Gegli news - This unique'spear lord' dinosaur lived more than 100 million years ago

Gegli news - This unique'spear lord' dinosaur lived more than 100 million years ago - 7/24/2022 8:09:07 PM 8:09:07 PM 

Unlike any other prehistoric creature, it had long, spear-like feathers jutting out from its shoulders. And now it's at the center of a global movement calling out colonialism's long shadow over modern paleontology.

 

In what may prove to be a landmark decision for paleontology, German officials say they will return a one-of-a-kind feathered dinosaur to Brazil, where the fossil was discovered.⁠

Known as Ubirajara jubatus, the dinosaur lived more than 100 million years ago. Its find was lauded when it was formally described in a scientific paper in late 2020. But almost as soon as the news broke, experts raised concerns that the fossil’s export from Brazil to Germany’s State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe, where it currently resides, was unethical — and possibly illegal.⁠

Over the past year and a half, a committed group of Brazilian paleontologists has led a growing global movement to repatriate fossils and call out colonialism’s long shadow over modern paleontology. Ubirajara, the first feathered, nonavian dinosaur discovered in South America, has now become one of the primary fossils in such debates about repatriation.⁠