Someone is trying to sell a tyrannosaur on eBay. Paleontologists are indignant

Experienced eBay users probably noticeda one-of-a-kind auction item: a baby fossil of a tyrannosaur who died about 68 million years ago, at a price of only $ 2.95 million. The fossil discovered in 2013 by a montanz named Alan Detrich has been on display at the Museum of Natural History at the University of Kansas since 2017. But now Detrich decided to sell it - and paleontologists are furious.

Where to buy a dinosaur?

Lot, which at the time of this writing was still on eBay, looks like someone is trying to push his old, broken car:

"Most likely, this is the only CHILD"Ti-Rex" in the WORLD! He has a 7-METER body and a 50-centimeter SKULL with a bunch of teeth! This Rex was a very, very dangerous butcher. This is a RARE opportunity to see the baby Rex at all, because if they didn’t grow up quickly, they wouldn’t be able to catch prey and die. Histology shows that this sample is about 4 years old. The reconstruction of the skull was done by the curator of vertebrate paleontology (at the Florida Museum of Natural History).

Many bones still need to be identified, but with each passing day more and more labels are found. ”

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology has published a statement expressing disappointment that the fossil will be sold before it can be properly studied by experts in this field.

“Only copies and other copies should be sold.”vertebrate fossils, not the fossils themselves. Scientifically important fossils, such as the young tyrannosaurus, are the key to our collective natural heritage and deserve public trust, ”the statement said. "The fact that these fossils testify to the deep past of the Earth makes them valuable, unlike art objects or other objects of commerce, the value of which comes from human creativity and skill."

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