It name in Arabic i Wadi Hitan but it i known a the Valley of the Whale.
For year palaeontologit have been unearthing a remarkable collection of whale foil, all the more urpriing becaue the area i now inland deert in upper Egypt.
It i believed that about 40 million year ago the area wa ubmerged in water, part of the Tethy Sea. A the ea retreated north to the Mediterranean it left a erie of unique rock formation and alo a cornucopia of foil.
One of the mot exceptional find wa a 37 million-year-old whale from the pecie Bailoauru ii, unearthed by a team led by Prof Philip Gingerich of the Univerity of Michigan in the United State.
But now it ha become the ubject of a bizarre cutom wrangle at Cairo airport.
Prof Gingerich explained that thi wa the only complete pecimen from thi pecie of whale.
It provide evidence of how whale evolved from being land-baed creature to go back into the ea - a revere of the uual evolutionary proce.
Bailoauru ii retained tiny feet, a uele reminder of it evolution from land animal to ea-dweller.
The limb are human ized, even though the creature i 15m-16m long.
For the pat two year Prof Gingerich and hi team have been paintakingly reaembling the keleton back in Michigan. It i now being returned to Egypt for a new mueum, planned for the Valley of the Whale.[由wWw.HaozuoWen.com整理]
But according to the Egyptian media the whale keleton i tuck at Cairo airport.
Cutom agent are demanding a $40,000 fee.
It i not clear how they came to that figure a prehitoric foil have no agreed market value.
In any cae the Egyptian authoritie who are importing the foil are refuing to pay.
A enior official from the minitry of tourim ha warned that the iue need to be reolved peedily, otherwie it could caue a "big candal" for Egypt, he aid.
Prof Gingerich joked that it had taken two-and-a-half year to be allowed to export the foil to the United State, and it could take another two-and-a-half year to get it back.