paleonet Burgess Shale Fossil Theft

[Dan_Chure@xxxxxxx]

     FYI:

          $25,000 FOR PREHISTORIC WORM

          Tue Sep 4 00:41:59 2001
          Posted at http://cbc.ca/news

          CALGARY - Scientists are upset that thieves
          have been pilfering some of Canada's most
          valuable archeological sites.

          Fossil taken Aug. 17 from the Burgess Shale
          in British Columbia's Yoho National Park has
          been valued at more than $25,000.

          The RCMP are investigating, and a worldwide
          alert has been issued.

          The 20-kilogram rock taken from near the
          border with British Columbia contains an
          impeccable and highly detailed
          500-million-year-old impression of a
          carnivorous worm called Ottoia.

          The fossil was taken from a quarry that is
          restricted to scientific researchers and the
          Yoho-Burgess Shale Foundation.

          The foundation's Randle Robertson says such
          items would be worth a lot of money - to the
          right buyer.

          "There aren't that many in the world; there are
          very, very few," he said.

          The thieves could sell the fossil on the black
          market, he said. Or they could have been
          commissioned to steal such an article by
          private collectors.

          A curator with the Royal Tyrrell Museum in
          Drumheller, Alberta says the thefts are
          shameful.

          "It's kind of a tragedy I think to think that one of
          our key sites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
          is open to pilfering of this sort," said Paul
          Johnston.

                    Written by CBC News Online staff


_______________________
Daniel J. Chure, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Dinosaur National Monument
Box 128
Jensen UT  84035  USA
ph: 435-781-7703
dan_chure@nps.gov