Chimera (paleontology)

A chimaera falsified archaeological animal fossils are referred to in modern paleontology, which feign a prehistoric animal that it has not, or not in this form, with this appearance. It is wrong to composite fossil body parts or fragments, as well as to partly or completely putative fossils artificially produced.

Examples

The best known example is the 1999 Archaeoraptor discovered in Liaoning Province in Northeast China, which was viewed as a link between birds and dinosaurs. The National Geographic made ​​the alleged sensational discovery public. However, it turned out that someone had the body of the fish-eating Yanornis martini connected to the tail feathers of Microraptor zhaoianus dinosaur.

A scientific controversy enspann is the still not clearly verified authenticity of a skull of the so-called " Urgeparden " (Acinonyx kurteni ), which should come from the Linxia Basin in Gansu Province, China. Here it is not clear whether some bone parts were added later, and whether or not the skull is contemporary.

Situation in China

Dubious findings often come from China. The style of Chinese duplicates is often of such high quality that often consuming laboratory analysis can help identify whether it is genuine or reproductions finds. In China, there is a lively market with Kompositfossilien. Many local museums trump again and again with alleged discoveries, the authenticity of which often can not be clearly demonstrated. The cited by Science magazine Chinese vertebrate paleontologist Li Chun estimates that 80 percent of all marine saurians, which are currently on display in Chinese museums, have been tampered with or even constructed. By this fact and Western, reputable, scientific institutions struggle increasingly to their own credibility as more and find individual non- secured objects find their way into their collections.