Meet Apex the Stegosaurus Before He’s Gone! - The Biggest And Most Complete Stegosaurus Ever Found?

Selling a whole dinosaur skeleton at auction is no longer novel. It’s been going on for years now, and it’s a very profitable venture. Obviously selling off fossils has been a thing since before humans even knew what fossils are or how they formed, but the commodification of the big important megafaunal specimens into personal conversation pieces or investments for millionaires and billionaires is a relatively recent conceit. Despite the massive improvements in the processes of molding and casting fossils, rich elites still prefer to shell out money they could use to end homelessness on giant dinosaur skeletons that only hold value to science and the people who study it. As such, I am once again resolved to my sisyphusian task of talking about each case of this practice and why it’s probably bad for the greater good - to deaf ears I scream once again into the void as yet another real big real complete awesome dinosaur marches unceremoniously into an unstable future built upon unknowns.
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[@manzac112]

I just going to say this: "Real fossils should belong in a museum."

[@chadgorosaurus4898]

Exactly. These people should get the idea of "Stop taking more from nature than you already have" (unless it needs to be preserved artificially).

[@mitchelpinion1852]

Then donate money to a museum to buy them. Put your money where your mouth is.

[@manzac112]

@@mitchelpinion1852 "I work at one you dipsh*t"

[@TarbosaurusBaatar]

I don’t mind dinosaur fossils being sold off. Sometimes they have such little scientific value they are worthless to adding current knowledge. What ticks me off specifically about Apex is that he is 70% complete. Sophie is only a sub-adult so she is only a basis for what a complete adult looks like. Since Apex is an adult, this is massive amounts of info being lost. This is especially the case since he also has skin impressions.

[@EDGEscience]

We aren't as privileged as the elites.

[@MrWanapon]

There really should be a law against selling whole dinosaur skeletons to private investors

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

Also, be careful about people selling them in parts, to avoid finding while skeletons 🤔

[@MrWanapon]

@@TragoudistrosMPH Yeah if I am the king of this whole planet here's one of my laws, "Fossils are for museums and science only"

[@stickmanblubbles4489]

Some of the most fossil rich countries do have such laws. Germany and Brazil don't allow private ownership of scientifically significant fossils as it is considered national geological heritage. At least some provinces in Canada such as Alberta have similar laws. And Mongolia and China at the very least don't allow the export of fossils to other countries.

[@MrWanapon]

@@stickmanblubbles4489 Then I wish this law should be on this entire planet!

[@The_Thunderous_Gecko]

@@MrWanaponsame

[@afunnytheropod]

Rare and important fossils should go in a mueseum

[@charlesmartin1121]

So the government should ignore the law and seize private property?

[@quintonnarcisse6425]

@@charlesmartin1121in cases where it would benefit and advance science as a whole, yes

[@charlesmartin1121]

@@quintonnarcisse6425 There are better ways of securing important specimens than violating laws and undermining public trust. No specimen is worth that.

[@sheeeenogoji7603]

@@charlesmartin1121 It shouldn't even be private property in the first place

[@charlesmartin1121]

@@sheeeenogoji7603 Fine change the laws. And good luck with that.

[@daviannyoto5211]

I hope the person who bought Apex will donate it to a good museum

[@chadgorosaurus4898]

Bruh, what's even the point of owning a dinosaur fossil or complete skeleton. I don't get it. They belong in museums, not personal "collections".

[@charlesmartin1121]

You can't mandate some else's motivations.

[@LorenzoVargas1981]

Just a multi million dollar conversation piece,some of us are happy with a limited edition Superman comic,these guys are looking for the biggest possible flex.

[@Intrusion498]

These motherfrickers are some of the most selfish ppl to ever exist

[@user-mr9ob9xd7f]

Dinosaurs are cool, I'd want it. However I would give the skeleton but in return I get a cast copy of it, or unlimited access to it once displayed. Seems fair.

[@herpderp3916]

Probably some rich bitch Saudi prince.

[@Whateverhasbeenmynameforyears]

I think a neat possible solution would be to let a rich donor pay for the specimen and maybe fund some of the research for it and they get a fully replicated mount out of the deal. So they have a full skeleton and their name on the museum specimen display.

[@toonrex2806]

That’s sounds fair outcome where everybody wins. There needs to be a balance when it keeping fossils accessible to the public while also respecting private property rights.

