(New York) A complete skeleton of Gorgosaurus, a species of dinosaur cousin of the T-Rex and having lived more than 77 million years ago, will soon be auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York, amidst the enthusiasm of the buyers for this type of relics.
Posted at 2:42 p.m.
The specimen nearly 3 meters tall and 6.7 meters long, discovered in 2018 in the geological formation of Judith River, in the state of Montana, and still in private hands since, is estimated between 5 and 8 million of dollars (6.5 and 10.4 million $ CAD) by the auction house.
“Nearly all of the Gorgosaurus specimens that have been found are in museums. It is the only one that can be bought,” Cassandra Hatton, head of the science and popular culture department at Sotheby’s, told AFP on Tuesday, claiming a first for this species.
A member, like the T-Rex, of the Tyrannosauridae family, the Gorgosaurus (“ferocious lizard”) lived during the Late Cretaceous period and died out around 77 million years ago.
The copy, which Sotheby’s claims to be in “remarkable condition”, will be exhibited at the company’s premises in New York from July 21, then sold a week later.
Sales of dinosaur skeletons now regularly enliven auction evenings, even if it means frustrating paleontologists, who see it as one less chance of exhibiting them in museums.
In May, still in New York but at Christie’s, a skeleton of Deinonychus antirrhopus, which had inspired the Velociraptor of the film “Jurassic Park” by Steven Spielberg (1993), had been awarded for 12.4 million dollars (16.2 million $ CAD), fees included, to an Asian customer.
This price, more than double its estimate, made it the second most expensive auction for a dinosaur skeleton, far from the big star, a Tyrannosaurus Rex left in 2020 for 31.8 million dollars (41.5 million CAD).