ZoomDinosaurs.com Dinosaur and Paleontology Dictionary

Mary Anning (1799-1847) was a British fossil hunter who began finding fossils as a child, and soon supported herself and her very poor family by finding and selling fossils. Very little is known about her life, but her father was a cabinet maker and he also collected local fossils.

Mary lived on the southern coast of England, in Lyme Regis, whose famous cliffs by the sea contain incredible fossil layers that date from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (the time of the dinosaurs, other bizarre reptiles, large insects, sea creatures, early mammals, etc.).

Mary Anning found and prepared the first fossilized plesiosaur and the first Ichthyosaurus (but not the first ichthyosaur). She found many other important fossils, including Pterodactylus (a flying reptile), sharks (and other fish), etc. Together with her brother Joseph, Anning supplied prepared fossil specimens to many museums, scientists, and private collections.

For more information on Mary Anning, click here.

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