The museum has been criticized for unethical and possibly illegal appropriation of fossils. The fossil that has been informally named "
Ubirajara jubatus", an unusual dinosaur from the Cretaceous period with structures that might be early feathers, was found in 1990 in Brazil by a team of paleontologists. It was exported from the country 1995 with a permit for unspecified fossil specimens (making it impossible to directly link it to the "Ubirajara" fossil) from Brazilian authorities. However, Brazilian law does not allow permanent exports of fossils, only loans. As a consequence, the paper describing the fossil was temporarily removed. The fossil was returned to Brazil in 2023. Other Brazilian fossils in the museum, notably
Unwindia and
Susisuchus, faced similar ethical concerns. == See also ==