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The fossil trade is the purchase and sale of fossils. This is at times done illegally with stolen fossils, and important scientific specimens are lost each year. [1] [2] [3] [4] The trade is lucrative, and many celebrities collect fossils. [5]
The fossil trade has attracted criticism from many paleontologists, who regard the private ownership of fossils to be damaging to science.
The auction of the Tyrannosaurus skeleton known as Sue in 1997 for $8.3 million is considered to have caused an increased interest in the fossil trade. [6] According to the head of science and natural history at Christie's, James Hyslop, the market in fossils has been growing consistently since 2007. [7] Due to the increased awareness of the lucrative nature of fossils, many landowners have become more reluctant to work with scientists, preferring to instead offer prospecting rights to the highest bidder. [6] [7]
The international trade in fossils for use in alternative medicine, commonly referred to as "dragon bone", was worth US$700 million annually as of 2010. [8]
Fossil poaching is common in Mongolia. In five years, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized $44 million worth of smuggled fossils. [9] Fossils from Mongolia and China, which are illegal to export, are often claimed to be from Central Asia. [6]
Fossils sold through the fossil trade are often composites of multiple specimens, not necessarily from a single species, combined to look like one skeleton. [10]
In the United States, it is legal to sell fossils collected on private land. [7] In Mongolia, China, and Morocco, the export of fossils is illegal. [9] [11] Brazil considers all fossils as federal assets and prohibits their trade since 1942, banned the permanent exports of holotypes and other fossils of national interest in 1990, and requires permits by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for permanent exports. [12]
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, an international association of professional and amateur vertebrate paleontologists, believes that scientifically important fossils—especially but not exclusively those found on public lands—should be held in perpetuity in the public trust, preferably in a museum or research institution, where they can benefit the scientific community as a whole as well as future generations. [13] In the United States, Paleontological Resources Preservation Act. S. 546 and H. R. 2416 were introduced in the US Congress with SVP's full support. [14]
Many commercial fossil collectors and dealers believe that such policies are a breach of their rights. The argument has also been put forth that there are too few professional paleontologists to collect and preserve fossils currently exposed to the elements, and that it is therefore essential that private citizens be allowed to collect them for the sake of their preservation. Eric Scott, the Curator of Paleontology for the San Bernardino County Museum, argues that 1) private citizens and amateur (not for profit) collectors can and do participate frequently in the permitted recovery and preservation of significant vertebrate fossils, and 2) preservation of significant fossils does not require or mandate sale of those fossils. [15] The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology's by-laws state that the society does not condone the trade of scientifically significant vertebrate fossils, except for the purpose of keeping fossils in the public trust. [13]
The illegal export of fossils has increasingly attracted criticism, considered by some a form of science colonialism. As a result, several fossils have been repatriated, and many more are being reclaimed by their countries of origin. [16] [17] Notably, the fossil Ubirajara jubatus , illegally exported from Brazil and deposited in a German museum, was described by a team of German scientists. Their paper has been retracted, and the fossil is to be returned to Brazil. [18] In addition, some of these trafficked fossils are chimeric fabrications to some extent, or may carry less information of their exact origin than fossils extracted following the law. A 2023 description of a turtle fossil deposited in Switzerland revealed the bones present to be from two different genera, Santanachelys and Araripemys , plus unidentifiable fragments. [19] Forgeries like these might make fossils easier to sell to tourists and even to scientists not trained to identify the fakes. [20]
A hoax specimen composed of parts of genuine Yanornis and Microraptor fossils obtained by a museum through the fossil trade was originally interpreted in 1999 as a "missing link" between dinosaurs and birds and planned to be named "Archaeoraptor", but was identified as a hoax before being formally published in a scientific journal. [10]
A Tyrannosaurus skeleton nicknamed "Stan" sold at an auction in 2020 for $31.8 million, a record-setting price. [7]
The skull of a Tyrannosaurus relative called Tarbosaurus bataar illegally exported from Mongolia was purchased by the actor Nicolas Cage for $276,000 in 2007. When contacted by U.S. authorities, Cage voluntarily handed over the specimen for repatriation to Mongolia. [21]
A smuggled skeleton of Tarbosaurus bataar, which is also called Tyrannosaurus bataar, was the subject of the in rem case United States v. One Tyrannosaurus Bataar Skeleton . [6] The fossil was being auctioned in the United States, and was returned to Mongolia in 2013. [22]
The holotype specimen of the dinosaur Halszkaraptor had been obtained through the fossil trade by 2011. Due to its provenance, several scientists initially expressed concern that it was a hoax, but scanning suggests the specimen was not tampered with. [10]
Tyrannosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The type species Tyrannosaurus rex, often called T. rex or colloquially T-Rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It lived throughout what is now western North America, on what was then an island continent known as Laramidia. Tyrannosaurus had a much wider range than other tyrannosaurids. Fossils are found in a variety of rock formations dating to the latest Campanian-Maastrichtian ages of the Late Cretaceous period, 72.7 to 66 million years ago. It was the last known member of the tyrannosaurids and among the last non-avian dinosaurs to exist before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
Tyrannosauridae is a family of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that comprises two subfamilies containing up to thirteen genera, including the eponymous Tyrannosaurus. The exact number of genera is controversial, with some experts recognizing as few as three. All of these animals lived near the end of the Cretaceous Period and their fossils have been found only in North America and Asia.
Tarbosaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurine theropod dinosaur that lived in Asia about 70 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian age at the end of the Late Cretaceous period, considered to contain a single known species: Tarbosaurus bataar. Fossils have been recovered from the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia, with more fragmentary remains found further afield in the Subashi Formation of China.
Gregory Scott Paul is an American freelance researcher, author and illustrator who works in paleontology. He is best known for his work and research on theropod dinosaurs and his detailed illustrations, both live and skeletal. Professionally investigating and restoring dinosaurs for three decades, Paul received an on-screen credit as dinosaur specialist on Jurassic Park and Discovery Channel's When Dinosaurs Roamed America and Dinosaur Planet. He is the author and illustrator of Predatory Dinosaurs of the World (1988), The Complete Illustrated Guide to Dinosaur Skeletons (1996), Dinosaurs of the Air (2001), The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (2010), Gregory S. Paul's Dinosaur Coffee Table Book (2010), The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs: 2nd Edition (2016), The Princeton Field Guide to Pterosaurs (2022), The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Sea Reptiles (2022) and editor of The Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs (2000).
Deinocheirus is a genus of large ornithomimosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous around 70 million years ago. In 1965, a pair of large arms, shoulder girdles, and a few other bones of a new dinosaur were first discovered in the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. In 1970, this specimen became the holotype of the only species within the genus, Deinocheirus mirificus; the genus name is Greek for "horrible hand". No further remains were discovered for almost fifty years, and its nature remained a mystery. Two more complete specimens were described in 2014, which shed light on many aspects of the animal. Parts of these new specimens had been looted from Mongolia some years before, but were repatriated in 2014.
Avimimus, meaning "bird mimic", is a genus of oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaur, named for its bird-like characteristics, that lived in the late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia, around 85 to 70 million years ago.
Alioramus is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous period of Asia. It currently contains two species. The type species, A. remotus is known from a partial skull and three foot bones recovered from the Mongolian Nemegt Formation, which was deposited in a humid floodplain about 70 million years ago. These remains were named and described by Soviet paleontologist Sergei Kurzanov in 1976. A second species, A. altai, known from a much more complete skeleton also from the Nemegt Formation, was named and described by Stephen L. Brusatte and colleagues in 2009. Its relationships to other tyrannosaurid genera were at first unclear, with some evidence supporting a hypothesis that Alioramus was closely related to the contemporary species Tarbosaurus bataar. However, the discovery of Qianzhousaurus indicates that it belongs to a distinct branch of tyrannosaurs, namely the tribe Alioramini.
Peter Lars Larson is an American fossil dealer who is head of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, which specialises in the excavation and preparation of fossils. He led the team that excavated "Sue", one of the largest and most complete specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex, which was the subject of a legal dispute resulting in its seizure and public auction. In 1996, Larson was convicted of customs violations related to failing to declare money he had brought from overseas as well as taking two fossils from federal land, and served 18 months in prison.
