 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Natural Science Forum / Biology / Paleontology / July 2005pterosaur egg from Kansas?
Anyone know of a pterosaur egg having been found in Kansas? I had heard that some had been found. They were expected but until they were found live birth was at least a possiblity. > Anyone know of a pterosaur egg having been found in Kansas? >I had heard that some had been found. They were expected but until they were >found live birth was at least a possiblity. Well, I found a recent National Geographic article saying that there were three known-- two from China and one from Argentina. But I know of someone trying to sell one "not cheap" that he claims to be one of only two know to exist and found in Kansas. It REALLY turns my stomach to see someone trying to get rich off of something so rare and important. (Here's the National Geographic article) http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1202_041202_pterosaurs_egg.html >>I had heard that some had been found. They were expected but until they >>were [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > my stomach to see someone > trying to get rich off of something so rare and important. How much did the field museum pay for Sue? 8 million dollars? Someone sure made a lot of money. >>>I had heard that some had been found. They were expected but until they >>>were [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > How much did the field museum pay for Sue? 8 million dollars? Someone > sure made a lot of money. 8.4 million is what her website says. http://www.fieldmuseum.org/sue/about_purchase.asp Ken >>I had heard that some had been found. They were expected but until they were >>found live birth was at least a possiblity. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1202_041202_pterosaurs_egg.html More than likely it is a fraud. If it is real it may have been legally collected from private land and be legal for sale. Of course if it is from Kansas it is scientifically significant just due to the locale of origin and should be studied rather than sold to a private collector. I recommend contacting a professional paleontologist local to the seller who can at least get a look at it and see if it is real. Sometimes when important fossils appear on the market museums and donors find ways to purchase them. Ken >More than likely it is a fraud. If it is real it may have been legally >collected from private land and be legal for sale. Of course if it is [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >important fossils appear on the market museums and donors find ways to >purchase them. I asked him (via e-mail, he isn't local to me) if it had been examined by a professional paleontologist. His reply to that was only "yes it has". To my suggestion that something that rare and valuable probably belonged in a museum, he replied that I should buy it and donate it to the museum of my choice. (There's no way I'd have the money to do something like that). He seems to think that it is real, though I don't know how he would have confirmed it to be something so poorly known. >>More than likely it is a fraud. If it is real it may have been legally >>collected from private land and be legal for sale. Of course if it is [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > think that it is real, though I don't know how he would have confirmed it to be something so poorly > known. Would you care to point me to who is selling it? If it might be legit I will contact the Field Museum to see if they might want it. Ken >Would you care to point me to who is selling it? If it might be legit I >will contact the Field Museum to see if they might want it. I feel uncomfortable to do that just yet in public, as the offer was made on a smallish subscription mailing list (dedicated to meteorites) and I think publishing names here without the seller's permission would be trying to turn two wrongs into a right. But if you can e-mail me directly, I could give you the info and maybe something could be worked out. I'd REALLY like to see this (if it is real) go into a professional institution instead of a private collection. >>I had heard that some had been found. They were expected but until they >>were [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1202_041202_pterosaurs_egg.html They may be rare but important to whom? Me and you? Yes, but Sue sort of killed the make a big find and turn it over free idea. I've bought a few fish fossils. They're common so I don't feel bad about it. I don't even consider buying something I think is really rare. >They may be rare but important to whom? Me and you? Yes, but Sue sort of >killed the make a big find and turn it over free idea. I've bought a few >fish fossils. They're common so I don't feel bad about it. I don't even >consider buying something I think is really rare. I'm not arguing anything against owning common fossils. I have dozens of ammonites and trilobites around my desk right now. If I took any of them to a museum and attempted to give them away, they'd laugh at me and pull out a drawer full of the same species in better specimens. The same thing goes for my meteorites (though some of them are somewhat less common, but still well represented for those who research them). But something truly rare or unique? No way do I support them going into private collections and out of the reach of research. >>They may be rare but important to whom? Me and you? Yes, but Sue sort of >>killed the make a big find and turn it over free idea. I've bought a few [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > I support them going into > private collections and out of the reach of research. Then we are agreed. The rare and unique material needs to be made available for scientific study. The common material especially in damaged form might as well be in somebody's collection as eroding. > Then we are agreed. The rare and unique material needs to be made available > for scientific study. The common material especially in damaged form might > as well be in somebody's collection as eroding. But how do you judge what is "common material"? If several dozen trilobites of a common species are found together, maybe it would be okay to sell them off, but perhaps a scientist could find evidence of spawning behavoir in the group. Or perhaps there would be signs of a mass feeding that would be missed by a collector for profit. Not to mention that the profiteers often destroy something scientifically useful (largely from ignorance rather than delibrately, granted). |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.