A nearly complete theropod from the Valanginian of France and other dinosaurs and marine reptiles found by an amateur paleontologist

[Paleoclapas]

Hello alls

Several undescribed specimens have been found by amateur paleontologist Luc Ebbo in southeastern France in marine deposits of various ages from the Lower Cretaceous. Marine reptiles but also dinosaurs. In particular there are small and several large relatively complete ichthyosaurs from the Aptian and Albian of the Blue Marls Formation. Among the dinosaurs is ''Ernest'', a late juvenile or subadult theropod 70% complete (including 90% of the skull found disarticulated in the middle of the articulated postcranial skeleton) from the Valanginian of the Hautes-Alpes department. Other dinosaurs are represented by a nodosaur known by four skeletons found in several sites (I do not know their precise geological ages but I believe they come from levels more recent than Ernest). Only one skeleton from the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department was prepared, 70% complete (the skull is missing) and includes almost complete armor. Some remains of abelisaurians (this region had already yielded the fragmentary remains of the Albian abelisaurian Genusaurus) and a titanosaur skull (for which there is not much information at the moment) were also found by Luc.

Below is a video from a YouTuber on Luc's discoveries. It is mainly in French (English subtitles are available) but there are also several passages in English with the speakers Christian Foth (who will study ''Ernest''), Attila Ősi (who will study the nodosaur), Peter Larson and David Martill. In the video the small theropod is long called by Luc the little t-rex (even though of course Luc knows very well that it is not the t-rex species). The study of the specimen will clarify whether it is a Tyrannosauroidea or an Allosauroidea. The video also addresses the issue of private collections and the impossibility of currently publishing all of these specimens. All these fossils are located at Luc's private museum in Salignac (Paléogalerie). All of them are available to researchers. Luc and his team, who want these fossils to remain in the region where they were found, and professional paleontologists are looking for a way to make all these specimens publishable.

Ps. the video contains a post-credits scene about the discovery in the same area of a giant pterosaur humerus (more than 60 cm in length), possibly the largest known pterosaur.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW8MRI3iNJE


''Ernest'' :




The nodosaur from Salignac :





Albian ichthyosaur from Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department:


Late Aptian ichtyosaur from Drôme department:


Sveltonectes sp. from late Aptian of Drôme department :

[CarnotaurusKing]

Surprised Martill hasn't hired a goon to smuggle the theropod to England. Then again, the fossil was found in Europe, not the global south. Martill wouldn't do that, he has standards

Glad these specimens are available for study (?), instead of just catching dust in a millionaire's living room. Can't wait to see what they end up being.

[CARN0TAURUS]

Somehow "amatuer paleontologist" doesn't seem an appropriate description for this man.  He knows how to recognize fossils he sees in the ground. He's also an expert at extracting them, preserving them, and even reconstructing them.  And he makes his living off of doing this type of work so it's ironic and a bit condescending to call him an amatuer.  One thing I took away from this video was how rare and difficult it is to find and prepare fossils of theropods.  I see the guys handling the jawbones of T-rex that are almost the same size as Luc Ebbo's entire theropod fossil!  It's no wonder that toy companies are so invested in T-rex.   

[Paleoclapas]

Somehow "amatuer paleontologist" doesn't seem an appropriate description for this man.  He knows how to recognize fossils he sees in the ground. He's also an expert at extracting them, preserving them, and even reconstructing them.  And he makes his living off of doing this type of work so it's ironic and a bit condescending to call him an amatuer.   

Yes, that's absolutely true! Luc's story is simply incredible. I really hope that him and the scientific community agree to find a way to publish all of its discoveries. Perhaps if his museum obtained the status of Museum Association. Luc would remain the owner of his fossils and his collections would be usable for science. Perhaps a bit like the Espéraza dinosaur museum in Aude (where the remains of the titanosaur Ampelosaurus are notably kept) which is an associative museum (the Dinosauria association), although run by professional paleontologists.