A Dinosaur Fossil that Looks Like a Mini T. Rex Just Sold to a Mystery Buyer for a Giant $47 Million
The rare specimen is one of only three known Nanotyrannus skeletons and sold after a 12-minute bidding battle, Sotheby’s said.
- On Tuesday, a 67-million-year-old Nanotyrannus skeleton named Jodi sold at Sotheby's New York for $47.3 million, surpassing the auction house's $9 million high estimate by more than five times.
- Discovered in 2019 by Montana rancher Jodi Pierson in the Hell Creek Formation, the skeleton was formerly known as Chomper before recent research confirmed it as a distinct genus rather than a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex.
- Stretching nearly 20 feet and considered almost 70% complete, the rare specimen is one of only three known Nanotyrannus skeletons, making it the second-priciest dinosaur fossil ever sold behind the $50.1 million record set by Gus.
- A mystery buyer purchased the fossil after outbidding five others during a roughly 12-minute live auction, an outcome Sotheby's head of science and natural history Cassandra Hatton said reflects commitment to preserving remarkable specimens.
- Paleontologists worry that scientifically important fossils are increasingly disappearing into private collections, though auction houses argue private investment funds essential excavation work, with critics maintaining such specimens should remain accessible to researchers and the public.
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Nanotyran Jodi cost the buyer $47.3 million at Sotheby's auction. Scientists warn that this rare skeleton may not be available for research.
The skeleton of a rare dinosaur that looks like a miniature tyrannosaur was sold at the Sotheby's auction in New York for $47.3 million, reported at the auction house.
T. Rex's cousin is the last dinosaur fossil to reach a high price at an auction, this time at Sotheby's.
A rare skeleton of a nanotyrannus, a smaller relative of the tyrannosaurus rex, was sold at an auction at Sotheby's in New York for $47.3 million, after six bidders bid for twelve minutes, CNN reported tonight.
A skeleton of Nanotyrannus, a newly discovered dinosaur, has been sold at auction for nearly $50 million, reports the BBC.
A dinosaur fossil that looks like a mini T. rex just sold to a mystery buyer for a giant $47 million
The rare skeleton of a Nanotyrannus, a distant cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex, sold for $47.3 million to a mystery buyer at auction in New York City on Tuesday.
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