A childhood shaped by the Jurassic Coast
Mary Anning was born in 1799 in Lyme Regis, a small seaside town on the Dorset coast that is now famous as part of England’s Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The cliffs there, particularly the Blue Lias and Charmouth Mudstone, are packed with fossils from around 200 million years ago, when this part of Britain lay under a warm, shallow sea.
From a young age, Mary searched the dangerous cliffs and beaches for “curiosities” with her father and brother, selling fossils to tourists to help support the family. This hands‑on, informal science education turned a poor, working‑class girl with almost no formal schooling into one of the most important fossil hunters in history, she was the original STEM girl boss!
Discovering sea dragons: ichthyosaurs
Mary Anning’s most famous early discovery came when she was only about twelve years old. After a storm had scoured away part of the cliff east of Lyme Regis, her brother Joseph spotted a strange skull, and Mary later uncovered the rest of the skeleton—eventually recognised as Ichthyosaurus, the “fish lizard”, a large marine reptile with a dolphin‑like body and enormous eyes.
Over the following years she found more, larger and better‑preserved ichthyosaur skeletons, including specimens that helped scientists to understand there were several different species, not just one kind of “sea dragon”. These spectacular fossils, some up to 6 metres long, became centre pieces in museums and key evidence in the emerging science of palaeontology.
Plesiosaurs and the mystery of long‑necked reptiles
In 1823, Mary made what is often considered her most remarkable find: a nearly complete skeleton of a plesiosaur, a long‑necked marine reptile with four powerful flippers. This fossil was so well preserved that it surprised even experienced geologists, some of whom initially doubted it could be real because its body plan was unlike anything alive today. Plesiosaurs lived in the warm Jurassic seas that once covered what is now southern England, and their fossils provide strong evidence for how marine ecosystems functioned millions of years ago.
First British pterosaur and other “curiosities”
Mary Anning did not stop with sea reptiles. In 1828 she discovered the first pterosaur fossil found in Britain, later named Dimorphodon macronyx: a flying reptile with wings supported by an elongated fourth finger, sometimes called a “flying dragon”.
Alongside these headline finds, she also collected countless ammonites, belemnites, fish, squid‑like fossils and other marine creatures from the Blue Lias cliffs. These smaller specimens were essential in helping scientists reconstruct entire Jurassic ecosystems, making Mary’s fossil depot an early example of a specialist science shop where visitors could buy real evidence of Earth’s ancient past—very much the 19th‑century equivalent of today’s educational geology gifts and fossil sets for young palaeontologists!
Changing scientific thinking about deep time
At the time Mary Anning was working, many people still believed the Earth was only a few thousand years old. The strange, extinct creatures she uncovered in the cliffs of Lyme Regis presented powerful evidence that the planet was far older, and that entire groups of animals had lived and vanished long before humans appeared.
Her discoveries fed into debates about extinction, evolution and the history of life, influencing geologists and naturalists who were developing the foundations of modern Earth science. When pupils today learn about fossils as evidence that living things have changed over time, they are indirectly benefiting from Mary’s painstaking work.
Working at the edge of recognition
Despite her expertise, Mary Anning faced huge barriers because she was a working‑class woman in early 19th‑century England. She was not allowed to join the Geological Society of London, and many of the scientific papers describing her fossils were written by male academics who sometimes failed to credit her properly.
Yet leading geologists of the day—including William Buckland and others who visited Lyme Regis—relied heavily on her knowledge, often hunting for fossils with her and buying specimens for universities and museums. Today, she is widely recognised as a pioneering woman in STEM, and in 2010 the Royal Society named her one of the ten most influential women in British science, making her story ideal for inspiring girls and under‑represented groups in science education.
From fossil shop to global inspiration
In 1826 Mary opened “Anning’s Fossil Depot” in Lyme Regis, using her fossil sales to support herself and her family. Collectors, tourists and scientists flocked to the little shop on the seafront, browsing shelves of ammonites, belemnite guards and vertebrate bones that connected them to prehistoric oceans.
Mary Anning's role in today’s curriculum and museums
Mary Anning now appears in many UK primary science and history curricula as an example of a significant person in the history of science. Museums, heritage organisations and education charities have created videos, classroom activities and trails that encourage children to “think like a palaeontologist” by examining fossils just as Mary once did.
In Lyme Regis itself, a statue unveiled in 2022 honours her contributions, and visitors can still walk the beaches where she found her most famous specimens.
Explore rocks and fossils with Curious Minds
If Mary Anning were alive today, she would almost certainly be delighted by how many children are fascinated by fossils, dinosaurs and the deep history of our planet. For anyone inspired by her story and looking for high‑quality rocks and fossils gifts, geology kits for children, or classroom‑ready earth science resources, the Rocks & Fossils of CuriousMinds.co.uk offers carefully chosen fossil sets, mineral collections and hands‑on excavation kits that bring the Jurassic Coast into your home or classroom.
CuriousMinds.co.uk is a website founded and run by scientists for the enjoyment of everyone who loves science, learning and curiosity.
