Did you know that one of the pioneers of palaeontology and one of the greatest early fossil finders was a woman? Well most people don’t. Her name was Mary Anning and she lived in Dorset, UK in the early 1800’s. Anning, who never married, made a living searching for Jurassic fossils in the sea cliffs at Lyme Regis. 
She was considered an expert in geological circles at finding and identifying fossils and sold specimens to the New York Lyceum of Natural History and King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony among others. But Anning was excluded from participating in the scientific community of the time which was made up of predominantly Anglican gentlemen. She was not eligible to join the Geological Society of London, as at that time women could not even attend meetings of the group as guests, and she rarely received full credit for her scientific contributions with wealthy collectors buying fossils from her and then publishing them without even a mention of her name.
Anning made many notable discoveries including the first ichthyosaur and the first two nearly complete plesiosaur skeletons (marine reptiles), as well as the first British pterosaur (flying dinosaur). She even discovered that belemnite fossils contained ink sacs like modern cephalopods. While Anning’s contributions were underrated during her life she is slowly coming into the recognition she deserves. If you want to know more about this extraordinary woman keep an eye out for the upcoming film Ammonite by Francis Lee featuring Kate Winslet or any of the many books about her life and contributions to science.
Image 1: Example of an Ichthyosaur fossil on display in the National Museum, Bloemfontein (Not found by Anning!)
Image 2: Portrait of Mary Anning by Benjamin John Merfield Donne, 1850. Showing Anning and her dog Tray and the outcrop of the Golden Cap fossiliferous formation behind her.
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