Earth and Life
Through Time
"Sue" - Whose bones are those anyway?
Few fossils stir the imagination as do those of Dinosaurs who ruled the
earth iin the Mesozoic. While there are hundreds of species of dinosaurs,
perhaps the most notorious and most well known is Tyrannosaurus rex or T.rex.
As a monstrous flesh-eating monster of days gone by, T. rex has been a favorite
in Hollywood, and recently starred in Steven Speilbergs classic "Jurassic
Park". Today, we will look into T. rex and see what really goes into
getting those bones into museums so that you can stare at them in awe.
An
image of Tyrannosaurus rex (left)
and Triceratops (right) by Charles
Knight, published in The National Geographic Magazine (Vol. 35, May 1919, n.
5). "Hunting Big Game of Other Days - A Boating Expedition in Search of
Fossils in Alberta, Canada" by Barnum Brown. (Page 407)
Theropod dinosaurs
The theropod (meaning "beast-footed") dinosaurs are a diverse group of bipedal saurischian dinosaurs. They include the largest terrestrial carnivores ever to have made the earth tremble. What most people think of as theropods (e.g. T. rex, Deinonychus) are extinct today, but recent studies have conclusively shown that birds are actually the descendants of small nonflying theropods. Thus when people say that dinosaurs are extinct, they are technically not correct. Still it's not as exciting seeing a sparrow at your birdfeeder as it would be to see a Tyrannosaurus rex there.
Our knowledge of the evolutionary history of the Theropoda is constantly under revision stimulated by new, exciting fossil finds every year or so such as Mononykus olecranus, a very bird-like theropod found recently in the Mongolian desert, or Giganotosaurus carolinii, a giant theropod probably rivaling the size of T.rex., found recently in Argentina. In fact, the 1960's discovery and study of the remains of Deinonychus antirrhopus helped to revise paleontology's old vision of all dinosaurs as slow, stupid reptiles, and was a key factor in the onset of the controversial hot- blooded / cold- blooded debate. Currently, there are 2 or 3 main groups of theropods, depending on who you ask; we have yet to fully understand their origin. Why is this so? The main reason is the lack of good specimens; theropod remains are fairly rare and more often than not fragmentary -- theropods have a poor fossil record compared to most of the ornithischian dinosaurs. Fossils of small theropods are especially rare, since small bones are harder to find and are weathered away easily. Without well-preserved, complete specimens, it is hard to tell who is most closely related to whom using cladistics.
Several characters that typify a theropod: Hollow, thin-walled bones are diagnostic of theropod dinosaurs. Most theropods had sharp, recurved teeth useful for eating flesh, and claws were present on the ends of all of the fingers and toes. Note that some of these characters are lost or changed later in theropod evolution, depending on the group in question. (Modified from: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/saurischia/theropoda.html)
Scene from the 1925 movie "The lost world" by Conan Doyle
Tyrannosaurus rex Fossils
Tyrannosaurus rex were big, scary, and mean, but today they stand frozen as the main attraction in a few select museums worldwide. Averaging 12 m (40 feet) long, 6 tonnes (7 tons), they lived during the Late Cretaceous ( Late Maastrichtian). Today there are about 15 good skeletons that have been discovered and excavated -- they have only been found in Western Canada and the United States. The original discovery was reported by H.F. Osbron (1905) in "Tyrannosaurus and other Cretaceous carnivorous dinosaurs". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History #21: 259-265.
Currently the most complete fossil of Tyrannosuarus rex known today resides at Chicagos Field Museum of Natural History. This fossil has been called "Sue" after the person who discovered it, and it is estimated to be 90% complete. This recent acquisition is remarkable for not only its completeness, but also its unique history. Although the history of dinosaur exploration, acquisition, and display has had a long and colorful history, this one has been an international modern drama.
Only the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman (MT) and the Royal Saskatchewan
Museum in Regina (Sask.), come close with skeletons that are 60-85% intact.
"Even by a dinosaur's standards the Tyrannosaurus rex named Sue must have
led an unusually difficult life. Its huge skeleton has scars aplenty, bearing
witness to several life-threatening injuries sustained more than 65 million
years ago. One leg shows a healed-over fracture, the skull has gouges along its
side, and a tooth fragment remains embedded in a rib, the remnant of some
distant combat with another T. rex."
