This is false what is said in the video where remains of an Argentinean dinosaur are associated with CFK

WhatsApp is circulating a video claiming that the remains of an Argentine dinosaur discovered in 2010 and exhibited at the Field Museum in Chicago, United States, are original and that their name, "Máximo", is linked to that of the son of the Former President of the Nation, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. In the video, you hear someone who asks "how did this dinosaur come here, with the name of Máximo, in 2010" and adds: "Maybe they were doing a well to save money. money and found this dinosaur? ".

However, what is said in the video is false: what is in the American museum is a replica of "Patagotitan", a kind of sauropod dinosaur (commonly called "long neck"); the remains are in Trelew, in the province of Chubut, Argentina. In addition, the name of the species has no connection with Máximo Kirchner, but was chosen by the inhabitants of Chicago by a vote.

In WhatsApp, the video even reached other countries (the museum itself told Reverso that it had received inquiries from London, England) and it was also posted on Twitter, where they published clarifications close to reality. The video also came several times on Reverso's WhatsApp number (+54 9 11 3182-3655) to check.

The story of "Patagotitan"

The remains of the "long neck" were discovered by a rural worker in 2010, during a regular visit to Estancia La Flecha, about 200 km from Trelew. He spotted a rock that had caught his attention and reported it to the estancia owners, Alba and Oscar Mayo, who, during their next trip in the city, informed the Palaeontological Museum Egidio Feruglio ( MEF).

Three years later, a team of the museum unearthed the fossil and it turned out that it was the largest femur discovered to date, with a height of 2.40 meters. Parallel to this fossil, we found nearly 130 bones belonging to a species of dinosaur called titanosaurus, which were sauropod dinosaurs, quadrupeds, neck and tail extremely long, herbivores.

The remains dated to a little over 100 million years ago. Reverso contacted Florencia Gigena, communication and marketing manager of the MEF, who explained that "an interdisciplinary team was needed to work on the site." The remains of fossils were transferred to the museum's laboratories and submitted to treatment processes. " cleaning, restoration and 3D digital scanning. "

"The final scans were computer-processed and CNC-printed, high-impact polyurethane machining," he said, adding that "this exact copy of the titanosaur was used for study purposes. , shoot and base for making a second copy (N de R .: the one that can be seen at the Field Museum) ".

The whole system of copying, structural design, forging and molds is manufactured at the MEF, a museum which has a factory in Trelew armed for this purpose and which usually offers reproduction services, mills, scientific sculptures and scenographies for other museums in Argentina. and the world.

The original remains of Patagotitan, it should be specified, are found at the MEF in Trelew, divided between his collection and the deposit.

The MEF is a research center and a unit badociated with the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (Conicet). It includes a scientific team of 27, researchers and fellows, an official collection, a collection manager and four curators.

Why in Chicago

Gigena explained that "the second copy (the first was used for study by the MEF) went to Chicago to be installed by a team of technicians from both museums (MEF Trelew, Argentina and Field Museum of Chicago, USA), after 2 years of design and work in this joint project that aimed to show the scientific advances of Argentina and South America in this popular museum of natural sciences " .

The installation of this copy of Patagotitan was part of a project to enlarge, restore and modernize the field museum's paleontology area.

The copy that is there and that appears in the WhatsApp video was made at the request of the American Museum in 2017 and installed in Chicago in May 2018, as announced by the MEF on its website, after a 3 month trip in 2 shipping containers and 4 means of transportation, from Trelew to Chicago.

Since its inauguration, May 25, 2018, more than 2 million people have visited this replica of the land, according to information from the museum.

Real size replica

On the northern access to the town of Trelew, headquarters of the museum Egidio Feruglio, a replica of the Patagotitan is inaugurated, inaugurated in February 2017. It weighs 15 tons, measures 40 meters long and 12 meters high and reproduces the actual size of the specimen.

The badembly was done after arriving from Germany, by sea, from seven containers with all parts badembled by technicians from that country and scientists belonging to the Egidio Feruglio Foundation based in Trelew.

The work was done with the financial contribution of the municipality in order to exploit the discovery and the idea of ​​turning it into an icon of the city. In fact, this is part of almost all the brochures currently produced. In this case, it is not a replica of fossils, as in Chicago, but of a total reconstruction of the specimen.

Its scientific name is not "Maximum"

The dinosaur was named "Patagotitan mayorum" in 2017, when it published its official scientific article. The name means "Titan of Patagonia" and the name of its species is a tribute to the Mayo family. The scientific name has taken 3 years to become official because the proposed names must be submitted to the badysis of natural science authorities around the world. In this case, here is the explanation in the scientific journal The Royal Society.

"The Field Museum, very popular in Chicago and the rest of the United States, has launched a contest to nominate the newest member of the paleontology region.The most voted name was" Máximo. "This name was chosen because it is allegory of its size, the largest known, and is of Latin origin, in homage to the country of origin and the high percentage of the Latin population of this city, "said Gigena, who traveled with museum team Egidio Feruglio to climb the Patagotane.

The MEF did not participate in the creation of the contest or the votes of names, as they confirmed to Reverso MEF.

You can not sell

Several laws limit the circulation of cultural and scientific heritage in Argentina and, in addition, the sale of original fossils is illegal (here).

In this sense, Gigena explained: "The Patagotitan fossils do not leave the country.If it is necessary to remove fossils from the province or country for research or dissemination purposes, they must have the authorization of provincial and national governments and customs authorities. "

In fact, every procedure in the fossil deposits or scientific surveys of the MEF must be previously authorized by the Ministry of Culture of the province of Chubut, as indicated by the provincial law.

By Carlos Hughes

Edition: Laura Zommer and Cecilia Becaría

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