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Anyone want this old mushroom?

Star specimen of 100-million-year-old fungus in amber up for sale.

If you know someone with a fondness for fungi, here's the perfect present: the oldest mushroom ever discovered, encased in amber, and on sale for a mere US$100,000.

Read the story here.

Posted by Nicola Jones on October 1, 2007 06:30 PM |

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Personally I think it's outrageous to sell anything that belongs basically either in a museum or in a research collection to benefit society and not the bank account of any individual.
It’s exactly the same as selling archaeological artifacts. That happens all around the world simply because there are people who are willing to pay the price.
When any artifact is deemed important for science, determined by experts of the field, the ownership should not automatically fall to the finder but to society as a whole. That way important artifacts can be restored, stored and studied with the care that they deserve. It also makes sure that the artifact is available for future research, when new techniques make new discoveries possible.
So in this case I would like to see companies like eBay to ban auctions of artifacts of questionable origin or of high importance for science.

Posted by: Marco Otte | October 8, 2007 08:12 PM

Personally I think it's outrageous to sell anything that belongs basically either in a museum or in a research collection to benefit society and not the bank account of any individual. for good ideas.

Posted by: diyet | May 7, 2008 11:49 AM

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