An Almost 80-million-year-old Dinosaur Skeleton Just Sold at Auction — Here's How Much It Went For
Courtesy of Sotheby's
There's a new owner of an 80-something million-year-old, dinosaur skeleton.
The first ever auction for a 10-foot-tall, 22-foot-long Gorgosaurus closed on Thursday at $6.1 million, according to a statement Sotheby's shared with Travel + Leisure. The skeleton had been predicted to sell for $5 to 8 million, making it one of the most valuable to ever appear on the market.
According to Sotheby's, Gorgosaurus has never before been at auction, and this specific one is quite special. It was excavated in 2018 in the Judith River Formation in Montana and is renowned for being "remarkably pristine".
"I have had the privilege of handling and selling many exceptional and unique objects, but few have the capacity to inspire wonder and capture imaginations quite like this unbelievable Gorgosaurus skeleton," Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's global head of science and popular culture provided in a statement to T+L.
What also makes the new dinosaur owners special is they will have the rare privilege to name the skeleton, unlike most other fossils, this dinosaur came to auction without a name.
Courtesy of Sotheby's
Paleontologists believe that the Gorgosaurus reigned over Western North America during the Late Cretaceous period, about 77 million years ago. Its name means "fierce" or "terrifying" lizard and the animal was an apex carnivore, believed to have been the best hunter of its time.
A typical Gorgosaurus adult male would have weighed up to two tons. It prowled around the land using its serrated teeth, an acute sense of smell, and remarkable eyesight to hunt its prey.
The dinosaur is a close relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex, although it is older and much more terrifying. The Gorgosaurus would have reigned about 10 million years earlier than the T. rex, and although it was slightly smaller in size, paleontologists believe that it was faster and had a stronger bite.
The last time Sotheby's auctioned away a dinosaur skeleton was in 1997 when Sue the T. rex went to the auction block and sold for $8.3 million at the time, according to The New York Times.
Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or at caileyrizzo.com.
