Shenyang, January 13 (China News Network) -- On January 13, the "Ceremony of Receiving Fossils from Western Liaoning Donated from Europe and Returning to Liaoning" was held at the Liaoning Paleontological Museum.
On January 13, the "Ceremony of Receiving Fossils from Western Liaoning Donated by Europe" was held at the Liaoning Paleontological Museum. The picture shows the experts participating in the meeting identifying fossils on the spot. Photo by Zhu Mingyu
Industry insiders from the Office of the National Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee, the Chinese Paleontological Society, the Land and Resources Department of Liaoning Province, Shenyang Normal University, academicians Li Tingdong and Liu Jiaqi of the Chinese Academy of Sciences unveiled the paleontological fossils returning to Liaoning.
On January 13, the "Ceremony of Receiving Fossils from Western Liaoning Donated by Europe" was held at the Liaoning Paleontological Museum. The picture shows the speech of Wang Lixia, full-time deputy director of the Office of the National Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee. Photo by Zhu Mingyu
According to Professor Sun Ge, director of the Liaoning Paleontological Museum, in 2017, French fossil collector Esquire and others commissioned the Belgian dinosaur scientist Professor Godefroyt to contact him and offer to give away 8 important fossil specimens produced in Liaoning that he collected and studied in Europe free of charge.
With the approval of the Ministry of Land and Resources of the People's Republic of China and with the assistance of the Chinese Embassy in Belgium, the two sides officially held a fossil donation handover ceremony at the Royal Institute of Natural History of Belgium, and finally arrived safely in Shenyang.
On January 13, the "Ceremony of Receiving Fossils from Western Liaoning Donated by Europe" was held at the Liaoning Paleontological Museum. The picture shows the participating experts unveiling the paleontological fossils returning to Liaoning. Photo by Zhu Mingyu
The reporter saw at the scene on the same day that the paleontological fossils donated this time were 7 feathered dinosaur fossils and 1 primitive bird fossil. These include the Hexhet proorosaurosaurs, the short-feathered Chinese feathers, and the Xu's dawning bird 160 million years ago; the curved-footed rehe river bird 125 million years ago; and the new genus Sun's silk bird dragon announced in 2017. Participating experts also identified the remaining 3 feathered dinosaur fossils that need to be studied in detail.
The fossil of Xu's dawn bird returned to Liaoning this time. Photo by Zhu Mingyu
Sun Ge introduced that since the promulgation of the "Regulations on the Protection of Paleontological Fossils" and other laws and regulations in 2010, the legalization of Fossil Protection in China has become increasingly popular and has produced positive repercussions overseas, and this gift is also a concrete embodiment of the support of overseas collectors and research experts for China's fossil protection.
The fossil of Hexitesian ornithischia reverted to Liaoning this time. Photo by Zhu Mingyu
This batch of returned precious paleontological fossils has high academic value and research value, which will promote the popularization of Chinese paleontological research and science. For example, Xu's dawn bird is the world's earliest bird so far, its age is more than 10 million years earlier than the "Archaeopteryx"; Heshi's ornithischia is the world's earliest feathered dinosaur so far, and its importance is self-evident.
Liaoning Paleontological Museum is the largest paleontological museum in China, jointly built by the Land and Resources Department of Liaoning Province and Shenyang Normal University, since its opening in May 2011, it has received more than 1.5 million visitors at home and abroad, becoming one of the important windows for the cultural construction of Liaoning. Its exhibits include the world's earliest flower "Ancient Chinese Fruit", the most primitive hairy mammal "Megalodon" to date, and the world's only lizard found to glide in the Mesozoic Era , "Zhao's Xianglong" and other treasures. (End)