| Intro | British fossil hunter |
| Was | Hunter |
| From | United Kingdom |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 1799 |
| Death |
1847 (aged 48 years) |
Mary Ann Mantell (née Woodhouse, 1799–1847 or 9 April 1795 – c. 1855) is credited with the discovery of the first fossils of Iguanodon, and provided several pen and ink sketches of the fossils for Gideon Mantell’s scientific description of Iguanodon.
Iguanodon discovery
In 1822, while Mary Ann Mantell was accompanying her husband, Dr. Gideon Mantell, to Surry as he was visiting a patient, she discovered large tooth-shaped fossils on the side of the road. She presented these fossils to her husband. Due to his excitement of her findings he launched and excavation of the Tilgate Forest, which resulted in the discovery of the herbivorous reptile, the Iguanodon.
Mary Ann Mantell aided her husband by illustrating many of the fossils in his scientific work called “Illustrations of the Geology of Sussex” published in 1827, in which he describes the Iguanodon, thusly named due to its likeness to the modern day Iguana.
Family Life
Mary Ann Woodhouse married Gideon Mantell in 1816 and lived with him in Lewes. She accompanied Mantell on his fossil collection trips. Although the couple became a coherent research team, their personal lives suffered and the pair became increasingly distant causing their marriage to end in divorce. They had three children together, including prominent New Zealand scientist and politician Walter Mantell.