www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

A local gift shop (in Torquay) has got a number of fossil fish on sale for prices ranging from £12 up to £250, they all seem to be marked as "Green River, Wyoming, USA". A check on ebay reveals many more from the same location. Question is whether it is right that such items should be on sale as "trinkets" rather than being in museums somewhere .. Thoughts please?

The Green River formation is an extensive, fossil-rich area. To quote the omniscient Wikipedia (and correcting its punctuation), 'Millions of fish fossils have been collected from the area. Commercial collectors operating from legal quarries on state and private land have been responsible for the majority of Green River vertebrate fossils in public and private collections all over the world'.

If one of those fossils finds its way into the hands of a little boy or girl who treasures it, wonders at the incredible story of life on earth and grows up inspired to preserve what is left of it, then that death millions of years ago will not have been in vain. These days, the chances are a photo of it will appear on the internet and more people will see the fossil than if it were in a museum...

Guy

Can I express my ignorance and ask why these fossil fish shouldnt be on sale?

I love fossils, one of my favourite pieces of jewellery is an ammonite on a chain that I once gave my mum for mother's day. The thought of all the history behind it is stunning.

On market day in Abergavenny, there's a bloke who sells all kinds of minerals and fossils. I guess if you find it then you keep it (and then sell it if you wish).