Mary Anning (1799-1847) of Lyme Regis worked as a fossil finder, selling her discoveries to curious tourists. Her life and career saw fossil collecting develop from quirky pastime to scientific investigation. Anning earned an international reputation among the scientific community for the quality of her finds, which included the first plesiosaur. Anning’s finds played a role in the developing evolutionary and extinction theories.
Anning’s talent as a fossil finder was aided by the remarkable Blue Lias limestone in the cliffs around Lyme Regis. The rock originated 195 million years ago when the area was a warm shallow sea.
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