(R. Monastersky, "for the Sake of Sue: What will happen to the worlds best T. rex? - see http://www.dinosauria.com/ jdp/sue/sakesue.htm)
Why was a Cretaceous Dinosaur in "Jurassic Park"?
The History of Sue
"Sue" was found on the land of Maurice Williams in 1990 by members of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research (BHI). The Rancher, Maurice Williams is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux and, like many American Indians, his land is held in trust by the United States government.
The staff of the Black Hills Institute for Geological Research, of Hill City, South Dakota, nicknamed the fossil "Sue." Sue was found on private land, the title of which was held in trust by the Federal government for a Native American. The owner (Maurice Williams) asked Institute staff to explore for fossils on his land and, when Sue was discovered, the Institute paid $5,000 for the right to excavate and remove the fossil. But on May 14, 1992 the U.S. Department of Justice sent FBI agents to seize the skeleton, which Institute personnel had already spent 10,000 labor hours preparing for assembly. At first, Treasury claimed the T. Rex was an artifact removed contrary to the provisions of a 1906 antiquities act. But on finding rulings showing that this Act did not cover fossils, (artifacts are manmade, which T. Rex is not), Justice changed its story. It declared that Sue was "real estate" that the landowner could sell off only with the permission of the U.S. Secretary of interior. (Slightly modified from Prepared Testimony of Dr. Edward L. Hudgins Director of Regulatory Studies Cato Institute Before The House Committee On The Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, February 3, 1995)
Eventually, after a long series of trials, the government decided to allow the sale of "Sue" by auction at Sotheby's, a large New York auction house. "Sue" was sold to the highest bidder in October 1997. Many were concerned that Sue may have ended up overseas, and fought for preserving "Sue" for the American public.
Currently Sue resides at the Field Museum in Chicago, and went on display in 2000. (From "Reserving Sue" by Jeff Poling (http://www.dinosauria.com/ jdp/sue/reserve.htm)
What is a Land Trust?
A Land Trust, is property placed in the care of others, called trustees. In terms of real estate (land, including surface and subsurface), the trustee is given nominal ownership administers the land for the benefit of the person for whom the land was placed in trust (the "beneficial owner"). The trustee has a legal fiduciary obligation to do what is in the best interest of the beneficial owner. If the trustee fails in his fiduciary obligation, prosecution can occur. Although the trustee is the nominal owner of the land, it is not their property; it may not use it for their own benefit, and should the trust be dissolved, the lands become the sole property of the beneficial owner. In the case of Maurice Williams, the deed to the land states that it is held in trust by the U.S. government for the sole use and benefit of Maurice Williams and his heirs. As trustee, the U.S. government is bound by the trust's fiduciary obligations, and when the trust is dissolved, the land reverts to the sole ownership and control of Maurice Williams or his heirs. These facts carry the force of law under Title 25 U.S. Code, and various other statutes. The fact that the U.S. government is a public entity, rather than a private or commercial one, does not change the conceptual and legal status of the trust, nor does it make public land of the lands held in trust. Indeed, the Bureau of Indian Affairs states very plainly that Indian trust land is private property.
By this arrangement, the ultimate owner of the land is Maurice Williams, a
private citizen. As the land is owned by a private citizen, it is legally
private property. This fact has been affirmed in court many times, including by
the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court during court
proceedings over the ownership of "Sue."
For consideration:
1) In the ground, who owned Sue?
2) After excavation, what claim does the BHIGR have on the fossil?
3) What obligation do you think Williams has to the BHIGR and the Larson brothers?
4) Who owns the fossils on Federal land? What should the Government do when
asked by commercial collectors to dig? Scientists?
Web Links:
Field Museum in Chicago: http://www.fmnh.org/default.htm
Commercially Available dinosuars: http://www.dinosaurworld.com
UC Berkeley’s page on T. rex: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/trex/trexpo.html
Sothebys Auction house (NY): http://www.sothebys.com:80/sue_trex/homejs.html
Back to Home page for J.I.
Garver
Back to Union Geology Department
This document can
be located from http://idol.union.edu/~garverj/Geo11/historical.htm
© Geology Department,
Union College, Schenectady N.Y. 12308-3107.All rights reserved. No part of the
document can be copied and/or redistributed, electronically or otherwise, without
written permission from J.I.Garver, Geology Department, Union College,
Schenectady NY, 12308-2311, USA.
First posted: October 1996; Last updated: 3 January
2003