Meet Jorn Hurum, The Man Who Found The Missing Link Or Ida, The 47 Million Year Old Fossil

Earlier today we reported that a team of scientists have uncovered a 47 million-year-old fossil which was nicknamed Ida. The scientists believe that this might be the missing link between humans and apes as the creature had opposable thumbs and fingernails. The 47 million-year-old fossil was a lemur-like animal, and the scientists named her Darwinius masillae as it’s a proof in favor of the Evolution of Theory compiled by Charles Darwin. Please note that the scientists didn’t declare that the missing link has been found, it’s only a theory, and it requires further scientific research.

Ida would have never been found if it weren’t for Jorn Hurum, a scientist at the University of Oslo who bought the 47 million-year old primate fossil from a team of amateur fossil hunters. Hurum had a passion for fossils since he was a child as said by David Bruton, his former school teacher. During his school time, Hurum went on a journey and collected a lot of fossils, and then he showed his “assets” to Professor David Bruton. Hurum had a lot of questions about the fossils as he wanted to know everything about them. He was just 10 years old.

Jorn Hurum was very excited by all fossils, and whenever he found something knew, he went to Bruton to ask what they were. Bruton became Hurum’s mentor, and under his guidance he studied undergraduate, and postgraduate at the University of Oslo. Jorn’s mentor says that our paleontologist is very enthusiastic and that he has a loud laugh just like a big bear.

Hurum is a regular face at the Norwegian TV and radio shows where he speaks about paleontology and evolution. A few months ago he revealed another fossil of a huge dinosaur that lived underwater whom he named Predator X. On the other hand, Ida is the name of his 6 year-old daughter, and he decided to nickname the 47 million-year-old fossil because at the time the lemur-like primate died it had about the same age as Jorn’s daughter.

In order to be able to study Ida, Jorn Hurum had to convince the University of Oslo to pay $1 million for the fossil. In the end the Norwegian university bought it, and the results were extraordinary. According to Hurum, the fossil was rejected by two “prestigious” German museums because the $1m price tag was beyond their reach.

Even if the University of Oslo bought the fossil, Hurum wanted to eliminate all the suspicions regarding the trade therefore he decided to bring the best German scientists and experts in Messel fossils. Hurum just wanted to do his job in the best way possible, and he didn’t want people to think that this small museum at the University of Oslo had stolen the fossil. However, he decided to keep everything a secret in order to perform his duty therefore Hurum and his team worked in secret for about two years.

Another controversy regarding Hurum’s work is related to the way his team decided to publish the research. Everybody wonders why Hurum didn’t publish Ida’s description in Science or Nature magazines, but the answer is simple. Jorn remains humble and says that he is paid by Norwegian tax payers, and not by Science or Nature who charge other people to read scientific research. Hurum says that everybody has the right to know everything about the 47 million-year-old therefore he publish the research in PLoS ONE, a free online journal.

Well, we are waiting for more information about Darwinius masillae or Ida which is our great-great-great-great-aunt. Maybe this 47 million-year-old fossil will tell us more about our past.