The Brazilian government says it has unearthed 100 million-year-old fossils that have been smuggled out of the country and taken to Italy. The announcement was made by the Federal Public Ministry, which returned to Brazil on the 16th. Before the auction On an Italian website, its value was approximately R $ 16,800 (യൂറോ 3,000).

O Fossil origin From Ceará’s Chapada do Araripe section, it must now be sent to Urca (Regional University of Cariri), where it will be part of the institution’s museum collection.

The piece is well preserved so that the scales and soft tissue of an animal that lived during the Cretaceous can be seen.

“This is the patrimonial property of the Brazilian nation, and repatriation will allow the work of Brazilian and international researchers,” said Rafael Ribeiro Raയോl, the Republic’s prosecutor on the MPF website.

Although the result of a process that opened in 2020 is a success to take home, there is still a lot of work to be done.

According to the MPF, dozens of similar procedures have been opened in at least six other countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan and South Korea. Many of these pieces are on display or auctioned in museums and private collections.

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