On a summer in the United States, found the great Sue, the largest Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever discovered by humans. Believed that Sue was 65-million-year-old and besides that Sue's bones believed 90 percent still intact.
The fossil was discovered by a palaeontologist named Susan Hendrickson who later named the fossil as 'Sue' by her nickname. Sue was discovered by Susan in a small town in the United States named Faith which is part of the South Dakota state.
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| Here she is Sue, the biggest Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil at the Fields Museum of Natural History, Chicago. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/1LgHlqB) |
Susan first found Sue when she was doing a search fossil in Faith. First when she was doing a search in the area near the cliff, she saw three large bones protruding portion of the soil surface. Having observed by Susan, she believes that the bone was part Tyrannosaurus rex.
Susan insisted want to do further research on these bones, but needed permission to conduct excavations at the site where the bones were found and the money should be spent to obtain such permission is not cheap.
Hence Susan have recourse to an agency that has specialized in the study of fossil named the Black Hills Institute. Black Hills agree to help Susan to conduct further research on Sue, they also raise US. $5,000 to Maurice Williams, the landowner who own the land where Sue was found.
Having carried out an excavation and further research, it was discovered that Sue is the largest T. rex fossil ever found by human. With width of up to 12.9 meters and a height of about 4 meters.
In 1992, two years after Sue was found, Maurice Williams, who is the owner of the land where Sue was found and a descendant of the Sioux tribe, said that the money as much as US $5,000 that he received from Black Hills Institute was only for the excavation permits and Sue research. Maurice assume that Sue was a heritage that should be owned by the Sioux tribes.
On the other hand, the United States Department of Interior believe Sue is the state-owned because legally that valid in the United States, where the place of Sue found was a state-owned land.
Sue seizure due to unclear ownership of this, the US Department of Interior then ordered federal agencies like the FBI and the National Guard to move Sue for a while to South Dakota School of Mines and Technology to the lack of clarity regarding the ownership of Sue.
In 1995, after going through tough negotiations in the courts, Sue ownership fell to Maurice Williams. Maurice then utilize Sue ownership by selling it through an auction.
Concerns then struck the researchers in the world, Sue feared would fall to the party then just make Sue as a private collection so that further research can not be done on it. This is in case it is detrimental to the development of science.
Fortunately there is an organization called Fields Museum of Natural History which aims to save Sue for the development of science. With funding from several major companies in the world, then the Fields Museum won the Sue ownership rights of US. $7.6 million.
After Sue rescued, Fields Museum move it to Chicago and also set up two laboratories at the same time to do more research about it. As a result of the bone relics Sue that 90 percent is still intact, the researchers were then able to made a breakthrough in the dinosaurs study, especially the Tyrannosaurus rex. Known by researchers that included as the carnivorous animals have a very keen sense of smell because T-rex has a great of the olfactory bulb (a part of the brain that respond to odors).
Sue is also the first T-rex are found to have spinal, this founding then support the scientists theory that the bird is still a dinosaurs descended specimens.
Once completed reconstructed, the Sue bones are arranged in such a way to T-rex forms is believed by researchers. On May 2000, Sue was exhibited to the public in the Fields Museum of Natural History, Chicago. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC]
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