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Mary had been close to her father. Sinceshe was a little girl, they had gone together tothe beach a mile from their house to search forunusual shells and rocks they could sell.

But this latest discovery was different fromanything Mary—or scientists—^had ever seen.Mary unearthed it from the beach. It was the17-foot-long skeleton of a creature with the faceof a crocodile, the body of a lizard, dolphin-likeflippers, and a tail like a shark's. It seemed like amonster from a storybook.

But as the world would soon leam, Mary'screature came from a place far more fantasticthan any book. The animal was a giant marinereptile that would later be named Ichthyosaurus.It had lived perhaps 200 million years before,during the time of the dinosaurs.

A Dazzling WorldImagine what it was like

to see such a skeleton in1811, when not a person onEarth had heard of—orimagined—dinosaurs.Today, scientists havegiven us a dazzling (andterrifying) picture of whatthe earth would have beenlike 200 million years ago.We can almost feel the hotand steamy air and see thevast, shallow seas crowdedwith ichthyosaurs and

In the 1800s, "dinomania"swept Europe and America.Paleontologists competedto find the most spectacularfossils, like this leg bone of alarge dinosaur. Later, museumsbuilt great halls to display themost dramatic finds. In 1997,Chicago's Field Museum paidmore than $8 million for thelargest I rex fossil—nicknamedSue—ever discovered (farright).

6 S T O R Y W O R K S

other marine reptiles, some as big as cars. Andon land, of course, there were the giants—the ferocious Allosaurus, with its monstrousjaws; the towering Brachiosaurus, its headseeming to skim the clouds; the lightning-fastDilophosaurus, with its slicing claws. There werelikely thousands of different kinds of dinosaursthat thrived on Earth during the differentprehistoric eras. But they died out millions ofyears before humans first appeared.

This world was completely unknown whenMary came across the skeleton. The mostrespected scientists in the world believed thatthe planet was only about 6,000 years old. Fewaccepted the idea that an animal could becomeextinct. The word dinosaur did not yet exist.

Monsters and GiantsThere had been impressive fossil finds

over the centuries: mysterious bonesjumbled together in dried riverbeds,gruesome skeletons smiling out from

cliffsides, monstrous footprintsembedded in rocks.

How did people explainsuch discoveries?

It's likely that many ofthe giants and monstersfrom ancient myths werein fact inspired by fossil

discoveries. Look closely at a

3,000-year-old drawing of themythical griffin, a half eagle,half lion that the Greeksbelieved guarded gold mines.It looks almost identicalto the skeleton of theProtoceratops, a four-leggeddinosaur with a giant beak.It's possible that gold minersin the Gobi Desert discoveredProtoceratops skeletons, whichare plentiful in this region.Is it so surprising that theyimagined the remains—with giant beakedskulls and long spiny tails—belonged to a typeof monster? (And were they so wrong?)

By the 19th century, many believed thatfossil skeletons were remains of animalsthat still existed but were tucked away inthe far-off corners ofthe Farth. In 1801,a farmer in New York discovered acomplete skeleton of an enormousanimal in one of his fields. Wasit a new species of carnivorouselephant? The skeleton attractedhordes of people when it wasdisplayed in a Philadelphia museum.

Scientists were convinced that thisanimal must still be lurking somewherein America. But where? Two years later.President Thomas Jefferson sent two

men—Meriwether Lewis and WilliamClark—to lead a team of explorers inthe American West, which was at thetime an unmapped wilderness.

Lewis and Clark helped mapthe West. They brought homespecimens of many birds, reptiles, andmammals. But much to Jefferson'sdisappointment, they brought nogiant elephants. A few years later, thefamous skeleton was identified as amastodon. This large elephant-like

Was the mythoioglcal griffin (ieft)inspired by a fossil of a Protoceratops

skeleton (above)? Experts say yes.

North America. It became extinctabout 10,000 years ago.

New IdeasIt was only a few years after

Lewis and Clark returned thatMary unearthed her skeleton. Herbrother spotted it first, a 4-foot-long skull embedded in the sand,its saucer-sized eye peeking out.

Mary found the rest. Fvery day formonths, she returned to the beach,braving roaring waves and fallingrocks. Locals grew accustomed tothe sight of Mary, bundled up in a

tattered coat, her hair snarled by thesalty air. She painstakingly chipped away at therock surrounding the skeleton. It took four mento help her carry it to her home. She quicklysold it—earning enough money to feed herfamily for months. Soon it was put on display ina small London museum. People came from allover to see it.

