A 150-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Skeleton Just Sold For Over $6 Million Dollars At An Auction In France
At an auction in France, a 150-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton has just been sold for over $6 million. It is the largest dinosaur skeleton ever to go up on the auction block.
The new owner has promised that the dinosaur remains will be put on public display and be available to scientists who want to study it.
The nearly complete skeleton has been nicknamed “Vulcan.” It is made up of exactly 300 bones, and roughly 80 percent of them are authentic.
It weighs more than 22 tons and measures about 70 feet long, making it twice the length of a school bus.
It belonged to the genus Apatosaurus, a plant-eating giant that was similar to the Brontosaurus. During the late Jurassic period, which took place 201 million to 145 million years ago, it roamed across what is now North America.
Between 2018 and 2021, the fossils were unearthed by private collectors at a site in Wyoming. The remains were auctioned off at Dampierre-en-Yvelines, a chateau located approximately 30 miles southwest of Paris.
An anonymous bidder won the auction, paying $6.4 million, or six million euros, to obtain the skeleton.
According to the auction house Barbarossa, Vulcan is the biggest dinosaur in the world to be sold at auction. It is unclear which fossil was the previous record holder.
Vulcan likely holds the number six spot on the list of most expensive dinosaur fossils ever sold. It is slightly less expensive than the world’s largest Triceratops, “Big John,” which sold in 2021 for $7.7 million.
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But it is also a bit more pricey than a Tyrannosaurus rex skull named Maximus and an unnamed Gorgosaurus fossil, both of which sold for around $6.1 million.
The most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold was “Apex,” a nearly complete Stegosaurus that was purchased at auction in July for $44.6 million by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin.
The sale price far exceeded the original guide price estimate of $4 million to $6 million. Griffin plans to loan the specimen to an institution in the United States and wants to share it with the public.
Before Apex, the world’s most expensive dinosaur was “Stan,” a 67-million-year-old male T.rex that sold in 2020 for $31.8 million.
It was purchased by the government of Abu Dhabi and moved to a new natural history museum there.
Dinosaur fossils are more than just giant old bones. They are time capsules that offer a glimpse into prehistoric times on Earth.
These ancient relics have helped unlock the secrets of evolution and helped scientists better understand the impacts of climate change on our planet.
So, it is important that these specimens be preserved in order to further paleontological research. The latest auction has made Vulcan accessible to scientists and institutions. Such a high-profile sale has also sparked public interest in the rich history of dinosaurs.
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