A rare, nearly complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex fetched a whopping $31.8 million at a Christie’s auction, shattering previous records.
Christie’s listed the guide price for the skeleton at between $6 million and $8 million, although bidding ended Tuesday with the 67-million-year-old fossil selling for $31,847,500, several times its low estimate.
The auction house did not reveal who the buyer was. James Hyslop, head of Christie’s Science and Natural History Department, described the skeleton, nicknamed Stan after the man who found it, “one of the best specimens discovered.” The skeleton itself is 40 feet long and towers over 13 feet tall.
The record-breaking T. rex went for 4 times that of the previous one, a skeleton named Sue that sold for $8.4 million in 1997, according to the New York Post. Sue is featured at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History.
Hyslop said the Tuesday auction was “a once-in-a-generation chance” to purchase such a rare fossil.
“There simply aren’t T. rexes like this coming to market. It’s an incredibly rare event when a great one is found,” Hyslop said prior to the sale, comparing it to the other valuable works of art that were being auctioned off at Christie’s.
Stan, which has 188 bones, was discovered in 1987 in South Dakota by paleontologist Stan Sacrison and was later excavated. University of Manchester scientist Phil Manning told the BBC that while the buyer is anonymous, he hopes Stan will be able to be seen by others after the sale.
“I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that this remarkable fossil stays in the public domain for all to enjoy,” Manning said.
Stan, the world’s most complete tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, just sold to an anonymous bidder for a record $31.8M at auction. The deal has dismayed some paleontologists who worry the private sale of dinosaur fossils will make certain remains off limits for future research ? pic.twitter.com/VyNhpm63TG
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) October 7, 2020
