An early specimen of ‘AMMONITES Walcotii’ and Sowerby’s ‘Mineral Conchology’

A version of this article is published in Depositsmag . A fascinating aspect of palaeontology is the history of early descriptions and the process of assigning and revising the scientific names of fossils. A recently discovered nineteenth century ammonite specimen discussed here provides a vivid illustration of the sometimes tortuous process and can be connected with several illustrious naturalists and geologists from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Geology in the first quarter of the nineteenth century The first quarter of the nineteenth century was a particularly important time in the evolution of geological thinking. The first long stratigraphic sections were being published, the Geological Society was founded in 1807, the first nationwide geological map was published in 1815, and detailed investigations were underway across the country. A correspondent in the Philosophical Magazine (‘A Constant Reader’ 1815) promoted the work of James Sowerby and mentioned contemporary...