Pioneering technology has shed fresh light on the world’s first scientifically-described dinosaur fossil – over 200 years after it was first discovered in Oxfordshire.

Research by Oxford University and the University of Warwick has revealed five previously unseen teeth in the jawbone of the Megalosaurus.

The Megalosaurus was found in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire and was the first dinosaur to be named in 1824.

Using state of the art scanning technology and 3D analysis software more than 3,000 x-ray images were taken of the jawbone to create a digital three-dimensional image of the fossil.

The scans have revealed previously unseen teeth that were growing deep within the jaw before the animal died - including the remains of old, worn teeth and also tiny newly growing teeth.

It also shows the true extent of repairs on the fossil for the first time, revealing that there may have been at least two phases of repair, using different types of plaster.

Records at the Museum of Natural History suggest that some restoration work may have been undertaken by a museum assistant between 1927 and 1931, while repairing the specimen for display - but there are no details about the extent of the repairs or the materials used.

This new information will help the museum make important decisions about any future restoration work on the specimen.

The Megalosaurus jawbone is on display at the Museum of Natural History alongside other bones from the skeleton.

Megalosaurus – which means ‘Great Lizard’ – was a meat-eating dinosaur which lived in the Middle Jurassic, around 167 million years ago.

It would have been about nine metres long and weighed about 1.4 tonnes (1400 kg).