“T ‘hey were priceless treasures from the past – and suddenly, I’ was convinced. I knew what I wanted to do: collect fossils.” – Joan Wiffen
Early Life
Joan Wiffen was born in 1922 in Auckland, New Zealand. She left school at 12 because her father saw no need for “higher education for women. From the age of 20, she joined the Women”’s Auxiliary Air Force, a women’s auxiliary force of the Royal Air Force during World War II. She subsequently worked as a clerk.
A Self-Taught Woman
After a few years of marriage, Joan’s husband, who was enrolled in geology courses, fell ill and couldn’t attend all the classes; Joan took his place. She was therefore not a professional scientist but only an amateur. Thanks to her courses, but also her great observation skills and logic, she learned to spot fossils, extract them, identify them, etc. Due to this “ignorance” of the scientific field, she was unaware of the theory that dinosaurs were not in New Zealand, which didn’t stop her from exploring this territory. She was nicknamed “the dinosaur lady” although she preferred “the dinosaur woman”.
Her Discoveries
Following an old geological map indicating reptile bones in the Te Hoe Valley, she discovered “the tail bone of” a theropod dinosaur in the Maungahouanga Valley. She subsequently discovered more “than half a dozen dinosaur remains, including an armored ankylosaur, a hypsilophodon, as well as a flying pterosaur reptile and marine reptiles. In 1988, Joan published an article on the first pterosaur fossil (see the photo below) found in New Zealand. In 1994, she received an honorary doctorate from” Massey University.
In June 2009, Wiffen passed away at the age of 87. Most of her fossil discoveries are preserved at GNS Science, a government research organization in New Zealand. She and her work are immortalized through her numerous scientific publications on Late Cretaceous biota, including bony fish, sea turtles, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, dinosaurs, and pterosaurs. These articles are the foundations of paleontology and inspire many paleontologists. Notably, Dr. Ralph E. Monar, paleontologist and co-author of many of Joan Wiffen’s publications, states:
“Joan showed that an interested, logical, and critical mind is the most important success factor.”
Written by Mathilde J. and edited by Tiffanie C.
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