Karlsruhe/Rio de Janeiro (dpa/lsw) - A dinosaur fossil that was probably brought illegally from Brazil to Baden-Württemberg is still in the Natural History Museum in Karlsruhe. "The date for the return has not yet been set," said a spokeswoman for the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science when asked by the dpa. "The Federal Foreign Office, which is providing support here, is in contact with the Brazilian side." The official interlocutor and possible future location of the presentation is the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, according to a recently published response from the ministry to a request from the FDP in the state parliament.
In a dispute with experts from Brazil about the alleged illegal export of the fossil of the dinosaur Ubirajara jubatus a year ago, the ministry took the position that there was no evidence of illegal acquisition by the Natural History Museum in Karlsruhe. The U-turn followed in July of this year: the ministry announced that the Natural History Museum in Karlsruhe had made false statements about the import of the fossilized remains from the Cretaceous period. They want to return them to Brazil.
The Karlsruhe Museum submitted various documents to the Ministry of Science in the course of determining the facts, it said in response to the FDP request. Among them are no documents from Brazilian authorities that prove the declaration and customs clearance of the fossil upon export. In particular, there is no export license from Brazil, it said. "Therefore, an illegal export from Brazil can be assumed."
