Paris Museum Secures 167-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Fossil Ahead of Auction

The National Museum of Natural History in Paris has acquired the unique skeleton of Dubreuillosaurus valesdunensis, a 167-million-year-old carnivorous dinosaur found in Normandy. French authorities arranged a mutual agreement with the owner's heirs to secure the fossil before it went under the hammer at a scheduled auction at the Hôtel Drouot on 18 November.

The specimen represents the only known individual of its species, belonging to the theropod group and related to megalosaurs. Researchers consider its skull to be among the most complete and best-preserved theropod heads discovered in Europe. Scientists from the Centre for Research in Palaeontology, the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and Sorbonne University identified the species following years of detailed study.

André Dubreuil, the former mayor of Conteville in the Eure department of Normandy, originally discovered the fossilised remains in 1994. The find holds particular historical relevance for regional palaeontology, as most other dinosaur fossils previously recovered in Normandy were destroyed during the Allied bombardment in 1944.

Prior to the sale agreement, the skeleton had been on public display at the Paléospace museum in Villers-sur-Mer since 2014. Following concerns from researchers regarding public scientific access, the specimen will now move to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. It will be housed in the Gallery of Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy, which is scheduled to reopen in the summer of 2027.

Scientific work on the fossil will continue alongside its transfer to the national collection. Researchers plan to conduct scanner analyses on the bones to prepare an updated biomechanical reconstruction of the species.

Written by Thomas Nussbaumer thomas.nussbaumer@alpineweekly.com