Briefly:
The fossilized remains of a Stegosaurus dinosaur were sold for $45 million on July 17 to a private buyer.
This price set a new record after a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton sold for $31.8 million in 2020.
What then?
The anonymous buyer is considering loaning the skeleton, nicknamed “Apex,” to an American museum or institution for public display.
A nearly complete skeleton of a Stegosaurus dinosaur nicknamed “Apex” sold for $45 million at auction in the United States.
Sotheby’s auction house announced the sale of the painting on Wednesday after its price rose significantly above its pre-sale estimate of $6 million to $9 million.
The fossilised remains of a dinosaur, believed to be among the most complete ever found, have been sold to a private buyer.
The sale smashed the previous auction record of $31.8 million ($47.7 million) for a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, nicknamed Stan, in 2020.
“Apex has now taken its place in history, some 150 million years since it roamed the planet,” said Cassandra Hutton, who heads Sotheby’s science-related business.
Dinosaur fossil sales cause some frustration among academic paleontologists who feel that specimens belong in museums or research centers that cannot afford the huge auction prices.
Sotheby’s said the anonymous buyer is an American who intends to consider loaning the Apex to a U.S. institution.
The buyer beat six other bidders.
Stegosaurus was one of the world’s most distinctive dinosaurs, with pointed, triangular plates on its back and a serrated tail, and lived during the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago.
Standing 3.3 metres tall and measuring 8.2 metres from nose to tail, the Ibex lived long enough to show signs of arthritis, Sotheby’s said.
Commercial paleontologist Jason Cooper discovered the fossil in 2022 on his property near Dinosaur Town, Colorado, which is probably no surprise.
The small community is located near Dinosaur National Monument and the border with Utah.
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