France is set to hand over a 70-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton to Mongolia after it was looted from the Gobi Desert and seized by French customs.
The fossil, of a Tarbosaurus bataar considered the Asian cousin of the Tyrannosaurus rex was confiscated by French authorities in 2015 along with around 30 other items, including dinosaur eggs. The items had been illegally removed from Mongolia, passed through South Korea, and were intercepted during a customs seizure in the central town of Gannat, France.
The handover is scheduled for Monday, with Public Accounts Minister Amelie de Montchalin overseeing the return.
According to Sophie Hocquerelle, communications manager for French customs, “This is an entire Tarbosaurus, estimated at around 700,000 euros when it was seized, but since then the market has exploded, so we could say it is worth two to three times that amount today.” She described the fossil as “an exceptional discovery.”
The Tarbosaurus bataar lived during the Cretaceous period and became extinct around 65 million years ago. No specimens of this species have been reported outside of Asia. The Mongolian government has long sought to reclaim fossils removed from its territory, many of which were taken after American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews’ discovery of dinosaur eggs a century ago.
Fossils must be authorised for export, and without a licence they are typically returned to their country of origin. The handover marks a significant step in Mongolia’s efforts to recover its paleontological heritage and return looted relics to their rightful home.
