One of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons, known as Gus, could be sold at a Sotheby's auction for over $30 million, potentially making it one of the most expensive dinosaur fossils in history. This was reported by the BBC, writes UNN.
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Gus's skeleton was found in the Badlands region of South Dakota. Its excavation took three years, and specialists spent the same amount of time documenting and reconstructing the find. According to Sotheby's, the specimen is one of the most valuable due to its high degree of preservation – 61% of the bones were identified.
The sale of the fossil has once again intensified the debate among paleontologists. Scientists fear that such unique finds are increasingly ending up in private collections instead of museums, complicating their further study.
Scientists urge preserving finds for science
Nothing can replace a real fossil. If we are going to conduct any research, the main thing is to understand the anatomy. We need to know what is real
At the same time, Sotheby's emphasizes that the high price reflects years of difficult and dangerous work by fossil hunters.
The people who search for these fossils spend months in the field... They are saving dinosaurs from a second extinction
According to the BBC, the current price record among dinosaurs sold at auction belongs to the stegosaurus Apex, which was purchased in 2024 for $44.6 million. Gus has already been valued at $30 million, but the final price could be significantly higher.