The Nashville Files - Queue dinosaur for sale: high prices expected

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Queue dinosaur for sale: high prices expected

Joined the Museum of Jurassic Lourinha, Octavio Mateus does not décolère. He sent an open letter to the classifieds site that publishes the "object" to sell and your picture in the section of "antiques" to denounce the sale of our paleontological heritage as if it were a car or a pair of shoes. "

"Portugal is a country rich in dinosaurs, the 7th in the world. But even so, these fossils are rare and are not so abundant that we can afford to sell them as a mere commodity, "says paleontologist.

A few years ago, this passionate, a researcher at the New University of Lisbon, had been contacted by the town of Cadaval (55 km north of Lisbon) for expertise fossils.

"The tail sauropode was there, and a fibula. But I quickly realized before the questions that the student, I'll increase its value. Whoever had found wanted a price estimate. I refused, "he says.

Octavio Mateus confirmed that it's a sauropode, Jurassic dinosaur higher (between 152 and 146 million years) is among the largest ever brought the earth. But confesses he with a touch of regret in her voice, "I do not know what species it is precisely because I did not want to study further."

It also refuses to question the value of this discovery. "The dinosaurs are rare, he answers. This one is sufficiently rare to remain in the public domain, but not sufficiently unusual to justify the exorbitant request it. "

Mr. Mateus wished that Portugal finally adopt legislation prohibiting trade in what he considers "our heritage at all, as is done elsewhere in Argentina, or even China or Mongolia.

"Currently the Portuguese legislation is so vague that it is unworkable in practice. So people think "gold", they say they are holding a fortune. But it's like a rare tree, a rare animal ... A dinosaur has no economic value, only invaluable for science! "