UK coin to celebrate pioneering female fossilfinder
LONDON: One of the most terrifying Jurassic sea creatures is to appear on commemorative United Kingdom 50p coins to celebrate the work of fossil hunter Mary Anning.
The temnodontosaurus coins will honour the 19thcentury palaeontologist, who made many discoveries near her home in Lyme Regis, Dorset.
As a workingclass woman, Anning’s achievements were overlooked at the time.
In 1810, about age 12, she discovered the temnodontosaurus, an ichthyosaur with footballsized eyes.
Natural History Museum engagement director Clare Matterson said it was thrilled the coin would celebrate ‘‘important contributions to science that were rarely acknowledged in Mary’s lifetime’’.