Finance

Pterosaur Skeleton Snatched From The Black Market By Police Shows Danger Of Illicit Fossil Trade

A very important fossil -- the most unique of its kind ever found -- almost wound up smuggled into some rich person's private collection.

By  
on

I don’t think any little kid isn’t at some point fascinated with dinosaurs. You grow up in this increasingly padded, comfort-filled world, and then all of a sudden a science-minded adult drops this glorious gift into your lap by telling you that the world used to be filled with giant, toothy reptiles. And this isn’t like the “just have blind faith in the spirit of Christmas” bullshit that you’re peppered with then subsequently disillusioned with your entire childhood: you can go to a science museum and actually see the bones. If you dig enough in the right places, probably not even that far from your own home, you can find pieces of dinosaurs yourself. Dragons were real.

Sadly, many of us lose that sense of awe over dinosaurs as we trudge into a lengthy adulthood of thankless toil for our corporate overlords. But many don’t. Arguably (and self-servingly, I might add) some of the people who carry an interest in dinosaurs over into adulthood do so in healthy ways, like by writing and reading about them. Others, though, think they can recapture childhood with an eight-figure check.

This week, a study out of the University of São Paulo identified a pterosaur specimen from the species Tupandactylus navigans as the most complete flying reptile fossil ever found in Brazil. Such pterosaurs soared through the skies between 100.5 million and 145 million years ago and are known for having an enormous head crest. While it’s not that uncommon to find pieces of pterosaurs in Brazil, their fragile bones are not easily preserved. This particular specimen was in very good shape, however, and even bits of its soft tissue avoided decomposition.

Perhaps just as intriguing as the fossil itself was where it was found: at a harbor outside of São Paulo, along with about 3,000 other fossils destined for the black market. Police raided the site in 2013 and confiscated the extensive cache of naturally preserved remains. Although rules about private fossil ownership vary wildly by jurisdiction, fossils are protected by law in Brazil as items of significance to the country’s geological heritage.

A very important fossil — the most unique of its kind ever found — almost wound up smuggled into some rich person’s private collection. While wealthy fossil buyers do often have the resources and the motivation to maintain their purchases in good condition, and often eventually donate them to scientific institutions, the recipient of an illicitly smuggled fossil would be reticent to advertise its existence. An important find which unlocked new discoveries about these prehistoric creatures was nearly lost forever to science (and to the public, who may now view this remarkable pterosaur at a museum in its country of origin).

Things that are scarce seem to inevitably rise in monetary value, and in turn, to saturate the black market. And fossils of these long-extinct creatures are certainly something the earth is not going to be making any more of.

Sponsored

Did you know that only about 50 partial skeletons of Tyrannosaurus rex have ever been found? There are only 50 examples of the most iconic dinosaur species on earth, and most of them are little more than sparse collections of incomplete fragments. One of the few fairly complete T. rex specimens sold anonymously at auction (apparently legally, if not necessarily morally) for a record-smashing $31.8 million in 2020. One can only hope that it doesn’t end up adorning some actor’s foyer as a private monument to the concept of midlife crisis.

Fossils are valuable for many reasons. Some fossils are rare, in many cases fossils are aesthetically pleasing, and fossils can spark a sense of wonder in people of all ages. But fossils’ most important value-building quality is what we can learn from them. These aren’t just dusty old bones. They are the story of our planet, written right into the dirt and rock beneath out feet. That story belongs to everyone.

I can understand the impulse many wealthy people have to own a dazzling piece of the earth’s natural history — it’s an impulse I share, actually. But when impulses start to harm others, we are supposed to curb them, and getting involved in the black market for fossils is undoubtedly harmful. You’re not just keeping important finds out of the hands of scientists who’d like to study them, you’re stealing a part of the earth’s story from everyone, sometimes permanently. Don’t do that — if you like dinosaurs, you’ll get much more bang for your buck sharing that interest with others anyway. Science museums and university paleontology departments take care of their donors.

Jonathan Wolf is a civil litigator and author of Your Debt-Free JD (affiliate link). He has taught legal writing, written for a wide variety of publications, and made it both his business and his pleasure to be financially and scientifically literate. Any views he expresses are probably pure gold, but are nonetheless solely his own and should not be attributed to any organization with which he is affiliated. He wouldn’t want to share the credit anyway. He can be reached at jon_wolf@hotmail.com.

Sponsored

Topics

, , , , ,