Iguanodon teeth

Although employed as a medical doctor, Dr Gideon Mantell had a keen interest in geology. He uncovered a number of unusual fossils in Sussex during the 19th century.

His wife Mary Mantell found these fossil teeth in a pile of gravel while accompanying her husband on his rounds. Dr Mantell struggled to identify the animal they belonged to, but would eventually interpret them as the remains of an ancient and enormous reptile.

He named the species Iguanodon because its teeth resembled those of the modern iguana. This was the first described example of a group of immense Mesozoic reptiles that later became known as the dinosaurs.

Despite Dr Mantell's monumental discovery, it is actually Museum founder Richard Owen who is credited with coining the name Dinosauria.