In 2020, Brazilian researchers launched an online campaign for the repatriation of “Ubirajara jubatus,” a little dinosaur which had been removed from Brazil unlawfully and made its way into the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe.
‘Ubiraja jubatus’, returned in 2020. Courtesy Agencia Brasil
Under the hashtag #UbirajaraBelongstoBR, scientists and members of the public advocated for the #repatriation of the fossil and against scientific colonialism. After years of public pressure and diplomatic negotiations, Ubirajara finally returned home in summer of 2022. Today, the #fossil is on display in the region where it had initially been discovered.
Fast forward to 2023. A new study puts another Brazilian fossil in the spotlight of repatriation claims: Irritator challengeri, located in the Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History, brought to Germany under similar circumstances as “Ubirajara.”
#IrritatorBelongstoBR became the name of the game. An open letter demanding the repatriation of the fossil, signed by 263 professionals and 1,657 members of the public, was sent. To me, the repatriation of Brazilian fossil is as much of a moral obligation as it is a legal one, as I’ve shown in an article that won the 2024 Pierre Lalive and John Henry Merryman Fellowship in Art and Cultural Heritage Law.
Now, three years later, the moment has finally come: Irritator is going home as well. This is another milestone for decolonising palaeontology, and for the mainstreaming of restitution in the context of natural history. It is also the result of the tireless work of Brazilian palaeontologists whom I can’t compliment enough for their perseverance and courage.
