DINOSAUR SKELETON SOLD FOR $47 MILLION

NEW YORK, OCTOBER 27 /SRNA/ – The skeleton of a small dinosaur resembling a T. rex has been sold at auction in New York for $47.3 million to an undisclosed buyer, auction house Sotheby’s announced.

The auction house had expected the fossil to sell for between $6 and $9 million.

The record price for the skeleton, named “Jodi”, makes it the second-most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold.

This summer, a T. rex fossil known as “Gus” sold for a record $50.1 million, also at Sotheby’s, the Associated Press reported.

The new owner of “Jodi” has so far chosen to remain anonymous after outbidding five other prospective buyers who participated online and by telephone.

The auction lasted approximately 12 minutes, according to Sotheby’s statement.

The small dinosaur, a Nanotyrannus, was approximately half the size of an adult T. rex. The two creatures coexisted during the Cretaceous Period, around 67 million years ago.

Compared with its famous relative, Nanotyrannus had proportionally longer forelimbs and larger claws, as well as thinner, blade-like teeth.

“Jodi” is one of only three such skeletons known to exist. It stands 2.9 metres tall and measures nearly six metres in length. Approximately 70 percent of its skeleton is believed to be complete.

The dinosaur was named after Jodi Pearson, a Montana rancher who discovered it on her property in 2019.