A Brazilian pterosaur fossil that had left Brazil illegally has just been repatriated and is available to the Brazilian paleontological community.
The material was at the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences of Belgium, the country's main scientific research institution, and was delivered this Tuesday (8) to the Museum of Earth Sciences, in Rio de Janeiro.
Before going to the Belgium museum, it was in a private collection. It is estimated that the fossil left the country at least 25 years ago. Repatriation was possible after negotiations with the Belgian authorities.
The specimen is formed by a skull with a snout and a crest preserved with pigmentation (traces of color), and originates from the Araripe region, the main Brazilian fossiliferous site, between the states of Ceará, Pernambuco and Piauí.
The species of the fossil has not yet been revealed because the article describing the find is embargoed in a renowned scientific journal, but experts who had access to the material say it is a tapejarid pterosaur, of the genus Tupandactylus.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon