(Ediacaran) Fossils in the White
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Carnets de Géologie / Notebooks on Geology – Book 2009/03 (CG2009_B03), Chapter 9 Paleo-piracy endangers Vendian (Ediacaran) fossils in the White Sea - Arkhangelsk region of Russia [Les prélèvements sauvages, une menace pour les fossiles vendiens (édiacariens) de la région de la Mer Blanche - Arkhangelsk en Russie] 1, 2 Mikhail A. FEDONKIN 1 Andrey Yu. IVANTSOV 1 Maxim V. LEONOV 3 Jere H. LIPPS 4 Ekaterina A. SEREZHNIKOVA 2 Eugeniy I. MALYUTIN 5 Yuriy V. KHAN Citation: FEDONKIN M.A., IVANTSOV A.Yu., LENOV M.V., LIPPS J.H., SEREZHNIKOVA E.A., MALYUTIN E.I. & KHAN Y.V. (2009).- Paleo-piracy endangers Vendian (Ediacaran) fossils in the White Sea - Arkhangelsk region of Russia.- In: LIPPS J.H. & GRANIER B.R.C. (eds.), PaleoParks - The protection and conservation of fossil sites worldwide.- Carnets de Géologie / Notebooks on Geology, Brest, Book 2009/03, Chapter 09 (CG2009_BOOK_03/09) Abstract: The world-famous Vendian (Ediacaran) fossil biota in the White Sea - Arkhangelsk region of Russia contains some of the most exquisite fossils of the earliest macrobiota (560-545 million years old) on Earth. Over 600m of continuously fossiliferous strata consisting of fine sand, silt and mud crop out at many localities along the White Sea. The fossils have been under study for decades in Moscow and that work continues. These fossils represent unusual taxa of early metazoans, algae, microbial mats, and strange sedimentary impressions that represent a very early stage of development of animals on Earth. These unique fossils have been well publicized through exhibitions, newspaper articles, scientific research papers and various web sites. As a result and in spite of their remote location, they are endangered by unauthorized fossil collectors. These paleo-pirates violate local and national laws, destroy fossils and fossil sites, and leave debris and garbage in the area. Some scientific papers are, surprisingly, based on illegally-collected fossils. Other illegal fossils have been offered for sale by commercial fossil dealers, chiefly at meetings or through web purchases. Paleo-piracy of the Vendian biota must be stopped. The collection of fossils has been illegal since February 2000 by the authority of the Administration of the Arkhangelsk Region and the Northern Committee of Natural Resources of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources. Presently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Federal Security Service are prepared to protect the Vendian localities by arresting pirates. Recommendations to control paleo-piracy in the White Sea region include finalizing the establishment of World Heritage Site status, educating the local people in the values of the fossils and the need for their protection, establishment of a procedure for licensing for the collection of some fossils, and the notification to sellers of Vendian material by Russian authorities that the fossils were obtained illegally and hence are the property of Russia. Key Words: Vendian; Ediacaran; paleo-piracy; paleontological resources; destruction; selling fossils. Résumé : Les prélèvements sauvages, une menace pour les fossiles vendiens (édiacariens) de la région de la Mer Blanche - Arkhangelsk en Russie.- Les sites vendiens de la Mer Blanche - 1 Paleontological Institute RAS, Moscow (Russia) 2 [email protected] 3 Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (USA) 4 Paleontological Institute RAS, Moscow (Russia) 5 Department of Natural Resources, Administration of Arkhangelsk Region (Russia) Manuscript online since September 17, 2009 103 Carnets de Géologie / Notebooks on Geology – Book 2009/03 (CG2009_B03), Chapter 9 Arkhangelsk (Russie) sont mondialement connus. Ils recèlent quelques uns des plus beaux exemplaires connus de macrofossiles primitifs des temps édiacariens (560 - 545 Ma). La série fossilifère est formée de grès fins, de pélites et d’argiles. Elle s'étend sur un une épaisseur de près de 600 m. Elle affleure en diverses localités réparties le long des côtes de la Mer Blanche et depuis des dizaines d'années, des laboratoires moscovites se sont attachés à son étude. On y rencontre des taxons rares de métazoaires primitifs, des algues, des tapis microbiens et des empreintes énigmatiques qui représentent un état très primitif du développement de la vie terrestre. Ces fossiles exceptionnels ont été popularisés lors d'expositions, par la publication d'articles scientifiques et le montage de sites internet. Un des effets de cette publicité est, que malgré leur difficulté d'accès, les gisements sont l'objet de prélèvements non autorisés. Ces paléopirates, violent les lois locales et internationales, détruisent et souillent les gîtes de leurs déchets. D'une façon surprenante on constate