Tyrannosaurinae is one of the two extinct subfamilies of Tyrannosauridae, a family of coelurosaurian theropods that consists of at least three tribes and several genera. All fossils of these genera have been found in the Late Cretaceous deposits of western North America and east Asia. Compared to the related subfamily Albertosaurinae, tyrannosaurines overall are more robust and larger though the alioramins were gracile by comparison. This subfamily also includes the oldest known tyrannosaurid genus Lythronax as well as the youngest and most famous member of the group, Tyrannosaurus rex. There were at least 30 different species of tyrannosaurines.
Santanachelys gaffneyi is an extinct species of sea turtle. It is the only species in the genus Santanachelys, which itself is a member of the extinct family Protostegidae. The species was first described from a 20-centimeter long fossil specimen unearthed in 1998 from the Santana Formation of eastern Brazil. From the rock layer from which it was excavated, it was determined that the specimen was from the Early Cretaceous period. It is therefore one of the oldest known sea turtles. but a new fossil named Desmatochelyspadillai in 2015 is estimated to be as old as 120 million years.
Tyrannosaurus is one of the most iconic dinosaurs and is known from numerous specimens, some of which have individually acquired notability due to their scientific significance and media coverage.
The Paleozoological Museum of China is a museum in Beijing, China. The same building also houses the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The museum contains exhibition halls with specimens aimed at the public, while the rest of the building is used for research purposes.
The Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology is a paleontology museum in Claremont, California, that is part of The Webb Schools. It is the only nationally accredited museum on a secondary school campus in the United States. The museum has two circular 4,000 sq. ft. exhibition halls and 20,000 unique annual visitors. The collections number about 140,000 specimens, 95% of which were found by Webb students on fossil-collecting trips called “Peccary Trips,” expeditions usually centered in California, Utah, and Montana. The collections consist primarily of vertebrate, invertebrate, and track fossils and the museum's large track collection is widely recognized as one of the most diverse in the world.
United States v. One Tyrannosaurus Bataar Skeleton (1:13−cv−00857) is a 2013 United States District Court for the Southern District of New York judgment regarding a requested order from the United States government to seize an imported Mongolian Tarbosaurus skeleton related to smuggling law and the applicability of Mongolian law in the United States.
Bolortsetseg Minjin is a Mongolian paleontologist known for her work in fossil repatriation and dinosaur-themed science outreach. She is a recipient of the WINGS WorldQuest Women of Discovery Award for Earth, National Geographic Explorer, and TEDx speaker. She is the founder of the Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs.
Aratasaurus is a monotypic genus of basal coelurosaurian theropod which includes a single species, Aratasaurus museunacionali, known from fossils found in deposits of the Romualdo Formation in Brazil. Aratasaurus lived during the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous.
Oksoko is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Asia, that lived in what is now the Nemegt Formation in Mongolia. It includes the type species Oksoko avarsan.
"Ubirajara" is an informal genus of compsognathid theropod that lived during the early Cretaceous period in what is now Brazil. The manuscript describing it was available online pre-publication but was never formally published and, as a consequence, both genus and species name are considered invalid and unavailable. It is known by a single species, "Ubirajara jubatus", recovered from the Crato Formation. It was described as the first Gondwanan non-avian theropod dinosaur discovered with preserved integumentary structures. Such proto-feathers, most likely used for display, include slender monofilaments associated with the base of the neck, increasing in length along the dorsal thoracic region, where they would form a mane, as well as a pair of elongate, ribbon-like structures likely emerging from its shoulders. The taxon was informally named in 2020 in a now-withdrawn in-press academic paper. The description caused controversy due to the fossil having been apparently illegally smuggled from Brazil. In July 2022, Germany agreed to return the fossil to Brazil after a legitimate export permit could not be found. The name "Ubirajara jubatus" was removed from ZooBank in November 2022, which means it no longer has any nomenclatural significance.
The Mace Brown Museum of Natural History is a public natural history museum situated on the campus of The College of Charleston, a public liberal arts college in Charleston, South Carolina. Boasting a collection of over 30,000 vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, the museum focuses on the paleontology of the South Carolina Lowcountry. As an educational and research institution, the museum provides a unique resource for teaching and internationally respected research activities conducted at The College of Charleston. Admission to the museum is free, and donations are welcome. The museum has the holotype specimens of Coronodon, Cotylocara, and Inermorostrum, as well as the reference specimen of Ankylorhiza tiedemani