The Chinese government's attempts to curb the black-market trade in dinosaurs and other fossils could restrict scientific research.

By Lewis Smith

Dinosaur fossils in Kunming, southwest China Photo: AFP

When Harry Kreigstein bought a mysterious fossil encased in 150lb of rock at a palaeontology show six years ago, he was convinced it was special. It didn't disappoint.

Once the rock was stripped away, the fossilised animal was revealed to be a missing link in the ancestry of Tyrannosaurus rex, king of the ancient predators. Almost identical to the giant killer, yet just a fraction of the size – and 60 million years older – its discovery astonished scientists.

The miniature T.rex is just one of a host of exceptional fossil finds that have emerged from China over the past 20 years. But tracking its history reveals a seamy underworld of black-market trading and overzealous regulation that threatens to restrict scientists' access to fossils, which could play a vital role in their efforts to explain how life evolved.

When Dr Kreigstein, an eye surgeon and collector from Martha's Vineyard, in the US, paid close to $100,000 for the fossil, he was told that it came from Japan. In fact, it had been dug up in China, and exported illegally.

Like countless other fossils, the tiny T.rex ancestor, which has been named Raptorex kreigsteini, was almost certainly found by one of the many thousands of farmers and agricultural workers who go digging to supplement their income. For them, discovering a particularly spectacular specimen can mean instant wealth, though most of the profit is believed to go to the middle men, who smuggle these fossils out of China for lucrative sales to dealers and collectors.

For fossils of most insects, fish and common plants, a farmer can expect to be paid several yuan – probably less than ￡1. But for the most impressive specimens of dinosaurs, ancient birds and early mammals they can make up to 500,000 yuan (about ￡45,000) – a fortune in a country where average earnings in rural areas are less than ￡400 per year.

So lucrative is the trade, especially for unusual and scientifically important specimens, that fakes are also being created by sticking the fossils of different animals together. The most notorious was the half-bird, half-dinosaur fossil of Archaeoraptor liaoningensis, which was declared by National Geographic in 1999 to be the missing link between birds and dinosaurs – until Chinese researchers established that it was a composite of at least two separate creatures.

The reason why the trade has grown so large is that China has become the centre of the world's fossil industry. About a third of recent scientific papers in the field are either about remains discovered in China or involve Chinese paleontologists.

This is not just down to China's size, but to the extraordinary level of fossil preservation in at least three large sites. Millions of years ago, these areas boasted rich habitats bursting with a variety and quantity of wildlife, with rock beds enabling the specimens to be exceptionally well preserved.

Liaoning, near the north-east coast, provides enormous detail about the Cretaceous period, from 110 to 130 million years ago, a time when dinosaurs, birds, mammals and flowering plants were all diversifying rapidly. It is here that much of the evidence of early birds and feathered dinosaurs has been found. The ash and mud that covered the creatures' corpses prevented rapid decomposition, enabling soft body parts to fossilise rather than just the bones.

Next is the Chengjiang Formation, in south-west China, which dates from about 525 million years ago and tells the story of the "Cambrian explosion", the period when the ancestors of all modern creatures evolved. The Doushantuo Formation, also in south-west China and dating from 590 to 565 million years ago, throws a similar spotlight on Precambrian life, which was buried alive by sediment that poured suddenly into the coastal lagoons.

Between them, these areas have provided crucial evidence to support the idea that dinosaurs may have been feathered, such as a fossil of the Beipiaosaurus, revealed in January 2009, which had the best example of a feather yet seen. Such creatures are not just the most primitive yet unearthed, but the likely ancestors of modern birds: less than two months ago, a birdlike dinosaur with four feathered limbs, Anchiornis huxleyi, was dated as being older than the earliest known primitive bird, Archaeopteryx. Other Chinese fossils have contributed enormously to the understanding of the evolution of birds themselves. Among those that have been found are Eoconfuciusornis zhengi, one of the first birds to fly, and Gansus yumenensis, a 110 million-year-old specimen, which suggests all modern birds derived from waterfowl.

However, China's fossil riches face a twin threat – not just from treasure hunters, but from government regulation. In an understandable effort to crack down on the black-market trade, which has seen many of the best specimens vanish into private collections before scientists even know of their existence, the Chinese government is planning to introduce draconian new measures to prevent their export.

"There's a feeling that China is haemorrhaging fossils and people are making a lot of money," explains Dr David Unwin, a paleontologist at the University of Leicester. "It's China's national heritage that's being lost."

However, he and others are worried that the new legislation, details of which are still unclear, will restrict "the ability of people to collect fossils or for fossils to end up in museums".

"The great fear is the legislation would impose its own problems. China does have some fantastic fossils and there are some amazing people working on them, who are leading the way in many areas. It would be a real shame if they were to be slowed down or even stopped," says Dr Unwin. "The trick will be to make laws that don't harm science but restrict those who do things illegally. There are always black markets in fossils. My great concern would be that legislation would create a bigger black market and would impact on science."

Zhou Zhonghe, a professor at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, says that one of the prime aims of the new measures is to stop fossils being sold illicitly to collectors: "I have seen photos or specimens of so many valued fossils, but many – if not most of them – will probably rest in private homes or with unknown collectors."

He is hopeful that the new legislation will include guarantees to protect the needs of science, and has, along with other senior Chinese academics, approached legislators to try to get them to moderate the original draft legislation. They have been encouraged by some of the changes made, but remain uncertain about what the final draft will contain.

Among government proposals is the creation of a national committee of experts to assess the value of each dig permit, and fines of up to 500,000 yuan for people who break the law. Fossils will be classified as either important or general, and there will be new regulations on which fossils private collectors will be allowed to keep.

"The previous draft, announced earlier this year, did make us very worried," Prof Zhonghe said. "Since then, we have had several meetings with the legislators, who seemed to take on board our criticisms and to be willing to consider many of our suggestions – though not all of them. We will see what will be in the final regulation. Generally, we feel positive about this because we have asked for a more authoritative regulation on fossils."

Indeed, despite the concerns about the impact of new legislation, there is a widespread recognition that, without action, China's rich fossil beds will continue to be pillaged for the black market. Dr Unwin says the sheer scale of the problem means that it can only be "a sensible thing to do" to prevent a free-for-all.

Prof Paul Sereno, of the University of Chicago, has devoted much of the past two decades to the study of Chinese fossils. He was also the scientist who led the research into Dr Kreigstein's tiny T.rex ancestor, insisting that in return for Raptorex kreigsteini being named after the doctor's parents, Roman and Cecile, who survived the Holocaust, the 9ft-long fossil would be returned to China.

He warns that poorly designed legislation could drive the black market further underground and fail to halt the trade, to the detriment of scientists who do follow the rules.

"If there's a place to sell it, there's a way to get it there. Barriers could end up hindering science rather than the black market, which can always find back doors."

From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/dinosaurs/6754040/Made-in-China---millions-of-years-ago.html