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st ichthyosaur Skull Mary Anning found
加 Have you ever heard the tongue twister “She sells
seashells by the seashore'? “She' is said to be Mary
Anning, a British fossil hunter. Coastal cliffS near Marys
home in southern England were rich in ammonites an
other fossils、 In her childhood, Mary contributed to her
family's finances by selling these fossils to visitors.
加 in isn Mary's brother found the fossilized head of
a large animal. It was 1.2 meters long and resembled
the head of a crocodile. Twelve-yearold Mary continued
to look for the rest of the crocodile-like creature. A
year later she caused a sensation by digging out the
remaining parts of a 5.5meter-long reptile, which was
Jater identified as an ichthyosaur. Even though parts of
this reptile had been discovered previously,、 Mary's find
was the first complete fossil to be assembled.
旭 Fossil hunting in 19thcentury Britain was popular
among uppercclass men, so it Was astonishing that Mary
a gr from a poor, working-class family, discovered the
precious fossil. Mary's passion for fossils lasted all her
Ife. As her scientific knowledge greW, she made several
more important finds, which helped to build our pictere
of jife on the earth.
