A number of rare animal skeletons, including a slow loris and a hippopotamus skull, have been stolen from a museum on a university campus in Sydney.
The heist took place between 11am Wednesday and 9:30am Thursday last week, with the bones stolen from the Haswell Museum at the University of Sydney in Camperdown, New South Wales Police told BuzzFeed News.
Four "rare and valuable" animal skeletons were taken: a full hippopotamus skull, a Hawksbill sea turtle skeleton, a slow loris skeleton, and a dog skeleton.
Three more animal skeletons were recovered from outside the museum. Police believe they were left behind by the thieves after the break-in.
Police released photographs of the stolen skeletons on Friday.
Detective Acting Inspector Mark George said the skeletons were "original specimens" dating back to 1880 that were collected by a natural history dealer and taxidermist from Prague.
"We hope the community can provide us with some fresh information that helps us recover the skeletons, and return them to the museum which is involved in the teaching of undergraduate students," George said.
The Haswell Museum was established in 1890 and contains approximately 7,000 animal specimens according to the university website.
A University of Sydney spokesperson told BuzzFeed News the university was cooperating with the police investigation and said the skeletons were from the teaching rather than museum collection.
Other items left behind after the break-in along with the three remaining skeletons are being forensically examined by specialist police.