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German museum to return rare Irritator dinosaur skull to Brazil | Dinosaurs | The Guardian Skip to main content Skip to navigation Skip to navigation A computer-generated image of Irritator challengeri . Illustration: Stocktrek Images/Alamy View image in fullscreen A computer-generated image of Irritator challengeri . Illustration: Stocktrek Images/Alamy German museum to return rare Irritator dinosaur skull to Brazil Spinosaurid fossil bought by Stuttgart institution in 1991 has been the subject of a long restitution campaign It is a 113-million-year-old bone of contention. After Stuttgart’s museum of natural history bought a fossilised dinosaur skull in 1991, researchers found it was the most complete spinosaurid skull known to date, belonging to a previously unknown genus of the huge meat-eating dinosaurs. Palaeontologists studying the skull in 1996 dubbed the genus Irritator – reflecting the annoyance they felt when they discovered the snout had been tinkered with – and the particular species challengeri , after Professor Challenger from Arthur Conan Doyle’s dinosaur adventure novel, The Lost World. But as study after study was published, other interested parties were watching with irritations of their own: experts in Brazil , where the skull is believed to have originated. According to a Brazilian law passed in 1942, fossils found in the country belong to the state , and, since 1990, specimens can be exported only with a permit and a partnership with a Brazilian scientific institution. No one knows exactly when Irritator was dug up, or when it left Brazil, so its precise legal status has been a matter of deep concern. Now, thanks to what has been described as as a major achievement in global restitution, Irritator challengeri is heading home. A joint declaration by Germany and Brazil issued this month stated: “Both sides value the scientific cooperation in the field of fossil research, with the aim of utilising the expertise and exhibits available in Germany and
Sursa: The Guardian
