Fossil Collecting Ethics I
Museums must already be careful about buying fossils from China. Chinese law states that all fossils found in China belong to the Chinese government, and it is illegal to remove any fossils from the country. But China has many rich fossil beds which contain wonderful fossil finds, including fossil birds that are unknown anywhere else, such as Confuciusornis, the earliest known bird with a modern, toothless beak (remember that Archaeopteryx had teeth). And there are many people who are willing to break the law for the promise of easy money from fossil sales. The fossils are smuggled out of the country and sold to unscrupulous private collectors, or the smugglers may forge documentation that says the fossils are from another country and try to sell them to a museum. Texas Memorial Museum in Austin, Texas exhibited a specimen of Confuciusornis that was on loan from the Beijing Museum of Natural Histroy.
The skull of another T. rex was badly damaged when thieves broke into the plaster "jacket" that paleontologists had placed around it to protect the skull during its excavation. The thieves broke into the jacket, then broke through the skull in order to steal the jaws. The jaws were later recovered by the FBI, but the damage done to the skull and to the science is irreparable.
What can you do to ensure that important fossils go to museums where they can be studied by paleontologists and enjoyed by everyone? Well, if you have a trilobite or other invertebrate fossil in your rock collection, don't worry. Invertebrate fossils are fairly common, and the science of paleontology will not lose any important information if you have a few that you show to your friends. Sharks replace their teeth continuously, and isolated teeth from many species can be found in marine (ocean) sediments everywhere. So you can keep these fossils in your collection without feeling guilty.
The best thing you can do is to educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about the fossils you are collecting (see my article "Recommended Paleontology Books" for some good references). Then, if you do find something special, you will know to treat it with care. Also, acquaint yourself with the laws concerning Fossil Collecting on Public Lands.
If you think you have found something important, contact a paleontologist, your local natural history museum or university is a good source. The paleontologist will ask
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