Eight years ago, the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar was the star artifact in a natural history-themed luxury auction in Manhattan. It sold for $276,000 to an anonymous buyer.

八年前，一具勇士特暴龙(Tyrannosaurus bataar)的骨架成了曼哈顿一场自然历史主题豪华拍卖会上的明星拍品。一位匿名买家以27.6万美元将其买下。

As it turns out, the skull had been stolen from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, and the buyer was Nicolas Cage, an actor who among his dozens of films has starred in a movie franchise about the hunt for rare treasures.

后来，有人发现这具骨架是从蒙古的戈壁沙漠偷来的，而这位买家则是尼古拉斯·凯奇(Nicolas Cage)，他曾经主演过几十部影片，还曾经在一部系列大片中饰演寻宝者。

A publicist for Mr. Cage confirmed that he bought the skull from the Beverly Hills gallery I.M. Chait in 2007, according to Reuters. The Department of Homeland Security contacted Mr. Cage about the skull last year, and the actor agreed to turn it over.

据路透社报道，凯奇的公关人员确认，他是2007年在比弗利山庄的I.M. Chait画廊买下这具骨架的。去年国土安全部曾就这具骨架与凯奇接洽，凯奇答应归还。

Since 2012, the office of Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan, has worked to return artifacts taken from Mongolia. Many stolen remains have been traced to a Florida man named Eric Prokopi, who in 2012 was arrested and charged with smuggling illegal goods and possessing stolen property. Last year, Mr. Prokopi was sentenced to three months in prison.

自2012年开始，曼哈顿地区联邦检察官普利特·巴拉拉(Preet Bharara)的办公室开始致力于归还来自蒙古的珍贵物品。很多被窃物品都与一个名叫埃里克·普罗科皮(Eric Prokopi)的佛罗里达男子有关，他与2012年遭到逮捕，以非法走私货物和持有赃物被起诉。去年，普罗科皮被判入狱三个月。

The Tyrannosaurus bataar skull Mr. Cage bought from I.M. Chait was also from a seller in Florida.

凯奇从I.M.Chait购得的这具勇士特暴龙骨架也是来自一个佛罗里达卖家。

“Cultural artifacts such as this Bataar Skull represent a part of Mongolian national cultural heritage,” Glenn Sorge, a special agent with Mr. Bharara’s office, said in a statement. “It belongs to the people of Mongolia. These priceless antiquities are not souvenirs to be sold to private collectors or hobbyists.”

“暴龙骨架这类文化物品是蒙古国家文化遗产的一部分，” 巴拉拉办公室的特别探员格伦·索格(Glenn Sorge)在一份声明中说。“它属于蒙古人民。这些无价之宝不应被贩卖给私人藏家和业余爱好者。”

Several skeletons of the Tyrannosaurus bataar, a large, carnivorous dinosaur that was a close relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, have been returned to Mongolia in recent years. Mr. Prokopi has assisted prosecutors in recovering at least 17 other fossils, Reuters reported.

勇士特暴龙是一种大型食肉恐龙，是霸王龙的近亲。近年来，已经有若干具勇士特暴龙的骨架被归还给蒙古。据路透社报道，普罗科皮协助检方归还了至少17具化石。

The private sales of such artifacts have worried paleontologists because it makes it harder for the scientific community to learn more about how the dinosaurs once lived.

古生物学家为这种物品的私下售卖感到忧虑，因为这使得科学界研究恐龙生活的工作变得更加困难。

“We’re losing science, we’re losing education, we’re losing valuable specimens,” Kevin Padian, a paleontologist at University of California, Berkeley, told The Times after the sale of the skull in 2007.

“我们损失了科学，我们损失了教育，我们损失了极有价值的标本，”加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校的古生物学家凯文·帕迪安(Kevin Padian)在接受《纽约时报》采访时，这样评价2007年的那次头骨交易。

Mr. Cage is known as an avid collector, with interests that include real estate, rare cars and comic books: In 2011, he sold a like-new copy of Action Comics No. 1, which featured the first appearance of Superman, for $2.1 million.

凯奇是出了名的狂热收藏家，他的兴趣包括不动产、珍稀轿车和漫画书。2011年，他以210万美元出售了一本接近全新的《动作漫画》(Action Comics)第一期，其中有超人的第一次亮相。