[@henrylivingstone2971]

How is that a fair deal? A resin replica consists a fraction of the price of a real one. On average a resin model cost about $80,000. A real fossil can cost in the millions. And a donor could get their name on an exhibit for about $10,000

[@Whateverhasbeenmynameforyears]

@@henrylivingstone2971 because a real scientifically relevant fossil should not be sold to private individuals and thus should not be millions of dollars. Only the cost of the work. I think the costs then more fairly balanced then.

[@henrylivingstone2971]

@@Whateverhasbeenmynameforyears But the trade in fossils has ALWAYS been a private enterprise. Most if not all the fossils in major institutions were sold or donated by private owners. Without private parties vying for financial incentives then it’s likely that fossils will go undiscovered and will disappear due to natural erosion. If anything the government should subsidize the collection of fossils. The US already spends unnecessary billions on foreign aid and defense just a fraction of that fund could help American institutions retain fossils for the nation while protecting private property rights. But just confiscating the ability to private property is not only unconstitutional but it’s tyrannical. It’s better that private sellers are selling fossils regardless of the price considering there is no legal protection for fossils found on private land so many mining and quarry sites will destroy fossils because they get in the way of excavation. At least when they’re sold they still exist.

[@user-pr8gx3vb9h]

Natural history museums should be the only entities allowed to bid on these .

[@DreadEnder]

It should only be legs to sell casts of extremely scientifically important fossils to the public

[@charlesmartin1121]

You would have to get the fossil owner to agree to do that, any other means would be unlawful.

[@henrylivingstone2971]

Why? So they can low ball sellers?

[@user-pr8gx3vb9h]

@@henrylivingstone2971 no

[@henrylivingstone2971]

@@user-pr8gx3vb9h Yes. Because museums can’t afford the market price value of fossils.

[@thelittleal1212]

It truly is a shame

[@Eucep]

While I'd love this to stay in a museum, there is the reality that funding for this kind of stuff is hard to get too.

[@RiddleBoxBree]

one specimen that we are seeing more of on selling markets are Spicomellus fossils.....we have seen more being sold than what we actually have to study

[@PelicanMobBoss]

Thanos told billionaires to collect all the stones

[@juliusfucik4011]

Aren't these things found on public land 99,999% of the time? If I even find as much as a coin where I live, it technically belongs to the state.

[@EDGEscience]

Lol no

[@charlesmartin1121]

There is lots of privately held land efen out west. But that is not enough. You can own the property without owning the mineral rights to the same land. In order to dig up and sell a fossil you must own both.

[@danielcain8136]

😅Bro, that whole fiasco with Sue was a freaking mess It's such a shame that somebody's fossils don't get the chance to get studied or museums don't have enough money to afford though. It also sucks the fact that so many fossils that get discovered by palientologist are sent back to the market for them to get sold by private collectors. Although I will admit it will be cool to own something like a mammoth tusk or a dinosaur fossil.

[@EDGEscience]

Paleontologists aren't the ones that generally sell finds. Fossil hunters do.

[@alexgeorge501]

I saw "Sophie" when i visited the london museum last year!

[@evodolka]

I will never understand why no one sells them the replicas and SAY it's real, the guys buying them don't care nor will they ever notice

[@henrylivingstone2971]

Because that’s fraud and it’s illegal.

[@Moulton_Lava]

I thought you were going to say Jack Horner for a minute, and then I was ready to make the memes about it. Because that's what he is, also I've actually been a Dinosaur National Monument it was pretty fun, but it was a long time ago

[@Qingeaton]

The man did everything that anyone could ask of him short of giving away his life's best moment for an attata boy. There is no more worth to be had. A copy is much good enough for kids to say "wow" at it.

[@EDGEscience]

Display is the least important aspect of having a fossil in the public trust.

[@Qingeaton]

@@EDGEscience Exactly. All the 3d model scans and location and strata data was done so well, there isn't really anything else needed to study it from here out.

[@EDGEscience]

Well, the specimen is needed XD

[@Ozraptor4]

@@Qingeaton You can't do histology studies with casts.

[@rosalinadeanda-zd6nn]

Well, he did everything he was supposed to do. But only at a certain level, so there is still much more we need from the specimen. Either way, display is not as important, so you don't need it mounted in a museum; you can just keep it in the lab. I understand and appreciate the fact that kids will say "wow" to Paleontology. But yet again, the Science matters too. The Fossil has more information than a cast.

[@1492tomato]

Surely there is a logical compromise between private investors and public museums. I suggest we haven't tried hard enough to find it.

