Temnodontosaurus 50p

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Design details: cutting-tooth lizard........

The skull illustrated on the Temnodontosaurus coin represents the ichthyosaur fossil discovered by Mary Anning’s brother, Joseph, in 1811. The entire skeleton was excavated by Mary, with assistance from local workmen, in 1811 and is now a part of the London Natural History Museum collection. In life, Temnodontosaurus was a huge ichthyosaur, a formidable predator that grew up to ten metres long! I have illustrated it with subtle counter colouration (a dark dorsum and lighter underside), which helped it hide in the depths of the Jurassic seas to ambush its prey. To the left of Temnodontosaurus is a brittle star, named Palaeocoma, and to the right is a generic pinnate compound fern.”