The nearly complete fossilized remains of a Stegosaurus sold at auction on Wednesday for $44.6 million, Sotheby’s said. The buyer’s name was not disclosed.
The fossil, known as “Apex,” is considered one of the most complete fossils ever found, according to the auction house.
The auction price exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $4 million to $6 million and also broke the previous dinosaur fossil auction record – the remains of a Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed Stan sold in 2020 for $31.8 million.
Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s head of science, said Apex “is approximately 150 million years old since it roamed the Earth.”
The sale of dinosaur fossils has stirred some frustration among academic paleontologists, who believe the specimens belong in museums or research centers and cannot afford the high auction prices.
Sotheby’s said the anonymous buyer is an American and is considering loaning the Apex to an institution in the United States.
Stegosaurus is one of the most unique dinosaurs in the world, with its spiky plates on its back. Hatton calls Apex a “coloring book dinosaur” because of its well-preserved features.
Apex, 11 feet (3.3 meters) tall and 27 feet (8.2 meters) from head to tail, was a large stegosaurus that lived long enough to show signs of arthritis, Sotheby’s said.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, in 2022, a commercial paleontologist named Jason Cooper discovered the fossil on his property near Dinosaur, Colorado. This small community is located near Dinosaur National Monument and the Utah border.