[@peabrain6872]

You cant reason with rich fucks

[@paragonArisen]

i only noticed it around 8:13 but there's some kind of squeel in the audio?? Fantastic video as always tho

[@EDGEscience]

That's part of the ambient music.

[@sandramorey2529]

It is a quandry. Let's hope that it will be in a museum one day.

[@Holy.Deinocheirus]

im just going to become rich one day and buy all the dinosaurs from private collectors and make my own free museum😂😂, just gotta get rich first

[@rylandfrederick431]

Probably 6 ton stegosaurus just sold off, what an L hope it ends up somewhere to be studied, and at least they got a 3d scan and some professional takes on it.

[@velociraptor4you3291]

Indiana Jones: *_”IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM (🤬)!”_*

[@AndyCog_1710]

As for the unusually-shaped plates and limb proportions, it’s probably because Apex represents Stegosaurus ungulatus, rather than Stegosaurus stenops (the species everyone is used to seeing).

[@antoniomedina875]

Here in Mexico all archaeological and paleontological artifacts found in national territory belong by law to the State. However, the law has a margin of flexibility to protect the right to private property, although always giving priority to the cultural benefit of the nation. If by chance you find an archaeological piece on your property, by law you have to declare it before the National Institute of Anthropology and History, they are in charge of determining the cultural value and deciding if that object needs to be kept in a museum, or if the individual can keep it in their private collection. This also creates a record of the location of each object found in the country, in case at some point it's necessary to use that private piece in an investigation or it's discovered that it actually has cultural significance. Obviously, in practice this system is very deficient and many people do not declare their findings and there's a large illegal market that often operates in complicity with corrupt officials, but I think that in theory it's a good starting point to create a system that protects the cultural heritage without neglecting the rights of individuals.

[@stickmanblubbles4489]

While its good to critique people who sell fossils, it's more important to criticize the system and laws that allow them to do so. There are other countries with laws that prevent this sort of thing from happening, and America should be leading that effort, not encouraging these sorts of unethical transactions.

[@Drew2u]

And Carthage College is closing its field program due to lack of funding. Why not donate to or fund the program if you have that much money?

[@lukekelly5075]

It belongs in a museum.

[@shanerooney7288]

If I owned a giant fossil, I'd >DEMAND< it got studied. By everyone, in every field. A fossil that's had 20+ research papers written on it would have a higher resale value.

[@rosalinadeanda-zd6nn]

I personally think that this Stegosaurus specimen should be in a museum. I understand that this Stegosaurus specimen was found on his property, and he has the right to do whatever he wants with it. He might also need the money. But he's a Paleontologist, it's his job to provide information to the world. Either way, we can't confirm if he needs the money or not. It's quite perplexing that a Paleontologist wants to sell a specimen that is so useful to Paleontology. At least he did the selling process right, and he provided some information. Those are just my personal thoughts and opinions.

[@EDGEscience]

He is a private fossil collector, not a paleontologist.

[@rosalinadeanda-zd6nn]

@@EDGEscience He is? But either way I still think he should provide more information about this spcimen. Or give it to a museum since who knows why he's selling the specimen. But anyways, thank you for the information and amazing channel.

[@nicholashenlisia3098]

I don't suppose you have heard about a baby t-rex fossil named baby bob and that the man who discovered it is trying to sell it on ebay for over $2 million dollars and if you are interesteded in doing a video about it in the future?🦖🦕

[@lukeskywalkerjediknight2.013]

It’s heading to auction now

[@nicholashenlisia3098]

@@lukeskywalkerjediknight2.013 really I did not know about it and thanks for letting me know about it and I hop that it will end up in a museum not in privet hands🦖🦕

[@TomMSTie1138]

If money was no object, I would buy as many skeletons as possible, then donate them to museums.

[@bennydelarosa9064]

They can't DO THIS!!!

[@charlesmartin1121]

How do you propose stopping them? When we can't even achieve reasonable gun safety measures in this country?

[@G55544]

@@charlesmartin1121 remove Jason cooper

[@charlesmartin1121]

@@G55544 Go outside and play young fella.

[@G55544]

@@charlesmartin1121 what’s wrong with wanting the commercial paleontologist gone and the fossil donated to science

[@charlesmartin1121]

@@G55544 I see you edited your post. I think you know what was wrong.

