Editing Mary Anning (section)

=== ''Plesiosaurus'' ===
[[File:Anning plesiosaur 1823.jpg|thumb|alt=Drawing of partially complete skeleton of creature with long thin neck, small skull, and paddles|Drawing published in the Transactions of the Geological Society of the nearly complete skeleton of ''Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus'' (NHMUK OR 22656) found by Anning in 1823]]
In the same 1821 paper he co-authored with Henry De la Beche on ichthyosaur anatomy, [[William Conybeare (geologist)|William Conybeare]] named and described the genus ''[[Plesiosaurus]]'' (near lizard), called so because he thought it more like modern reptiles than the ichthyosaur had been. The description was based on a number of fossils, the most complete of them specimen OUMNH J.50146, a paddle and vertebral column that had been obtained by Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas James Birch.<ref>Evans, M., 2010, "The roles played by museums, collections, and collectors in the early history of reptile palaeontology", pp. 5–31 in: Richard Moody, E. Buffetaut, D. Naish, D.M. Martill (eds). ''Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Saurians: A Historical Perspective''. Geological Society of London</ref> [[Christopher McGowan]] has hypothesised that this specimen had originally been much more complete and had been collected by Anning, during the winter of 1820/1821. If so, it would have been Anning's next major discovery, providing essential information about the newly recognised type of marine reptile. No records by Anning of the find are known.<ref name="McGowan 2001 23–26">{{Harvnb|McGowan|2001|pp=23–26}}</ref> The paper thanked Birch for giving Conybeare access to it, but does not mention who discovered and prepared it.<ref name="Conybeare1821" /><ref name="McGowan 2001 23–26" />

[[File:Macrocephalus.jpg|thumb|alt=Photo of cast of skeleton of creature with long curved neck, and paddles|Cast of ''[[Plesiosaurus macrocephalus]]'' found by Mary Anning in 1830, [[Muséum national d'histoire naturelle]], Paris]]
In 1823, Anning discovered a second, much more complete plesiosaur skeleton, specimen NHMUK OR 22656 (formerly BMNH 22656). When Conybeare presented his analysis of plesiosaur anatomy to a meeting of the Geological Society in 1824, he again failed to mention Anning by name, even though she had possibly collected both skeletons and had made the sketch of the second skeleton he used in his presentation. Conybeare's presentation was made at the same meeting at which William Buckland described the dinosaur ''[[Megalosaurus]]'' and the combination created a sensation in scientific circles.<ref>{{Harvnb|McGowan|2001|p=75}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Conybeare|1824}}</ref>

Conybeare's presentation followed the resolution of a controversy over the legitimacy of one of the fossils. The fact that the plesiosaur's long neck had an unprecedented 35 vertebrae raised the suspicions of the eminent French anatomist [[Georges Cuvier]] when he reviewed Anning's drawings of the second skeleton, and he wrote to Conybeare suggesting the possibility that the find was a fake produced by combining fossil bones from different kinds of animals. Fraud was far from unknown among early 19th-century fossil collectors, and if the controversy had not been resolved promptly, the accusation could have seriously damaged Anning's ability to sell fossils to other geologists. Cuvier's accusation had resulted in a special meeting of the Geological Society earlier in 1824, which, after some debate, had concluded the skeleton was legitimate. Cuvier later admitted he had acted in haste and was mistaken.<ref>{{Harvnb|Emling|2009|pp=81–83}}</ref>

Anning discovered yet another important and nearly complete plesiosaur skeleton in 1830. It was named ''Plesiosaurus macrocephalus'' by [[William Buckland]] and was described in an 1840 paper by [[Richard Owen]].<ref name="Torrens1995" /> Once again Owen mentioned the wealthy gentleman who had purchased the fossil and made it available for examination, but not the woman who had discovered and prepared it.<ref name="Emling143" />