NEW DELHI: A 150 million-year-old well preserved nearly complete Stegosaurus fossil, known as “Apex,” was sold at a Sotheby’s auction on Wednesday for an astonishing $44.6 million, surpassing the pre-sale estimate of $4 million to $6 million.
The anonymous American buyer outbid six other contenders and plans to explore the possibility of loaning the specimen to a US institution.The sale also broke the previous auction record for dinosaur fossils, which was set in 2020 when a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton named Stan sold for $31.8 million.
Cassandra Hatton, head of Sotheby’s science-related business, emphasised the significance of Apex’s sale, stating, “Apex ‘has now taken its place in history, some 150 million years since it roamed the planet.'”
However, selling such fossils has drawn criticism from academic palaeontologists who believe these specimens should be housed in museums or research centers that may not have the financial means to compete with high auction prices.
Stegosaurus, known for its distinctive plates along its back, was one of the most recognisable dinosaurs. Apex, standing at 11 feet (3.3 meters) tall and measuring 27 feet (8.2 meters) from nose to tail, was a large stegosaurus that exhibited signs of arthritis, indicating its advanced age.
The fossil was discovered in 2022 by commercial palaeontologist Jason Cooper on his property near the aptly named Dinosaur, Colorado, which is close to Dinosaur National Monument and the Utah border.
The anonymous American buyer outbid six other contenders and plans to explore the possibility of loaning the specimen to a US institution.The sale also broke the previous auction record for dinosaur fossils, which was set in 2020 when a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton named Stan sold for $31.8 million.
Cassandra Hatton, head of Sotheby’s science-related business, emphasised the significance of Apex’s sale, stating, “Apex ‘has now taken its place in history, some 150 million years since it roamed the planet.'”
However, selling such fossils has drawn criticism from academic palaeontologists who believe these specimens should be housed in museums or research centers that may not have the financial means to compete with high auction prices.
Stegosaurus, known for its distinctive plates along its back, was one of the most recognisable dinosaurs. Apex, standing at 11 feet (3.3 meters) tall and measuring 27 feet (8.2 meters) from nose to tail, was a large stegosaurus that exhibited signs of arthritis, indicating its advanced age.
The fossil was discovered in 2022 by commercial palaeontologist Jason Cooper on his property near the aptly named Dinosaur, Colorado, which is close to Dinosaur National Monument and the Utah border.