[@lukeskywalkerjediknight2.013]

Why isn’t “Jodi” getting any attention? It’s a 57% complete subadult tyrannosaurid 15% larger than “Jane”… It’s also going to auction :(

[@renatoe9648]

ideally would be in a museum accesible to study, but digging, preping and all the other parts of paleo work are pretty expensive and the career pays next to nothing as it is, so he is within his right to sell it. Spetialy since he kept records of all the data so it can be studied. If museums want every fossil then they can start by funding expeditions, research and paying more scientists a decent wage

[@lordarkay272]

If I was rich I'd buy as many fossils as I possibly could to donate to museums my only stipulation is a plaque id pay for and first dibs on any knowledge discovered alas I'm poor

[@explodingdynamite7319]

What?!

[@timbobshe]

Someone who pays for a specimen in a private sale should also pay for them to be studied. It’s insane. Just think of the scientific breakthroughs that sit in rich people vaults… Also Sophie is gorgeous. If you can get to see her at London natural history museum do it.

[@Ozraptor4]

Note that Sophie could very well have ended up in a private collection as well given that the skeleton was up for sale for several years before a hedge fund partnership secured the fossil for NHM.

[@Jim58223]

Sold for 40 million USD. Highest priced dino ever sold, and most likely will not be going to a museum.

[@FCM357]

Update: it was sold for a record breaking $44.6 million.

[@tyrannotherium7873]

I wish that they didn’t do that because big John was my favorite triceratops specimen. Let’s hope that they don’t do it to the fossil park that I work at.

[@henrylivingstone2971]

Big John was donated to the Glaser children’s museum in Florida

[@geomy3814]

Have you looked into the T. rex specimen “King Kong”?

[@haraya_manawari]

hope the winning bidder just donates it to a museum where it belongs

[@8bitbaz50]

These people have too much money just to have an old skool fine art embodiment of I own this one of a kind (thinking it will always appreciate i'm sure) so no one else can learn from it or enjoy it......I love the world so much

[@Idate._intrepidus7]

A another good fossil lost to time like Dakotaraptor and the adult stygimoloch

[@eduardbass839]

On the other hand the industry has to somehow finance itself and oftentimes the buyers donate them to museums upon their deaths. The problem lies manly with illegal fossil smuggling from countries like Mongolia.

[@EDGEscience]

The industry shouldn't finance itself because it shouldn't exist in the first place.

[@eduardbass839]

@@EDGEscience How do you think this all even started and who is responsible for most of the funds to pay for both the land and workforce for these excavations. Only a small fraction are employed by public institutions with the majority reliant on limited grands or private money. Without the private sector the number of excavations and found fossils would be a fraction of what it is today. You cannot only look at the bad without acknowledging the good that it did. For example the NSF granted in between 1983 - 2009 88 grants totalling a modest 11 million. That’s it. Which is why paleontologist have to rely on other institutions and private donors without whom they simply wouldn’t be able to afford their research. It is unfortunate but paleontology is heavily underfunded.

[@henrylivingstone2971]

@@EDGEscience The field of paleontology has ALWAYS been supported by private enterprise MOST major specimens were donated. You can’t just denounce the industry, regulation might be in order but complete dissolution is nonsense

[@alejandrolopezvaca3156]

I do want to point out that when you say "Has done the right thing in the past" around 4:30 you must remember that's what you think is right

[@EDGEscience]

Nah. It's not right for the elites to own part of mine and your history.

[@henrylivingstone2971]

@@EDGEscience Except it’s not our history. It’s the history of the world and we are merely a small part of it.

[@SL-cl9gt]

Jacker meets Jacker

[@tobiasedwards2643]

So they’ve never found a dinosaur in Florida that’s crazy.

[@EDGEscience]

Florida didn't exist!

[@tobiasedwards2643]

@@EDGEscience reality?!

[@DuendeCaughtOnTape]

What a shame

[@user-lk6ih9tu6y]

Its not bad it funds new projects but ofcourse you dont know that

[@EDGEscience]

How does it fund new projects smart guy?

[@rosalinadeanda-zd6nn]

Well, do you mean that selling the specimen will fund new projects? Or that the money that you get out of selling the specimen can fund new projects?

[@jeremiah_dyess]

I came back for this one to post on my facebook, you have some very good arguments here. I hope to see them explored further.

[@PupsPupsPupsPupsPup]

Okay, come on - let's be really honest, while it's wrong for this specimen to end up in a private collection the value of it isn't "purely informational", that's actual brainrot. The value very clearly comes from the fact that people are interested enough in it to pay millions of dollars to have it, it's not "just some of the most common minerals on the planet". It's like art, it's not "just pigments".

[@EDGEscience]

Except it's not art. The value you have attributed to it is arbitrary, like art, but it's not like art because it's literally not art by any definition.

