A Nanotyrannus skeleton was sold at auction for 47 million dollars
This is considered the second most expensive fossil in history.
Nanotyrannus skeleton sold for $47 million at auction
At a Sotheby’s auction in New York, a rare skeleton of a Nanotyrannus, a smaller relative of the Tyrannosaurus, was sold for $47.3 million.
This makes it the second most expensive fossil in history.
This specimen was named Jodee. Its value was initially estimated at around $6–9 million. The reason for such a dramatic price increase at the auction was the skeleton's condition: it is one of only three relatively complete Nanotyrannus skeletons known to scientists today.
Jodee stands approximately 2 meters tall and measures 6 meters in length. The fossil was discovered in 2019 by a Montana farmer named Jodee Pearson.
For a long time, the Nanotyrannus was not recognized as a separate species, but was mistakenly considered a juvenile Tyrannosaurus. Their remains were first discovered as early as the 1940s. Only recently did researchers conclude that it is indeed a distinct species.
The price of the sold Nanotyrannus is just three million dollars short of the record amount paid for a dinosaur skeleton at auction. In July of this year, a Tyrannosaurus skeleton nicknamed Apex was sold at auction for $50.1 million. It was one of the largest Tyrannosaurs ever found.
The identity of the person who purchased the fossil is unknown. The skeleton passed to the buyer along with all rights, meaning the purchaser can sell replicas of it to museums and collectors.