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archaeoraptor
"Archaeoraptor" is the informal generic name for a fossil from China in an article published in ''National Geographic'' magazine in 1999. The magazine claimed that the fossil was a "missing link" between birds and terrestrial theropod dinosaurs. Even prior to this publication there had been severe doubts about the fossil's authenticity. Further scientific study showed it to be a forgery constructed from rearranged pieces of real fossils from different species. Zhou ''et al.'' found that the head and upper body actually belong to a specimen of the primitive fossil bird ''Yanornis''.〔Zhou, Zhonghe, Clarke, Julia A., Zhang, Fucheng. "Archaeoraptor's better half." ''Nature'' Vol. 420. 21 November 2002. pp. 285.〕 A 2002 study found that the tail belongs to a small winged dromaeosaur, ''Microraptor'', named in 2000. The legs and feet belong to an as yet unknown animal.〔Holden, Constance. "Florida Meeting Shows Perils, Promise of Dealing for Dinos" ''Science'' 14 April 2000. Vol.288 no.5464 pp.238-239. 〕〔Timothy Rowe, Richard A. Ketcham, Cambria Denison, Matthew Colbert, Xing Xu, Philip J. Currie, 2001, "Forensic palaeontology: The Archaeoraptor Forgery", ''Nature'' 410, 539 - 540 (29 Mar 2001), 〕
The scandal brought attention to illegal fossil deals conducted in China. Although "Archaeoraptor" was a forgery, many true examples of feathered dinosaurs have been found and demonstrate the evolutionary connection between birds and other theropods.
==Scandal==
"Archaeoraptor" was unveiled at a press conference held by ''National Geographic'' magazine in October 1999. At the same press conference, plans were announced to return the fossil to Chinese authorities, as it was illegally exported. In November 1999 ''National Geographic'' featured the fossil in an article written by art editor Christopher Sloan. The article in general discussed feathered dinosaurs and the origin of birds. It claimed the fossil was "a missing link between terrestrial dinosaurs and birds that could actually fly" and informally referred to it as "Archaeoraptor liaoningensis", announcing it would later be formally named as such. This name means "ancient robber of Liaoning". This drew immediate criticism from Storrs L. Olson, Curator of Birds at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Writing in ''Backbone'', the newsletter of his museum, he denounced the publication of a scientific name in a popular journal, without peer review, as a "nightmare".〔Dalton, Rex. "Feathers fly over Chinese fossil bird's legality and authenticity" ''Nature'' Vol 403. 17 February 2000. pp. 689 - 690〕
On February 3, 2000, ''National Geographic'' issued a press release stating that the fossil could be a composite, and that an internal investigation had begun. In that same month Bill Allen, ''National Geographic'' editor, told ''Nature'' that he was "furious" to learn that the fossil might have been faked. In the March issue, in the forum section, a letter from Dr. Xu Xing pointed out that the tail section probably did not match the upper body. In October 2000 ''National Geographic'' published the results of their investigation, in an article written by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Lewis M. Simons. Simons concluded that the fossil was a composite and that virtually everyone involved in the project had made some mistakes.
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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