[@MicrowaveMan-gy9nu]

i dislike the people who take advantage of nature for their own good. like, whats collecting a random ass ancient fossil gonna do for you? give you more money and boost your ego? it should be left to the professionals to discover and protect.

[@EDGEscience]

Cooper is, for all intents and purposes, a professional when it comes to ethically collecting a fossil specimen. That aside, you're telling me you don't want a million dollars?

[@EmpressOfExile206]

​@@EDGEscienceI think they're talking about the non-museum buyers lol a.k.a. The eccentric rich person that would outbid everyone for Apex then put his mount in their backyard as a jungle gym for their kids 💀🥲

[@chadgorosaurus4898]

Exactly.

[@charlesmartin1121]

@@EDGEscience Well said. It's very easy to sit in front of a keyboard banging on about 'what should be done.' When the reality is we all have to make a living in this capitalist society of ours.

[@rosalinadeanda-zd6nn]

@@charlesmartin1121 I understand we all have to make a living. But could he have at least found other solution?. We can't confirm if he needs the money or not.

[@williams100292]

I get it, man's gotta eat.Regardless of my personal opinions, he's well within his rights to do this. I don't think there's a person out there who'd pass up millions in exchange for a pat on the back.

[@ogrejd]

@00:25 - And by "relatively recent conceit" you mean "going back to at least the Romans". :0

[@samwill7259]

Should be a law. If its a fossil, it has to be available for scientific study, even if you own it.

[@golddragonette7795]

its a failure of legislation

[@charlesmartin1121]

Welcome to the USA.

[@charlesmartin1121]

Simple solution: have Congress create a special fund that would be available to secure valuable private specimens for the public interest. If a private owner is willing to let a specimen go for a reasonable price with the understanding it will go to a museum, in many cases proceeding to auction would become unnecessary.

[@erideb3864]

They have no right to sell these specimens to rich investors who buy them for the traction it would give them soley for their own gain when they should be studied and preserved. Whether it be good or bad, no one should claim them for themselves

[@PaleoGość07]

The saddest thing about this is that we can't change it cuz rich people don't care for greater good they care about their status, money and being jerkass and people like us are nothing to them. Goodbye Apex we will miss you 😢😢😢

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

A law of giving them to museums, for several years of study before any sales should be in place. Profits shouldn't come from ruining society...

[@Leptospirosi]

It is not about finders: it's about LAW made with the ass! the USA is the only place on earth where anything found belongs to the owner of the land. for metric system users (AKA the rest of the world) if you find something historically important on your land, it belongs to the state.

[@juliusfucik4011]

There is something to be said for both systems. If you can keep what you find on your own land, there is a large incentive to start digging. However, I think an exception should be made for fossils, especially scientifically relevant ones. A shark tooth or trilobyte, meh. A complete stegosaurus? It should be bought off the private citizen by the state.

[@charlesmartin1121]

Really? In no other country in the world can you sell something found on land you own? Bullshit.

[@PelicanMobBoss]

@@charlesmartin1121 You can sell most things, only specific things are off limits

[@68Ronin]

I was hoping Genndy Tartakovski (Primal) would make a Conan...and boom...you beat him lol!!I also animate the mighty Cimmerian in stop motion though!Any fan of Conan is a friend of mine...this is awesome...subbed!!!⚔

[@Avisrex1995]

I named a tyrannosaur in my spec project in honor of stan to bring awareness to this nonsense. If I ever ran into a fossil on my property, I feel like it should be a national responsibility, patriotic even, to have this in a museum rather than Jeff bezo's living room. Would be cool to have a fossil in MY living room but I at least have enough brain power to realize I should have a cast and not the genuine article. Fossils should be a thing of pride to our country, not a trinket to just sell off. Given how Brazil treat's their fossils and how they recently got back their compsognathid, I think they have the right idea.

[@MichelleNyxRaymond]

Truth

[@vathouisk]

eat the rich

[@George-bw1vj]

First

[@GeraldBlack1]

Only capitalist dinos here.

[@angstybreadstyx1242]

We NEED legislation on fossils!!!!!!! ONLY GOVERNMENTS AND PUBLIC MUSEUMS SHOULD BE ABLE TO OWN IMPORTANT FOSSILS THEY SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE

[@bennettfender9927]

I disagree you open up a massive can of worms when taking about peoples property while I don’t morally agree with taking fossils and storing them away these people should absolutely have the right to do so as it is their property and if you start down that rabbit hole of the government being able to basically steal stuff from your own property you then open a massive can of worms.

