Cuvier had written "These teeth are certainly unknown to me; they are not [from] a carnivorous animal, and yet I believe that they belong, given their little complication, their serrating on the edges, and the thin layer of enamel that revet them, to the order of the reptiles.

"[c][11] Cuvier had also pointed out in his letter to Mantell that "it is impossible that one day a part of the reunited skeleton will not be found with portions of jaws bearing teeth.

[12] Mary Ann Mantell, like many women of the period in her position, made a "not-insignificant contribution" as "wife-assistant to her husband in collecting, illustrating and engraving.

[4] Mantell's significant discovery in Regency England was largely ignored at the time, but has more recently been recognised and ranked alongside those made by other women such as Mary Anning of Dorset or Etheldred Benett of Wiltshire.

Although initially she accompanied Mantell on his fossil collection trips, their marital relationship suffered and the pair became increasingly distant, causing their marriage to end in divorce.

Gideon Mantell bemoaned this separation: "There was a time when my poor wife felt deep interest in my pursuits, and was proud of my success, but of late years that feeling had passed away and she was annoyed rather than gratified by my devotion to science.