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© 2003 The Natural History Museum
Height: 80.000 cm
Width: 40.000 cm
Depth: 45.000 cm
Purchased by the British Museum in 1821
On loan from the Natural History Museum R808
Enlightenment: Natural world
Enlightenment: The Natural World
Skull and lower jaw of an ichthyosaur
To hear an audio description of this object, written especially for blind and partially sighted visitors, follow this link: Audio description (2m 34s) (mp3 format, 1.76 MB). To download, right click and 'save target as' (PC) or hold down 'Control' key and click, and select 'Download Link to Disc' (Mac).
This large skull was
collected by Mary Anning (1799-1847), one of the most famous fossil
finders of her day. It is part of the skull and lower jaw of an
Mary Anning's family had earned a living for years by gathering fossils on the shore at Lyme Regis in Dorset to sell to collectors. Mary learned about the fossils from her parents, Richard and Mary (‘Molly') Anning, although there is a story that her flair resulted from being struck by lightning when she was one year old. This apparently changed her from a 'dull' to a 'lively' child.
Despite the lack of
a formal education, Mary Anning became an expert on the fossils she
found, and the most eminent geologists of the day often sought her
advice. In the 1820s she became the first person in Britain to find
complete specimens of an ichthyosaur, a
The specimens that Anning collected can still be found in museums throughout Britain. The British Museum purchased this example shortly after Anning discovered it.
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