Customs Seize Prehistoric Reptile Teeth in European Smuggling Operation

These paleontological treasures, spotted in a freight truck coming from Spain and destined for Italy, were devoid of the necessary documents for their circulation. "When we find archaeological goods in parcels, normally there are supporting documents that must accompany them [...] If there are no such documents, the flow is considered illicit, so the goods are seized by customs," explains Samantha Verduron, from the Regional Directorate of Customs in Nice.

The teeth were then entrusted to the Prehistory Museum of Menton. The expertise revealed that they belonged to a plesiosaur, a marine reptile with a long neck and a small head, which lived about 70 million years ago. This creature has fueled the collective imagination to the point of inspiring the myth of the Loch Ness monster.

The origin of these fossils, often Morocco, is indeed the major concern. "To be sold to collectors, to paleontology enthusiasts," confirms Pierre-Elie Moullé, heritage conservation officer. The prices of these vestiges vary: "50, 100, 150 euros" for a tooth, but "a skull, that’s several thousand euros. That’s why this trade is very active".

This thriving market fuels, by ricochet, an illegal traffic detrimental to paleontological sites. Gérald Lemaître, a paleontologist in the Var, testifies to having recently observed the damage caused by clandestine excavations: "It is the work of someone who came without authorization on the site to try to find fossils there [...] There was no care in the extraction of these fossils. It is simply theft."