Mary Anning might finally get the recognition she deserves after being nominated to appear on the new £50 note.

The Bank of England received 174,112 nominations after calling for candidates with a scientific background earlier this month.

Of this number, 114,000 were eligible, with Lyme Regis' Anning being one of the 200 women to appear on the list alongside more than 600 men.

A pioneering palaeontologist years ahead of her time, Anning was the first to discover the ichthyosaur, a complete skeleton of a plesiosaur and the first pterosaur (pterodactyl) outside Germany.

But the scientific community was reluctant to recognise Anning's achievements and male scientists would take credit for her work.

According to the Natural History Museum, even the Geological Society of London refused to accept her, and didn't admit women until 1904.

While the Natural History Museum in London showcases several of Anning's spectacular finds, including her ichthyosaur, plesiosaur and pterosaur, there have long been calls to recognise her achievements in some way.

There is an ongoing campaign in Lyme, fronted by 10-year-old Evie Swire, to raise a permanent statue of the fossil hunter in the town.

The idea has the backing of famous American palaeontologist Jack Horner, the scientist behind the Jurassic World movies, and the talented Tracy Chevalier, local novelist and author of the Mary Anning story ‘Remarkable Creatures.'

The Bank of England launched the character selection process on November 2 and the deadline for nominations is December 14.

Nominations must be real, deceased and have contributed to the field of science in the UK in any way.

So far, other nominations include computer pioneers Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing, physicist Stephen Hawking and Rosalind Franklin, who helped discover of the structure of DNA.

Once the deadline ends, names will be considered by the Banknote Character Advisory Committee.

To make a suggestion, visit bankofengland.co.uk/thinkscience.