The fossilized skeleton of a 76-million-year-old ferocious dinosaur has sold for more than $6 million in one of the most expensive buys for the prehistoric creatures.
The Gorgosaurus, which means “fierce lizard,” stood nearly 10 feet tall, was 22 feet long and could weigh up to 2 tons. The carnivorous creature with dozens of curved, serrated teeth roamed the present-day Western United States and Canada in the late Cretaceous period, about 10 million years before its well-known relative, the Tyrannosaurus rex, appeared.
The skeleton was found in the Judith River Formation near Havre, Montana, in 2018, an “exceptional” discovery because of how rare it was to find fossils of the creature, New York City-based auction house Sotheby’s said.
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When Sotheby’s announced the fossil would be put up for auction on July 5, its estimated selling price was at least $5 million, given it was the first time a Gorgosaurus skeleton was on sale. On Thursday, the piece sold for just over $6 million. The buyer was not publicly revealed, but will have the opportunity to name the skeleton.
“In my career, I have had the privilege of handling and selling many exceptional and unique objects, but few have the capacity to inspire wonder and capture imaginations quite like this unbelievable Gorgosaurus skeleton,” Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s global head of science and popular culture, said.
The price for the Gorgosaurus isn’t the most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold: In 2020, the skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus rex “Stan” was sold for a record $31.8 million, earning it a Guinness World Record.
Contributing: Camille Fine
Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.
