Sotheby’s sold the fossil to an anonymous American bidder, shattering Stan’s previous auction record of $31.8 million for a Tyrannosaurus rex.
The largest stegosaurus skeleton ever discovered has sold at auction in New York for a record-breaking $44.6 million.
nickname vertexThe 150-million-year-old skeleton, measuring 11 feet (3.3 meters) tall and 27 feet (8.2 meters) long, was sold on Wednesday to an anonymous American buyer, Sotheby’s said.
The astonishing price far exceeded the auction house’s preliminary estimate of $4 million to $6 million and broke the previous auction record of $31.8 million set in 2020 by a Tyrannosaurus rex called Stan.
The sale of dinosaur fossils is controversial among scientists who believe specimens should remain in museums and research centers that cannot afford the high prices they command at auction.
Sotheby’s said the buyer, who beat six other bidders, would consider leasing Apex to a U.S. institution.
“Apex has roamed the Earth for some 150 million years and has made its mark on history,” said Cassandra Hatton, head of Sotheby’s scientific practice.
She called Apex a “coloring book dinosaur” because its features are so well preserved. Stegosaurus, with its distinctive pointed plates on its back, is one of the most distinctive dinosaurs in the world.
Apex was discovered in May 2022 on paleontologist Jason Cooper’s private property near the town of Dinosaur, Colorado.
Sotheby’s worked closely with Cooper to document the entire process of discovery, excavation, restoration, preparation and installation.
In 2022, Christie’s auction house had to withdraw a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton just days before its auction in Hong Kong due to doubts about its authenticity.
The name Apex was chosen to emphasize the importance of this discovery, which is among the stegosaurs in the family Stegosauridae, as it is 79-85% fossilized – 50% is generally considered a significant find.
According to Sotheby’s, Apex lived long enough to show signs of arthritis.
Stegosaurus skeletons are on display around the world, but Sotheby’s says Apex is 30 percent larger than the most complete stegosaurus ever on public display, Sophie, which is housed at London’s Natural History Museum.
Wednesday’s auction fits into a growing trend of buying and selling dinosaur fossils.
