US takes control of dinosaur skeleton

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government has seized a dinosaur skeleton in New York City that it says was unjustly taken from Mongolia.

The crates holding the Tyrannosaurus bataar fossil were held at a Queens storage facility. The seizure was carried out Friday A Florida man, Eric Prokopi (proh-KAHP'-ee), says he legitimately obtained the specimen he refers to as "Ty."

Prokopi says he put it together at great expense before it was sold at auction for more than $1 million.

The sale is contingent on the outcome of litigation. The government sued earlier this week to seize the dinosaur for a return to Mongolia.

The head paleontologist with New York's American Museum of Natural History, Mark Norell, said Friday that the fossil should be returned quickly to Mongolia.

---
GET THE LATEST NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS FROM ABCNEWS.COM ---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

Get more U.S. & World News »

u.s. & world news

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•