Private fossil collectors are pretty common these days ... or worse. In Tucson, one dealer hawked an Apatosaurus leg to passersby, crying, “That would’ve been a heckuva barbecue!” ...

She has spent more than 50 years uncovering and identifying rare fossils in Lightning Ridge, and striking deals with collectors and opal miners to preserve these artefacts of deep geological history.

Natural History Museum Mary Anning was a pioneering fossil collector and dealer Dr Davis recognised the work from the author's handwritten inscription to Ms Anning when he saw a YouTube video in 2022.