Mary's skeleton was one of the mostimportant fossils ever discovered. Already, newideas had been simmering—that Farth wasfar older than previously imagined, that fossildiscoveries were remnants of long-extinct

land mammal once roamed throughout animals. Unlike the mastodon skeleton, Mary's

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skeleton clearly did not belong to any creatureon Earth. To many scientists, it proved thatanimals could become extinct. Like a spark,Mary's discovery helped ignite an entirely newfield of science—paleontology—dedicatedto studying fossils. Soon scientists wouldcompletely change our understanding of Earth'snatural history.

New DiscoveriesOver the next few decades, Mary made

more important fossil discoveries. Scientistscame to Lyme Regis to comb the beach withher, to hear her opinions, and to discuss newideas.

So why isn't Mary Anning as famous asThomas Edison, Albert Einstein, or otherimportant scientists from history?

The reason is simple: Mary was a woman.At the time, even brilliant, talented, andwealthy women were barred from colleges andmost professions. European and Americanscientists in Mary's day were almost all wealthy

men from important families. Many of themmet Mary, and marveled over her knowledgeand her unique talents for finding andidentifying important specimens. But they neverinvited her to join their scientific organizationsor write articles for their magazines. Someactually took credit for her discoveries. Maryresented this bitterly, but she remained proudand passionate about her work until she died, atthe age of 47.

Over the years, new discoveries havecontinued to add to our understanding of theprehistoric world. Today, scientists study fossilswith 21st-century technology. They are learningmore about what prehistoric creatures lookedlike, how they behaved, and perhaps mostimportant, why they disappeared. Most likely itwas years of climate changes, volcanic eruptions,and, finally, a massive meteor hit that caused thedinosaurs to die out about 66 million years ago.

What is clear is that today we have justa glimpse of the prehistoric world. Scientistsbelieve we have identified barely .0001 percent

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ARTICLE

Dinosaurs for SaleWhy some of today's important fossils

will never be studied

I t was one of the mostimportant fossil findsin history—perfectlypreserved specimens

of two dinosaurs lockedin battle. The fossils,nicknamed the "DuelingDinosaurs," were discoveredin 2006 on a ranch inMontana. It was a rare find,one that could provide

iportant new informationabout the prehistoric world.

But the fossils might neverbe studied by scientists.

Today, many prized fossilsare not going to museumsbut into the homes ofwealthy fossil collectors. Inrecent years, the price offossils has skyrocketed. Atauction houses and fossilshows, dinosaur eggs, skulls,and skeletons can sell forhundreds of thousands ofdollars. A Tyrannosaurusskull can sell for millions.

To many collectors, thesespecimens are like works ofart to be proudly displayed.One wealthy New York Citybanker shows off his 3-foot-long Psittacosaurus skeletonin his office. The beakeddinosaur is a huge hit withhis customers.

Once a fossil is in privatehands, it is often lost foreverto science.

So whydon't museumssimply makesure they buyimportantspecimens?

The answeris simple: Mostcan't affordthem.

By law, afossil found onprivate land isthe property ofthe person who

owns the land. The DuelingDinosaurs were discoveredon the land of Mary Ann andLige Murray. They are eagerto earn as much as possiblefrom their rare treasure,which some estimate mightbe worth between $7 millionand $9 million.

So far nobody has offeredthat much, but the ownersare in no rush. For now,the Dueling Dinosaurs arelocked away—and so are thesecrets they might reveal toscientists. •

of the dinosaur species that lived. Each newdiscovery creates a more vivid picture of theworld that Mary helped open for us. Thesediscoveries also offer clues that can help usunderstand our environment, the web that

connects all the creatures on Earth.And perhaps at this moment, a lZ-year-old

girl or hoy is on a beach somewhere, about tomake a discovery that will change our ideas yetagain.

WRITE TO WINWrite a well-supported letter to the school board explaining why a new schoolshould be named after Mary Anning. Send it to "Dinosaur Contest" by May15, 2014. Ten winners will each receive a copy of The Wondrous Journals ofDr. Wendell Wellington Wiggins by Lesley Blume. See page 2 for details.

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