Dr. Laura Wilson is breathing a sigh of relief tonight, although it may be temporary relief.

She found out late this afternoon that seven fossils collected by Charles Sternberg in the 1920s are no longer for sale by the San Diego Natural History Museum (SDNHM).

Wilson is the Chief Curator and Curator of Paleontology of Fort Hays State University’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays.

The seven large vertebrate fossils collected and sold to the San Diego Museum by Sternberg are among the 12 fossils listed for sale in the Bonhams public auction scheduled for tomorrow, November 19.  Amid an outcry from paleontologists and other museums, SDNHM has pulled the fossils from the auction.

Charles H. Sternberg was part of the well-known fossil hunting family that included George, the former director of Sternberg Museum. The Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays is named for the family.

Read Wilson’s blog post “Discovery Under the Dome” about the controversy.