Most fossil-rich counties, such as China and Mongolia, have strict laws surrounding the collection and sale of fossils. In the United States, fossils found on private land belong to whomever digs them up. rex on private land on private land Detrich had leased in Jordan, Mont. rex was like," Carr said.ĭetrich’s brother, Robert, discovered the T. "Absolutely every additional fossil is critical to get a picture of what a young T. He casts commercial fossil hunters as "thieves of time." rex fossils has left paleontologists with gaps in their understanding of the dinosaur's life. This sale is particularly vexing, Carr said, because of the scarcity of juvenile T. "The sale of fossils depreciates information, because it's unethical to study specimens that are not in a public trust," Carr said, because privately owned fossils preclude independent analysis and verifying findings. And once these specimens are put in private hands, they're more or less lost to science, experts say. The climb in prices makes it tougher for museums and public institutions to compete with wealthy collectors. The private, U.S.-based buyer took ownership before scientists had a chance to study and identify it. Last summer, for example, a nearly complete skeleton of a potentially new species of carnivorous dinosaur was sold by the Parisian auction house Aguttes for $2.36 million. The most coveted fossils are prime fodder for auction houses, where they can fetch millions. The debate over fossil sales is an old one, though it’s grown more heated now that dinosaur relics have become trophies among the ultrarich and such celebrities as Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe and Nicolas Cage.
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