BERN, Switzerland — Nearly 300 Tyrannosaurus rex bones excavated from three different locations in the United States and combined into a single skeleton were auctioned off in Switzerland on Tuesday for 4.8 million Swiss francs ($5.3 million), which was less than the estimated price.
The T. rex skeleton, which was crafted into an open-mouth position and measured 11.6 meters long (38 feet long) and 3.9 meters height (12.8 feet), sold for less than the expected range of 5 million to 8 million francs when it went under the hammer at the Koller auction house in Zurich.
Koller stated that Tuesday’s auction would be the first time such a T. rex skeleton would be auctioned in Europe. The 293-bone composite skeleton was the centerpiece of a 70-lot auction, and the skull was displayed adjacent to the auctioneer’s podium throughout.
“It could be that it was a composite — that’s why the purists didn’t go for it,” Karl Green, the auction house’s marketing director, explained over the phone. “It’s a reasonable price for the dinosaur.” I’m hoping it’ll be displayed in public somewhere.”
Green did not reveal the buyer’s identity but stated he was a “European private collector.” Koller estimated the sale cost 5.5 million Swiss francs (approximately $6.1 million) when the “buyer’s premium” and costs were factored in.
T. rex skeleton was crafted into an open-mouth position.
According to the promoters, the composite T. rex, “Trinity,” was created using specimens recovered from three sites in Montana and Wyoming’s Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations between 2008 and 2013.
According to Koller, “original bone material” comprised more than half of the rebuilt skeleton. The auction house stated that the skull was extremely uncommon and incredibly well-preserved.
“When dinosaurs died during the Jurassic or Cretaceous periods, their heads were frequently lost during deposition (of the remains into rocks).” Most dinosaurs have been discovered without their skulls,” according to Nils Knoetschke, a scientific adviser quoted in the auction catalog. “However, here we have authentic Tyrannosaurus skull bones from the same specimen.”
Between 65 and 67 million years ago, T. rex roamed the Earth. Research published in the journal Science two years ago suggested that approximately 2.5 billion dinosaurs ever existed. Hollywood blockbusters like the “Jurassic Park” saga have increased public intrigue with the predatory beast.
According to Koller, the two regions where Trinity’s bones came from were also the source of other T. rex skeletons that were auctioned off: “Sue” was purchased for $8.4 million over a quarter-century ago by Chicago’s Field Mu seum of Natural History, and “Stan” sold for over $32 million three years ago.
A triceratops skeleton known as “Big John,” which Guinness World Records deemed the world’s largest, was auctioned off for 6.6 million euros ($7.2 million) to a private collector in Paris two years ago.
SOURCE – (AP)
