It was first discovered in 1983 by the amateur fossil hunter William Walker. A group of scientists lead by Alan Charig and Angela Milner of the Natural History Museum of London examined the skeleton and named the animal "Baryonyx" (meaning 'heavy claw'), and the species name "walkeri" after the man who discovered it. Other good skeletons were discovered in England and in Spain, which gave scientists a good idea of what the dinosaur was like.