A Gorgosaurus dinosaur skeleton is being auctioned for the first time and is expected to fetch between $5 million and $8 million, Sotheby’s said Tuesday.
The auction house will put the 10-foot-tall, 22-foot-long specimen under the hammer on July 28 in New York.
Sotheby’s described the skeleton as “one of the most valuable dinosaurs ever to come onto the market”.
Gorgosaurus roamed the earth about 77 million years ago.
A typical adult weighed about two tons, slightly smaller than its better-known relative, the Tyrannosaurus rex.
Paleontologists say it was more fierce and faster than the T-Rex, with a more powerful bite of around 42,000 Newtons compared to 35,000.
The skeleton was discovered in 2018 in the Judith River Formation near Havre, Montana.
The sale marks the first time Sotheby’s has auctioned off a complete dinosaur skeleton since Sue sold the T-Rex for $8.36 million in 1997.
“All the other specimens of Gorgosaurus that have been found are in museums,” Cassandra Hatton, director of science and popular culture at Sotheby’s, told AFP.
“This is the only one you can actually buy, so it’s an exciting moment for both private collectors and institutions,” she added.
Unlike other countries, the United States does not restrict the sale or export of fossils, meaning the skeleton could end up abroad.
#Gorgosaurus #fetched #million #auction #York
