An unusually well-preserved 65 million-year-old dinosaur nest containing fossil eggs was sold in an auction for nearly £212,000. The Cretaceous-era nest was unearthed in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong in 1984 and eventually was sold to an American collector in 2003. The collector restored the nest to museum quality, revealing embryonic remains of 19 eggs. Some eggs were so well-preserved that the curled up embryonic raptors were visible inside.
Some scientists have said the fossilized nest was a “bonanza” that could tell scientists a great deal about dinosaur growth and development and argued that the nest should be housed in a museum in China, where it was discovered, and not in private hands.
The theft and smuggling of fossils is a serious problem in China. Smugglers have often broken fossils to make them easier to conceal and carry. Apart from a few local regulations China has no laws to protect fossils.
It is not only strange, but unfortunate that a country like China which is making advancements in all the fields could possibly ignore the value of the fossil and the priceless contribution it could have made in revealing information.
Via: dailymail (UK)
Via: Xinhua
