Does handling dinosaur bones make one Tamei?

Question

This story about a pipeline digger cracking through a fossilized dinosaur tail made me wonder: Does handling dinosaur bones make one Tamei?

Lizards are considered Sheratzim, but by and large Sheratzim are "creepy crawling things", so maybe only smaller dinosaurs, especially small, four-legged dinosaurs fit the description. Some claim that dinosaurs were part of an earlier creation that was later destroyed; if so, would small, Sheretz-like dinosaurs even count?

This would seem to depend on whether or not fossils are still bones al pi halacha. — yoel, Oct 03 '13 at 17:02
@yoel, apropos your comment: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/16769/5 — Seth J, Oct 03 '13 at 17:13
*I don't know how anyone could know what species are sheratzim — Double AA, Oct 03 '13 at 17:36
My theory is dinosaurs WERE the serpent before the curse cut its limbs off. Snakes do not count as one of the eight sheratzim therefore they would not give tumah ab Initio. — Israel B., Jun 26 '23 at 17:31

score 5 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 03 '13 at 17:33

5

once an animal carcass has dried it is no longer tamei. see mishna 1 in keilim (bartenura)

answered Oct 03 '13 at 17:33

ray

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Does handling dinosaur bones make one Tamei?

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