Stegosaurus skeleton nicknamed Apex sells for record $44.6 million | News

Sotheby’s has sold a fossil to an anonymous American bidder, breaking the previous auction record of $31.8 million for Tyrannosaurus rex Stan.

The largest Stegosaurus skeleton ever discovered has sold for a record $44.6 million at an auction in New York.

Dubbed Apex, the 150-million-year-old skeleton – measuring 3.3 metres high and 8.2 metres long – was sold on Wednesday to an anonymous American buyer, Sotheby’s said.

The staggering price far exceeded the auction house’s pre-estimate of $4 million to $6 million, breaking a previous auction record of $31.8 million set by the tyrannosaurus rex, named Stan, in 2020.

Dinosaur fossil sales are controversial among scientists who believe the specimens should be kept in museums or research centers that cannot afford to sell them at exorbitant prices.

Sotheby’s said the buyer, who beat six other bidders, intended to consider loaning Apex to an institution in the United States.

Apex “has now taken its place in history, some 150 million years after it roamed the planet,” said Cassandra Hatton, who heads Sotheby’s scientific business.

She called Apex a “coloring book dinosaur” because of its well-preserved features. The Stegosaurus was one of the most distinctive dinosaurs in the world, with its spiked plates on its back.

Apex was discovered in May 2022 on paleontologist Jason Cooper’s private land near the town of Dinosaur, Colorado.

Sotheby’s worked closely with Cooper to document the entire process of discovery, excavation, restoration, preparation and assembly.

In 2022, Christie’s auction house had to withdraw a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton a few days before the auction in Hong Kong, due to doubts about its authenticity.

The name Apex was chosen to highlight the significance of the find – between 79 and 85 percent of the fossils – within the stegosaur family. Fifty percent of a fossil is generally considered a significant find.

Apex lived long enough to show signs of arthritis, Sotheby’s said.

Stegosaurus skeletons are on display around the world, but Sotheby’s said Apex is 30 percent larger than Sophie, the most complete stegosaurus on public display to date, which is housed at the Natural History Museum in London.

Wednesday’s auction is part of a growing trend for the sale of dinosaur remains.