Smuggled dinosaur egg returned to Argentina

SYDNEY: A dinosaur egg discovered during a crackdown in Australia on the illegal fossil trade was returned on Monday to the country where it spent the first 72 million years of its life, Argentina.

The plant-eating Titanosaurus' egg, which weighs eight kg, was confiscated in Melbourne in January 2005 while being smuggled to the United States.

It was handed back to Argentina's ambassador in Canberra along with another 122 kg of fossils seized later from the same dealer.

John Cobb, Australia's assistant environment minister, said the blitz had sent a strong message worldwide that the illegal export of cultural heritage would not be tolerated.

"Argentine fossils are incredibly important worldwide and are the key to understanding the evolutionary phases of the whole of life," he said.

Among the other fossils returned to Argentina were pine cones and seeds from Jurassic-era Araucaria conifer trees, aged between 175 and 154 million years old.

Argentinean ambassador Pedro Villager Delgado thanked Australia for the crackdown.

"This cooperation is especially important for developing countries which many times lack the resources to effectively monitor the whereabouts of the various elements that compose a cultural and archaeological heritage," he said.