German museum to return rare Irritator dinosaur skull to Brazil | Dinosaurs

It is a bone of contention that is 113 million years old.

After the Stuttgart Natural History Museum acquired a fossilized dinosaur skull in 1991, researchers found that it was the most complete spinosaurid skull known to date and belonged to a previously unknown genus of giant meat-eating dinosaurs.

Paleontologists who examined the skull in 1996 gave the name to this genus. Irritant – reflects the discomfort they felt when they discovered that the nose had been repaired and that certain species challengingInspired by Professor Challenger in Arthur Conan Doyle’s dinosaur adventure novel The Lost World.

But as study after study was published, other interested parties were watching with their own discomfort: Experts in Brazil, where the skull is believed to have originated.

According to a Brazilian law passed in 1942, The fossils found in the country belong to the stateand since 1990 samples can only be exported with permission and in partnership with a Brazilian scientific institution.

No one knows exactly when irritant Therefore its exact legal status when excavated or left Brazil has been a matter of deep concern.

Now, thanks to what has been described as a major achievement in global compensation, Irritating challenger He’s heading home.

A. Joint statement from Germany and Brazil The statement published this month said: “Both parties value scientific cooperation in the field of fossil research, with the aim of using the expertise and exhibitions available in Germany and Brazil for the common benefit of both countries.

“In this context, both governments welcome the willingness of the state of Baden-Württemberg and the state natural history museum in Stuttgart to transfer this work. Irritating challenger Fossil to Brazil.”

Concerns over legal ownership of skull and the ethics of housing them outside Brazil led to a campaign to repatriate them. irritant fossil. In recent years, an open letter asking for the skull to be repatriated It was signed by 263 experts from around the world, while more than 34,000 members of the public also signed it online petition.

Brazilian paleontologist Prof Aline Ghilardi, who is part of the campaign, welcomed the announcement and said public mobilization was decisive.

“His return is an important and positive step, I hope the process progresses quickly,” he said.

“I also congratulate this progress and see it as a great achievement in the context of global restoration efforts. This fossil will be widely celebrated and will have deep scientific, cultural and symbolic significance for Brazil.”

Prof Allysson Pontes Pinheiro, from the Cariri regional university in Brazil, agrees.

“Repatriation irritant In addition to the recent discovery of fossil material from France, the UK, Italy and the USA, it can be seen as a sign of progress towards a more ethical and less colonialist science; “A science that is more in tune with local realities and has greater respect for rights, laws, cultures and identities,” he said.

“I believe this case could set an important precedent for how museums and research institutions around the world handle fossil materials of disputed origins.”

No date has been set for return. irritant and some experts expressed disappointment that the joint declaration stated that the fossil would be “surrendered” rather than repatriated or extradited.

Ghilardi said this was “a missed opportunity to address the issue more clearly from a redress perspective.”

Paul Stewens, a legal researcher at Maastricht University who helped organize the open letter, said extracting samples from their countries of origin for study elsewhere, without the involvement of local scientists or institutions, was an example of neo-colonial research practices.

“The research that is being done on these specimens, the output, the museum income, all of these things, they don’t stay in the country from which the fossil originated,” he said, adding that fossils are part of the heritage that connects people to where they are from.

In 2023, another fossil with this name appeared for the first time. Ubirajara was extradited from Germany to Brazil After a long campaign. Dr Emma Dunne from Trinity College Dublin, who helped draft the manuscript irritant The letter stated, “There are many more examples of Ubirajara needing to follow his paw prints back home and irritant”.

Meanwhile, retired professor David Martill from the University of Portsmouth said he was “delighted” to see him. irritant When he returned to Brazil, he thought it was “a real shame that some Brazilians are turning this into a political hot potato and targeting German museums” when there are so many Brazilian examples in other countries, especially the US.

Examining the skull, Martill added: “I hope they pay attention to this, because we spent hours preparing the specimen and making it one of the most important scientific dinosaur discoveries of the 1990s.”

Stewens said he thought it was unlikely irritant‘s return would lead to the return of a number of other fossils to Brazil. But he said he believes relevant diplomatic efforts and established collaborative relationships could pave the way for other approaches, such as programs to help Brazilian scientists study samples in Germany.

“I think the leading element of this compensation is the element of cooperation between governments,” he said. “I think this shows that there is a lot of room for non-zero-sum solutions.”