Rare $6.1M Dinosaur Skeleton Sale Angers Scientists To The Bone

Last month, a rare full skeleton of a Gorgosaurus dinosaur, dating back 77 million years to the late Cretaceous period, went under the hammer at Sotheby’s, expected to fetch between US$6 million and US$8 million. 

The auction house has since announced that the precious artifact has sold for US$6.1 million, though not everyone seems too happy about the sale, especially paleontologists, who have dedicated their lives to studying these fossils. 

According to the BBC, there are only 20 such known remains in the world, and the Sotheby’s lot—measuring 10 feet tall and 22 feet long—is the only specimen to have been offered up for private ownership. 

Calling the skeleton a part of “our collective heritage,” David Polly, a professor at Indiana University, told the publication he felt such groundbreaking discoveries should be placed in a public trust, and made available to scientists and the public.

Thomas Carr, a Carthage College researcher who specializes in tyrannosauroids, told the New York Times he was “disgusted, distressed, and disappointed” that the fossil has fallen into private hands, saying the loss would have “far-reaching damage” for science. 

As per Robb Report, this isn’t the first time scientists have expressed their dismay at such auctions, with similar backlash occurring when Christie’s sold Stan the T-Rex for a record-breaking US$31.8 million in 2020. 

[via Robb Report and BBC, cover image via Sotheby’s]