Paris natural history museum acquires 167-million-year-old carnivorous dinosaur skeleton

The skeleton of a carnivorous dinosaur, the only known specimen of its species, was withdrawn from auction after a deal with the state, to preserve a fossil of outstanding scientific value. The skeleton of a 167 million year old carnivorous dinosaur is to join the collections of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. Discovered in 1994 in Conteville, in the Eure département, by André Dubreuil, then mayor of this Normandy village, the specimen was the subject of several excavation campaigns carried out by teams from the Centre for Research in Palaeontology, under the supervision of the National Museum of Natural History, CNRS and Sorbonne University. After several years of in depth study, palaeontologists established that it was a new species of carnivorous dinosaur, belonging to the group of theropods and related to megalosaurs. The only known representative of its species, it has been named Dubreuillosaurus valesdunensis, in tribute to its discoverer. Its skull is among the most complete and best preserved of any theropod dinosaur discovered in Europe. The discovery has in particular helped to improve scientific knowledge of the anatomy of megalosaurs, which until then was largely unknown. It is also one of the last remaining traces of dinosaurs in Normandy, as the other dinosaur specimens found in the region were destroyed in the bombing raids of 1944. An auction avoided On display since 2014 at the Paléospace in Villers sur Mer, Normandy, the skeleton was due to be sold at auction on 18 November at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris, after the heirs of its owner decided to part with it. This prospect had caused concern within the scientific community, which wanted to ensure the fossil was preserved and remained accessible to researchers. A mobilisation by the French authorities ultimately made it possible to reach an agreement for its acquisition by mutual consent, before it went under the hammer. The skeleton will join the Gallery of Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, which is scheduled to reopen in the summer of 2027. Research on this exceptional specimen will also continue, notably through scanner analyses aimed at enabling a new biomechanical reconstruction.