[@charlesmartin1121]

AND THIS SHOULD BE THIS WAY AND THAT SHOULD BE THAT WAY. And maybe you should turnoff your caps lock.

[@rosalinadeanda-zd6nn]

@@charlesmartin1121 The world is not fair, but thats why we have to try to change things. So maybe you should consider the fact that this specimen has Paleontological value. Money is important but we can't say for sure if he needs it.

[@charlesmartin1121]

@@rosalinadeanda-zd6nn Who?

[@rosalinadeanda-zd6nn]

@@charlesmartin1121 What do you mean?

[@joegasparro2395]

Making it profitable will make more people search for fossils = more fossils. $6 million for the biggest specimen is not expensive relatively speaking. Colleges are also billion dollar businesses. If a college research center wants it, pay the person that found it. Pay the person that found it, period. There is absolutely no moral duty for someone to donate their property that is worth millions of dollars. If it is THAT important to science, pay for it. Are science programs not receiving billions of dollars of taxpayer money in grants to operate? Do they have a moral duty to give some of that money back to the people who make the most important discoveries for their field? This money could set these people's families up for generations, you don't know their story...and you say just give it away? If you are in the comments being the moral judge saying people cannot sell their own property, YOU buy it and give it to the museum.

[@EDGEscience]

6 million is actually very expensive. Most paleontology research facilities are underfunded. They operate at a loss and don't make money. Millions would bankrupt them without a donor. And, no, science programs really AREN'T getting billions in grants. Maybe some biomed thing or engineering for boeing or weapons stuff, but money is never realistically allocated for ecology, zoology, or paleontology. In fact, the only funded geology field is oil and gas.

[@joegasparro2395]

@@EDGEscience Oil and gas makes money, could that he why it is funded? That is why I am saying this is good. Another point, you mention several times about fossils being 'in a safe home' 'in a safe place' (a museum). My challenge: who is going to treat this specimen better, the person that paid $6 million of their earned money or the organization that got it for free?

[@EDGEscience]

Absolutely the organizatiom because it's run by people who are in it for the love of the field, rather than having a specimen in their house as a conversation piece. They are experts in their field and literally know how to take care of a fossil specimen.

[@joegasparro2395]

@@EDGEscience you don't think the wealthy person, who spent $6 million dollars of their hard earned money would hire an appropriate team to take care of the specimen? They hire a team of people to take care of their Lamborghinis and Ferraris. They hire a team of people to take care of their estates. They employ pilots and crews for their planes and yachts. And obviously they have a love for it too, that's why they bid the highest. Your error in reasoning is just because they're not an expert they don't care and won't bring the appropriate experts on board to handle the specimen and care for it. I argue they care at least equal or more. If a fresh phd student accidentally ruins, shatters a specimen, that is no money out of their pocket.

[@EDGEscience]

Yeah. Rich people are some of the dumbest people on the planet.

[@patricklee5239]

The US really needs to pass a law like we have in Canada, that makes all fossils property of the Federal Government, meaning people can't just sell fossils they find on their land.

[@Mike-dn7ul]

Im not gonna lie. I love science and all, but if i found a 4 million dollar stegosaur i would waste no time to sell it to the highest bidder!

[@oscardean8962]

HOLY BASED?

[@mitchelpinion1852]

This fossil would not exist if not for private effort. If someone thinks it belongs in a museum, then buy it and donate it. Should other private properties be confiscated and put in a museum so the public can enjoy them? Paintings? sculptures? antiques? The fact is this fossil skeleton now exists and will no doubt be available for study at some point entirely because of private effort. Want to encourage more fossil finds? The profit incentive is one way to do that.

[@EDGEscience]

There actually are MANY doubts it will end up in public hands.

[@samwill7259]

Yes. Yes those things should be put in museum. If its an irreplacable commonwealth of mankind, it should be impossible to privatley owned

[@charlesmartin1121]

@@EDGEscience Even if it does not initially. Time is long and it may revert to the public trust eventually.

[@mitchelpinion1852]

@@EDGEscience It doesn't need to be in public hands to be made available for study.

[@EDGEscience]

Yes it does.

[@G55544]

Fossils should only go to museums and private museums should be raided and their owners ended

[@mikezizis3725]

We will get the laws and Politicians we put up with. Any legislator who fights for this to be solely in the domain of public and scientific knowledge has my vote and my flight for that vote.

[@Pugfeathers]

Yeah we’re getting political. I am here for it.