Happy Fossil Friday!
Friday September 11, 2020
Instructor: Arthur Reed, P.G.
Celebrating Mary Anning
(“She sells seashells by the seashore” likely originated as a result of her work)
Why You Should Know This Prolific Princess of Paleontology
Mary Anning was a 19th-century working-class woman from Dorset
with no formal education. She became one of the most celebrated fossil
collectors in history. She collected
Jurassic marine fossils from the sea cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme
Regis in the county of Dorset in Southwest England. Her findings contributed to
changes in scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of
Earth. One section of the Natural
History Museum in London is devoted to her findings.
Visitors to her grave often leave small fossils as a token of
their gratitude and affection for her (see photos).
(Dr Dean Lomax - Paleontologist photos below) (also see video
below)
Smithsonian
video on Mary Anning
