A dinosaur skull looted from sands of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and sold at auction in the United States will be returned to the country of its origin, the US attorney in New York announced yesterday.

The so-called ‘Bataar Skull’, which came from a Tyrannosaurus bataar dinosaur, passed through US customs in 2006 as ‘fossil stone pieces’ and was sold at auction in 2007 for US$230,000.

Remnants of the particular dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous period 65 million years ago have only been found in the Nemegt Basin in Mongolia, which considers all fossils government property.

The announcement marks the latest repatriation of dinosaur bones by the US attorney's office in New York. Since 2012, it has returned three full Tyrannosaurus bataar skeletons to Mongolia, along with a slew of bones from a variety of other prehistoric reptiles and birds.

“We are gratified to add the skull of another Tyrannosaurus bataar to the roster of fossils returned to Mongolia,” US Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. “Each of these fossils represents a culturally and scientifically important artifact looted from its rightful owner.”

The California-based owner of the skull, apprised of its origin, agreed to make no bones about the forfeiture.

- dpa