Treating rare dinosaur fossils as luxury collectibles leaves them “lost to science,” experts have warned
A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton sold for a record of over $50 million at a Sotheby’s auction to an anonymous buyer on Tuesday, prompting scientists to warn that treating rare dinosaur fossils as luxury collectibles is harming research and public education.
The 67-million-year-old specimen is one of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever discovered, according to Sotheby’s. Unearthed in South Dakota, it comprises 183 fossil bones, representing about 61% of the original skeleton. The auction house highlighted its exceptionally well-preserved skull and evidence of healed combat injuries.
After a 10-minute bidding war involving seven bidders, the skeleton sold for a record $50.1 million to an anonymous telephone bidder, far exceeding Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate of $20-$30 million.
Scientists have warned that record-breaking auctions are increasingly putting scientifically valuable specimens beyond the reach of researchers.
“The current trend towards dinosaur fossils being marketed and sold like rare artworks at vast prices by auction houses is very concerning,” Richard Butler, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Birmingham, told The Guardian. While fossils have long been bought and sold, prices are now “increasingly out of the reach of museums,” he added.
Mathew Wedel, an associate professor of anatomy at Western University of Health Sciences in California, told the Financial Times that the trade has created “this kind of fraught situation where some of the best specimens are being lost to science.”
In a statement to AP, the US-based Society of Vertebrate Paleontology also urged the buyer to “immediately” donate the fossil to a museum.
Before Tuesday’s auction, the record was held by Apex, a nearly complete stegosaurus that sold for $44.6 million at Sotheby’s in 2024. The buyer was later revealed to be billionaire Ken Griffin, who subsequently loaned the specimen to the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
The previous record-holder, Stan, a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, fetched $31.8 million at a Christie’s auction in 2020. After its anonymous purchase, it was acquired by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism for display at the emirate’s Natural History Museum.
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Unlike the US, where fossils found on private land can generally be bought and sold, countries including Brazil, China, Mongolia, and Argentina treat important fossils as state property or national heritage, restricting their commercial trade.
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