WA Museum recognised for role in recovering stolen Chinese fossils

22/11/06
The Western Australian Museum has received a rare and ancient gift in recognition of the key role played by two of its palaeontologists in the recovery of 20 tonnes of illegally imported Chinese fossils.
After the fossils were recovered in 2004, the People's Republic of China gifted four of them to the Commonwealth in recognition of the year-long operation to track them down.
The fossils - the oldest of which dates back more than 200 million years - were today presented to Culture and Arts Minister Sheila McHale for safe-keeping and display in the WA Museum.
"The successful operation to recover the missing fossils has resulted in a significant part of China's pre-history being returned to its rightful place," Ms McHale said.
"We are grateful to have been gifted several of the fossils, which means the WA Museum is now the only Australian museum to display a nest of dinosaur eggs."
The Minister said the gift recognised the assistance and expertise provided by two of the Museum's palaeontologists, Dr Ken McNamara and Dr John Long, now with Museum Victoria.
"It was a major operation and both Dr McNamara and Dr Long played a key role in identifying the fossils and determining where they came from," Ms McHale said.
"When the fossils were recovered, there was extensive national and international media coverage highlighting the trade, which strips China of part of its national heritage.
"The illegal trade in Chinese fossils means they are being taken out of the country and sold before the Chinese are able to study them- a loss of significant scientific knowledge to China as well as the international community."
The Minister said the fossils included:

• the remains of a small marine reptile that lived in coastal waters during the Middle Triassic period, about 230 million years ago. The fossil originates from Guizhou Province in South-Western China;

• the remains of a semi-aquatic reptile that lived 125 million years ago in the Early Cretaceous period in Liaoning Province in North-Eastern China. This fossil comes from the famous Jehol Biota, which has yielded fossilised evidence of feathered dinosaurs and the earliest known birds;

• a nest of eggs possibly laid by a sauropod dinosaur 80 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. This fossil hails from the Henan Province in central China; and

• a pair of dinosaur eggs that were also laid some 80 million years ago in Henan Province.