Read and learn:
Mary Anning is a very famous palaeontologist. She was born in Lyme Regis, in
the United Kingdom in 1799. Lyme Regis is a small town near the sea.
Mary’s father was poor, so he searched for curiosities at the beach to sell them
to tourists. Mary and her brother loved fossil-hunting at the beach and they found a lot
of sea fossils. When Mary was 12 years old, she discovered a 5.2 metre long skeleton!
Scientists believed that it was from a crocodile, but Mary knew it was from a very
old species… a dinosaur! In fact, it was the skeleton of a ichtthyosaurus.
Mary went to the beach with her dog Trey every day and in 1823 she made a very
important discovery, the first plesiosaur skeleton. Mary made other discoveries such
as the pterodactyl (a type of dinosaur that can fly) and coprolites (fossilised poo!).
She learned about geology, anatomy and illustration, all by herself! She was famous for her
discoveries, but people didn’t believe her because she was a woman.
Today everyone knows she was an amazing palaeontologist!