Nanotyrannus skeleton goes to auction in New York with £4.5m price tag
Summary
A mounted Nanotyrannus skeleton nicknamed “Jodi” is set to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York, with a minimum price of $6 million and an expected sale price of up to $9 million. The sale comes amid debate over whether privately owned fossils may become less accessible to researchers and the public.Key Facts
- “Jodi” is about 10 feet (3 metres) tall and includes roughly 191 fossil-bone elements.
- Researchers confirmed last year that Nanotyrannus is a genus distinct from Tyrannosaurus rex.
- The skeleton was found on Jodi Pierson’s land in Montana and excavated by commercial palaeontologist Clayton Phipps.
- Sotheby’s says the specimen is one of only three Nanotyrannus skeletons known to science.
- Nanotyrannus and Tyrannosaurus rex lived during the same period, about 67 million years ago.
- The fossil was first exhibited as a juvenile T. rex at a London art fair in 2023.
- Some palaeontologists warn that private sales could limit public access and scientific study of fossils.
- Sotheby’s previously sold a T. rex skeleton called “Gus” for $50.1 million in July.
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