The first skeleton of a Gorgosaurus dinosaur to go under the hammer was auctioned in New York on Thursday for $6.1 million, Sotheby’s said.
The specimen is 10 feet tall (3 meters) and 22 feet long and should fetch between $5 million and $8 million.
“The result places the Gorgosaurus among the most valuable dinosaurs ever sold at auction and sets a new benchmark for a Gorgosaurus skeleton,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.
The 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 marked the first time Sotheby’s had auctioned off a complete dinosaur skeleton since Sue sold the T-Rex for $8.36 million in 1997.
“Today’s Gorgosaurus was auctioned without a name, giving the buyer an exclusive opportunity to name the dinosaur,” Sotheby’s said.
Sotheby’s did not provide information about the buyer.
Unlike other countries, the United States does not restrict the sale or export of fossils, meaning the skeleton could end up abroad.
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