que certains articles scientifiques sont basés sur ces récoltes clandestines qui alimentent également des circuits commerciaux directs ou par le biais d'Internet. Il importe d'arrêter ces pillages. Un arrêté pris en 2000 par le Northern Committee of Natural Resources qui dépend du Ministère des Ressources Naturelles, rend ces actions illégales. Actuellement, le Ministère de l'Intérieur et les services fédéraux de sécurité, prévoient d'aller jusqu'à l'arrestation des contrevenants. Les dispositions pour réduire ces prélèvement sauvages comprennent en plus : 1) l'inscription des sites au titre du patrimoine mondial, 2) l'information des populations locales sur la valeur des fossiles et la nécessité de les protéger, 3) la mise sur pied de procédures d'autorisation de prélèvement et enfin, 4) une information à destination des vendeurs de matériel récolté hors du cadre légal, leur signifiant que celui-ci demeure propriété de la Russie. Mots-Clefs : Vendien ; Édiacaren ; prélèvements sauvages ; ressources paléontologiques ; destruc- tion ; commerce des fossiles. 1. Introduction The most extensive localities containing the remains of Ediacaran metazoans are found in The Ediacaran biota of the Vendian strata in South Australia, Namibia, Canada, and the White Sea-Arkhangelsk region of Russia European Russia. However, the best are those contains representatives of algae, microbial in the White Sea-Arkhangelsk Region, Russia, mats and the first animals (Figs. 1-6) that date for many reasons. The rock sequence is known between 560 and 545 million years ago as the Vendian (= Ediacaran) in this region. The (FEDONKIN, 1992). The animals are among the fine-grained structure and high proportion of oldest known species in the world (FEDONKIN, clay of these rocks preserve the finest details in 2001), and the localities come from are some of the fossils (Fig. 7). Most fossils are preserved the finest in the world because of their as impressions and casts. The rock is so soft preservation in fine-grained sedimentary rocks that the fossils can easily be collected and (Fig. 7) and because they occur throughout a prepared, or even taken apart manually, sequence that represents one of the longest in enabling the study of the internal structure of the world. These localities were only discovered these ancient fossils. A high diversity of the in the 1970s (FEDONKIN, 1978), and are still fossils, the presence of species known from under intensive study. However they are in localities in Australia, Namibia, Canada, danger of being destroyed by illegal collectors England, Northern Yakutia, and species found (IVANTSOV, 2001). These collectors violate local only in the Arkhangelsk region facilitates and national laws, destroy fossils and fossil paleontological, biostratigraphic, and other sites, and leave debris and garbage near the studies impossible to perform based on fossils sites. Herein we report on these illegal activities from other places in the world (FEDONKIN, 1992; and propose some solutions to the practice. IVANTSOV & FEDONKIN, 2001; IVANTSOV & MALA- KHOVSKAYA, 2002; IVANTSOV et alii, 2005). 2. The Vendian biota The distribution of fossils throughout the The first wide expansion of metazoans in the entire thickness of the Upper Vendian rocks history of the Earth occurred in the Ediacaran (this thickness reaches ±1 km in the (Vendian) (650-542 Ma). In the Late Ediacaran, Arkhangelsk region) and the latest isotope diverse organisms occupied the seas of all dating allow the study of trends and rates of continents (none are yet known from Antarc- evolution of organisms in the Late Vendian and tica) from the tropics to the boreal regions and may allow biostratigraphic subdivision of these from deep to shallow or even intertidal waters. beds. These topics are priority tasks for science However, these were peculiar organisms (Figs. both in Russia and abroad. In Arkhangelsk 1-6) that differed considerably not only from region, Late Vendian rocks are exposed at the modern animals, but also from those of the surface, generally in coastal cliffs (Fig. 8) or Cambrian that immediately followed the rivers valleys (Fig. 9), over an area about 350 Ediacaran. To some extent their study can be km long and 250 km wide bordered to the north compared to a study of extinct life of some and west by the southeast coast of the White other planet. Only through studying fossil Sea, on the south by the middle reaches of the remains can we understand how this life was Onega River, and on the east by the mouth of organized, which factors determined its global the Pinega River (GALIMZYANOV & MALYUTIN, expansion and evolution, and what caused its 2000). The Upper Vendian beds are mainly disappearance (if that has occurred). represented here by green silt, shale, and sandstone, all weakly lithified (Fig. 10).