RESCUING RARE FOSSILS ONLINE BEFORE THEY DISAPPEAR TO SCIENCE

Auctions of dinosaur skeletons have grabbed huge headlines in recent years, with famous fossils like “Stan” the T. rex fetching $31.8 million and “Hector” the Deinonychus bringing $12.4 million. The high-profile auctions raise concerns that these extraordinary fossils will no longer be accessible for study. But it’s not just headline-grabbing dinosaurs at risk of vanishing to science. Every year, thousands of smaller fossils are quietly being sold on eBay and other commercial websites, with a tiny percentage of them representing undescribed species. We are working to discover these rare fossils online, buy them, donate them to museums and find scientists to study them. We have donated dozens of scientifically important fossils, with nearly all of them representing new species. Over 20 prehistoric species have already been described from these specimens, including two fish, an isopod and a variety of beetles, wasps, flies and other insects. We are constantly searching for new species for sale online. Various scientists and curators have told us the types of fossils they’re interested in, and we make a special effort to locate these. We’re hoping to hear from additional paleontologists and curators so we can help them as well. Together, we’ll get more important fossils into museums — and into the scientific record — where they belong.