
Moroccan officials are furious after a dinosaur tail believed to have originated in Africa was sold at a Mexican auction.
Moroccan authorities are furious and have opened an investigation after a rare dinosaur fossil apparently discovered in the African nation was sold at auction in Mexico for about $95,000. The 13 foot long fossil is estimated to be about 160 million years old and belonged to an Atlasaurus, a sauropod dinosaur.
The tail was apparently discovered in the Atlas mountains of Morocco, a hot spot for dino discoveries. The dinosaur it belonged to was probably about 17 meters long and weighed 22 tons, a truly massive creature. The tail was auction off on Jan. 16, and any amount above the reserve price was donated to help schools damaged by a September earthquake in Mexico.
There have been other controversies involving dinosaur fossil trafficking from Morroco, as last April the skeleton from a sea dinosaur that lived 66 million years ago was withdrawn from auction in Paris and sent back to Morocco.
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