Mary Anning: podcast appearances and interviews

Mary Anning was an English fossil collector, dealer, and paleontologist known for her significant discoveries in Jurassic marine fossil beds along the cliffs of Lyme Regis in Dorset, England. Her work in the Blue Lias and Charmouth Mudstone cliffs led to notable finds including the first correctly identified ichthyosaur skeleton at the age of twelve, as well as the first nearly complete plesiosaur skeletons and the first pterosaur skeleton found outside Germany. Anning's contributions provided valuable insights into prehistoric life; she was instrumental in identifying coprolites as fossilized feces and discovering that belemnite fossils contained fossilised ink sacs similar to those of modern cephalopods. Despite her scientific achievements, Anning faced financial difficulties and was hindered by social barriers, being ineligible to join the Geological Society of London due to her gender. Her contributions often went uncredited, though she gained recognition within European and American geological circles. Her friend and contemporary geologist Henry De la Beche created the lithograph Duria Antiquior, a pioneering depiction of prehistoric life inspired by her fossils, which he marketed to benefit her. Anning's only scientific publication during her lifetime was an extract from a letter in the Magazine of Natural History in 1839. Her life and work have since garnered considerable historical interest, highlighting her pioneering role in paleontology and her enduring legacy in the field.