Unveiled Mystery: 150-Million-Year-Old Ceratosaurus Skeleton Fetches Jaw-Dropping $30.5 Million at Auction
In total, the bidding lasted just six minutes. As of now, Sotheby’s has not revealed who the Ceratosaurus skeleton was sold to.
The Auction At Sotheby’s Sold The Third-Most-Expensive Fossil
Matthew Sherman/Sotheby’sThe Ceratosaurus skeleton is about six feet tall and 11 feet long.
The Ceratosaurus skeleton sold for millions more than its original estimated value. Before the auction, Sotheby’s had estimated the fossil would go for between $4 million and $6 million. It sold for $30.5 million.
It’s the third-most-expensive fossil to have ever been sold at auction. Sotheby’s also sold the biggest record breaker, the largest Stegosaurus fossil named Apex, for $44.6 million to billionaire Kenneth Griffin last year. Meanwhile, a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton named Stan holds second place, which sold at Christie’s for $31.8 million in 2020.
The Ceratosaurus skeleton was reportedly not studied at its former institution. According to The New York Times, this fact, combined with the high selling point, may be bad news in the eyes of some paleontologists.
The president of the Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences, Andre LuJan, told The New York Times he is concerned about the possible financial challenges that commercial paleontology operators might encounter. It could now be more expensive for digs to take place on private lands.
“Are museums going to look at these fossils from private lands as a potential cash cow?” LuJan asked. “This was something that was accepted by everyone as hallowed ground, and now it’s been desecrated.”
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