Irritator challengeri fossils may have been illegally removed

June 4, 2023 5:38 PM

A large predatory dinosaur related to Spinosaurus may have scooped up prey "like a pelican" by extending its lower jaw, European researchers propose in a new study. But the findings have upset some paleontologists who contest that the fossils were illegally taken from Brazil and should be returned to their country of origin.

Fun fact, as per Wikipedia: "The genus name comes from the word "irritation", reflecting the feelings of paleontologists who found the skull had been heavily damaged and altered by the collectors. The species name is a homage to the fictional character Professor Challenger from Arthur Conan Doyle's novels."

Previously:

"The sale of this next lot will be contingent on a satisfactory resolution of a court proceeding dealing with this matter."

United States of America v. One Tyrannosaurus /Bataar Skeleton

The greatest challenge to 21st century paleontology

Tetrapodophis: an early four-legged snake?

posted by brundlefly (8 comments total)

I have a degree in Geology! And, paleo was my favorite part.

As my first paleo teacher told me, "no individuals get preserved". You can never infer things from the one or two fossils you find. Which, is a pretty cool way to think about science, other than real science like chemistry and physics...

So many completely rare alien-looking fossils have been declared to have done X, but after finding more specimens, they are like, "no, that doesn't look right". Paleo is so cool
posted by Windopaene at 6:51 PM on June 4, 2023 [2 favorites]

And they should give it back to Brazil. But the science moves on regardless of the ethical issues.
posted by Windopaene at 8:03 PM on June 4, 2023 [4 favorites]

scan it and gie it back. keep the scan.
posted by wmo at 8:13 PM on June 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

There's a guy in Medina with a house on Lake Washington who has a Tyrannosaur in his three story living room.
posted by y2karl at 8:25 PM on June 4, 2023

Terrible Lizards interviewed Brazilian paleontologist Taissa Rodrigues about the black market fossil trade in Brazil among other things (second half of interview).
posted by poxandplague at 10:39 PM on June 4, 2023 [3 favorites]

Terrible Lizards is a great show.
posted by brundlefly at 12:06 AM on June 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

But the science moves on regardless of the ethical issues.

So that's why I fill in all those ethics submissions.
posted by biffa at 1:19 AM on June 5, 2023

The researchers also used cutting-edge AI technology to achieve a digital recovery of what appears to be an interview with Irritator challengeri that offers further support to their conclusions about its way of feeding. The audio is somewhat indistinct but a partial transcript has been made available for peer review:

Some folks called it a sling blade. I call it a Kaiser blade. It's got a long, wood handle, kind of like an ax handle... with a long blade shaped like a banana. Mmm hm. Sharp on one edge and dull on the other. Mmm hm. It's what the highway boys use to cut down weeds and whatnot y'know mmh.

posted by flabdablet at 5:54 AM on June 5, 2023 [1 favorite]