u es (Fig. 11).
133
Figu e 9. C ys al Palace dinosau sculp u es and mode n in e p e a ions o he animals. Top ow: Hylaeosau us.
Bo om ow: Megalosau us. Sou ces: Wikimedia Commons (c opped), om op le espec i ely FunkMonk (2008;
CC BY-SA 2.0), To alDino (2023: CC BY-SA 4.0), CGP G ey (2005; CC BY 2.0), Ladyo Ha s Ma iana Ruiz (2006;
public domain).
S eampunk dinos & Vic o ian palaeon ology
Sal ado & Tomo ani
Popula akes on iguanodons ha e
la gely ollowed he many changes in in e -
p e a ion, om elephan -like o kanga oo-
like, om e es ial o amphibious, and i-
nally o he mode n econs uc ion. While
oday’s iguanodons a e agile bipedal ani-
mals, we canno help bu hink ha he e is
a ce ain cha m o he a d agon-like econ-
s uc ion o he C ys al Palace and C own
Handle . Case in poin , e en he King o
Mons e s ook inspi a ion om he old
iguanodons (Tsu sui, 2004), so we a e ce -
ainly no alone in hinking ha .
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ni hopoda). Bulle in de l'Ins i u Royal des
135
S eampunk dinos & Vic o ian palaeon ology
