Dinosaur Nest Up for Auction in L.A.
Posted on: Thursday, 30 November 2006, 18:00 CST
LOS ANGELES - An extremely rare and well-preserved dinosaur nest containing fossil eggs with the embryos exposed goes up for auction this weekend, but at least one scientist is demanding the artifact be returned to a museum.
Auction house Bonhams & Butterfields estimated the ancient dino nest, belonging to a predatory raptor, will fetch between $180,000 and $220,000 at auction Sunday.
"To have a wonderful complete nest like this is amazing," said Thomas Lindgren, director of the natural history division at Bonhams.
The Cretaceous-era dinosaur nest was unearthed in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong in 1984 and has been privately sold in Asia. In 2003, an American collector on the East Coast bought the nest and restored it to museum quality.
The nest contains 22 unhatched eggs arranged in a circular pattern along the edge. Embryonic remains were uncovered in 19 eggs and one egg was removed for scientific study. Some eggs were so well-preserved that one can see the embryo curled inside.
Gerald Grellet-Tinner, a dinosaur expert at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, said such a fossilized nest is a "bonanza" find that can tell scientists a great deal about the growth and development of dinosaurs.
Judging by the nest size and egg shape, Grellet-Tinner said he suspects the dinosaur is probably an oviraptor, a meat-eater with a large beak that ran on powerful hind legs. But he won't know for sure until he can inspect the embryos and contends the nest should be housed in a museum in China, where it was uncovered, and not in private hands.
"I'm totally outraged," he said. "A lot of scientific information will be lost."
Lindgren said the collector's son has been examining the nest as part of his graduate thesis and is preparing a scientific paper for publication next year.
Besides the rare dinosaur nest, Bonhams & Butterfields will also auction off a fossilized garfish and turtle excavated from the Green River formation as well as gold nuggets that had been on display at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for nearly three decades.
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On the Net:
Bonhams & Butterfields: http://www.bonhams.com
Source: Associated Press/AP Online
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