(Dampierre-en-Yvelines) “Vulcain” has taken up residence at the Château de Dampierre-en-Yvelines, southwest of Paris: the fossil of this apatosaurus will be exhibited to the public there from Saturday before being sold on November 16.
At over 20 metres long and made up of 75 to 80% of the original bones, the imposing specimen is the largest dinosaur ever put up for auction, with an estimated price of between 3 and 5 million euros (between 4.4 and 7.4 million dollars).
“The dinosaurs that have been sold previously were mostly large carnivores, like tyrannosaurs,” says Olivier Collin du Bocage, an auctioneer at the French auction house Drouot, who is partnering on the sale with Barbarossa, another Parisian company.
“Here we have the kindest and biggest of dinosaurs, the one who is the first icon of Jurassic Park and who gets a piece of his paw stolen by Milou in the adventures of Tintin ” he adds.
“It’s really something that resonates in the collective imagination,” enthuses the auctioneer.
PHOTO STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The herbivorous giant, which weighed around twenty tonnes when alive and probably reached the age of 45, will be presented in the orangery of the Yvelines estate, a place where several kings of France stayed in the 17th century.e and XVIIIe centuries: Louis XIII, Louis XIV and Louis XV.
From Wyoming to Luberon
The skeleton of “Vulcan” was discovered in 2018 in Wyoming, USA, where the law allows individuals to acquire concessions in the hope of excavating prehistoric bones.
The excavations took place between 2019 and 2021 and were funded by a French investor. The fossil, which includes 300 bones, was then shipped to France for processing.
This restoration work was carried out over two years by the company Paleomoove Laboratory in its workshop in the Luberon, in the south-east of France.
PHOTO STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
“We received large blocks of plastered rock, some weighing more than a ton,” describes Nicolas Tourment, founder and director of Paleomoove.
“We extracted the bones from the rock and consolidated them. Once we had all the elements of the skeleton, we took care of the metal structure to mount it and give it a slightly moving position,” he explains.
“Dinosaur Bit”
For paleontology specialist Eric Mickeler, who examined “Vulcan”, the sauropod, which is around 150 million years old, has considerable scientific value.
“What species is it?” asks Mr. Mickeler.
“It can’t be an Apatosaurus Ajax, it’s not a Ferox and it’s not a Louisiae either,” he says.
“It has characteristics of all three if you take them separately, but none of them are 100% complete. So it’s very new,” says the specialist.
PHOTO STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Another peculiarity: the skeleton has a protuberance at the base of the tail, probably the mark of a bite by a predator.
The sales contract stipulates that the future owner agrees to allow paleontologists access to the dinosaur to study it.
In order to identify potential buyers, Olivier Collin du Bocage plans to approach “donors, patrons, foundations and collectors in Dubai, China and elsewhere” over the coming months.
The auctioneer does not rule out the possibility that a French cultural institution may show its interest by requesting donations from individuals.
“It’s a huge means of communication to appeal for patronage and allow the public to buy a piece of dinosaur to put in a museum,” he suggests.