Paleontologist Mary Anning (1799-1847): The Girl Who Discovered Forgotten Life Below

Against the odds, paleontologist Mary Anning (1799-1847) became a pioneering fossil collector, dealer, and self-taught paleontologist. She persevered despite encountering significant barriers as a woman in science. She learned to hunt for fossils along the Jurassic Coast from her father. This poor and uneducated girl became recognized as one of the ten most notable women scientists in history.

In 1811, at twelve, she and her brother discovered the skull of an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile. Several years later, she uncovered a complete skeleton, one of the earliest complete ichthyosaurs ever found. Anning then found the first British example of a flying reptile, a pterosaur, in 1828. Anning also helped identify coprolites (ancient feces), which contributed to early studies of prehistoric diets.

In 1834, she discovered the first complete plesiosaur, a long-necked marine reptile. It was such a rare find that some scientists doubted it until they proved it was real. A fun fact is that not all plesiosaurs had long necks. Elasmosaurids had extremely long necks, while pliosaurids had short necks, with massive heads and powerful jaws. Because they share a common ancestor in their evolution, scientists group them together.

Anning’s work helped build the foundation for paleontology and prove extinction as a scientific concept. Even though Charles Darwin respected her, she received little credit because of her gender and class. Her male counterparts built on the fossil evidence she helped uncover.

During her lifetime, she sold fossils to tourists and collectors in her family’s fossil shop. Sometimes scientists and collectors paid her to search for fossils, or they purchased her finds directly. Anning had a few patrons, including scientists and wealthy people, who recognized her skill.

Mary Anning passed away from breast cancer in 1847.