The largest and most complete Stegosaurus fossil ever found was sold for $44.6 million at Sotheby's in New York. UNN writes about this with reference to The Guardian.
Details
The remains of the sold dinosaur went under the hammer for a record amount and became the most valuable of those sold at the auction. The lot exceeded its previous low estimate by more than 11 times.
The remains of the dinosaur, nicknamed Apex, were found on private land in Moffat County, Colorado, near Dinosaur City, by commercial paleontologist Jason Cooper on his property in 2022.
"Apex ranks among the most complete skeletons ever found, with 254 fossilized bone elements out of an estimated total of 319. It was preserved in hard sandstone, which protected the bones from deformation. "Apex is 3.4 meters tall and measures 8.2 meters long from nose to tail. It is a third longer than Sophie, the previous best-preserved specimen of a stegosaurus on display at the Natural History Museum in London.
The remains were sold to an anonymous buyer who intends to explore the possibility of transferring the specimen to an American institution. After the sale, the buyer remarked: "Apex was born in America and will stay in America!"
Recall
Scientists suggestthat the dominance of dinosaurs may have led to the loss of longevity genes in mammals. This evolutionary shift prioritized rapid reproduction over longevity.