[NHCOLL-L:539] Rare Amber Inclusions Lost

[Tim White]

This just in...

To
Museums with amber collections,
and amber inclusion collectors


Lost amber during "Lost World" exhibition

In 1994 after Spielbergs film "Jurassic Park" successfully hit the world,
Universal Studios and Amblin Entertainment donated the dinosaur models to
the non profit "Dinosaur Society" for a travelling exhibition in the US. Our
museum sent amber inclusions to follow and complete the DNA story behind.
After a three year Science- and Natural History Museum tour, everything was
returned to us in 1997 in proper condition.

In 1998 we got a new request from the founder of the Dinosaur society, Don
Lessem, now manager of the Dinosaur Exhibitions LLC. When the new film "Lost
World" opened, he asked for exhibition materials for display again.

This time we sent two new amber fossil exhibitions and a variety of natural
amber lumps for two travelling exhibitions with the title "The Dinosaurs of
Jurassic Park / The Lost World". After visiting two of the exhibitions, Gulf
Coast Museum of Science in Mobile and Maryland Science Center in Baltimore
in 1999, we realised, that some materials were missing and decided to
investigate the loss. After request we recently got part of our materials
back, but unfortunately our best specimens from the "Frozen Drama"
exhibition are still missing. The bigger expensive natural amber pieces are
also missing.

 KDOC -TV in California, who are now in charge, opened the ongoing "The
Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park / The Lost World" without our specimens in San
Diego Natural History Museum in March. According to Don Lessem they are now
going to ask the FBI for help.

Among the missing pieces are very rare inclusions with 40 million year old
petrified "stories".
- A piece with a termite worker feeding a termite soldier (irreplaceable).
- Very rare spiders, beetles and flies in copula (mating positions).
- A piece containing mammalian hair.
- Two predators with pray and 9 other rare inclusions.

Pictures are available on the internet at: http://www.brost.se/lostamber/

With hope to get it back and to prevent future trading, we are sending this
announcement to you and others with amber fossil interest.

We ask you to forward this message to amber fossil collectors and contact
us, if you get to know anything about these specimens.

Sincerely

Leif Brost
General manager


Swedish Amber Museum
Mariav.4
236 35 Höllviken
Tel. +4640450861
brost at brost.se
http://www.brost.se/

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Tim

************************************************************************

Tim White, Senior Collection Manager     Yale University 
Division of Invertebrate Paleontology    170 Whitney Ave., PO Box 208118
Peabody Museum of Natural History        New Haven, CT 06520-8118
                  
                                                                          
203.432.3767 (voice); 203.432.9816 (fax)                                  
tim.white at yale.edu (email); www.peabody.yale.edu (www)  
                  
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