13-Foot-Long dinosaur tail up for auction in Mexico to raise funds
Two major earthquakes shook the territory of Mexico while damaging numerous schools and properties on September 2017. To raise funds for the reconstruction of these schools, Mexico planned a fundraiser with the sale of a dinosaur’s tail discovered in Morocco. The fundraiser was conducted on the night of 16th January.
The tail was about 13-foot-long with a weight of 180kg. This pre-historic dinosaur’s tail was offered at the price of 1.8 million pesos as stated by the organizer of the event which was arranged by Morton’s Auction House. Any funds received above the stated price shall be donated for the reconstruction work of the schools damaged during the natural catastrophe. The funds shall be donated to the organization named BBVA Bancomer Foundation that shall take care of the works following the inflow of donation.
As per reports, the tail belonged to a sauropod weighing 22-tonne with a height of more than 17 meters. It belonged to the Atlasaurus imelakei species that roamed around the Atlas Mountain range located in Morocco in the mid of Jurassic era, about 165 million years prior today. These dinosaurs were majorly plant eaters that walked on four legs flaunting long necks and tails. They were tagged as the biggest land-based animal ever found on Earth till today.
The earthquakes that occurred in the month of September in Mexico killed more than 480 people while causing a financial loss of billions of dollars to the state. In a statement, the BBVA Bancomer Foundation explained that education is an important necessity for the growth of the country. This is why the reconstruction of schools is an important requirement. In order to generate enough funds for the repairs, the foundation hopes that the tail would be sold for more than its reserve price.
In order to properly clean this fossilized tail, paleontologists based in Morocco for more than 300 hours. Post clean up, the scientists from Utah pieced the whole unit together for sale at the fundraiser. The fossil was later purchased by a Mexico based businessman whose name has been kept hidden as he wanted no part in the associated publicity with regards to his collection of fossils.
