Recipient Susannah Maidment, The Natural History Museum
Date 01 October, 2023
Amount £19,580
Summary Export of scientifically significant fossils from Morocco is illegal, yet the international fossil trade in dinosaurs thrives there. Climate change is causing subsistence farmers to turn to the sale of fossils to survive. A lack of vertebrate palaeontologists in Morocco means that it is not possible to assess ‘scientific significance’. We have discovered dinosaur fossils in Middle Jurassic rocks in the Middle Atlas Mountains. These rocks are extremely rich in fossils and have the potential to be the world’s most important Middle Jurassic land ecosystem. However, commercial collectors are already collecting and selling fossils from the site. We will excavate fossils and train Moroccan early career researchers in their study and conservation. The fossils will be reposited in the Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah Museum. Our work will build a body of evidence that can be presented to government stakeholders to develop a protected status for the area.