A dinosaur skeleton once mistaken for a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex has sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $47.3 million, or about £35.5 million. Known as Jody, the nearly 10-foot-tall (3-meter-tall) specimen was identified as belonging to the separate genus Nanotyrannus after researchers confirmed its classification last year.
The Late Cretaceous carnivore had been expected to sell for at least $9 million. The auction took place a year after US researchers confirmed the existence of the Nanotyrannus genus and followed Sotheby’s sale of a Tyrannosaurus rex named Gus for a record $50.1 million in July.
A rare Nanotyrannus skeleton
Sotheby’s described Jody as an “excellent display-ready” skeleton containing approximately 191 fossilized bone elements. It also has a “beautifully preserved virtually complete skull.”
The auction house said Nanotyrannus is “one of only three such skeletons known to science.” Jody was reportedly the first specimen of the genus to be offered for sale since researchers confirmed its existence in October last year.
The buyer, who won after 12 minutes of bidding among six interested parties, has not been identified.
The sale makes Jody the second-most valuable dinosaur fossil ever sold, behind Gus. The third-most valuable is Apex, a stegosaurus sold by Sotheby’s in July 2024 for $44.6 million.
Megan Jacobs, a palaeontologist at the University of Portsmouth, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday that Nanotyrannus had “for a very long time [been] thought to be something like a teenage Tyrannosaurus.”
“But it’s much smaller and much more lithe. So it’s very smooth and slender in a way. They have blade-like teeth for cutting meat,” Jacobs said.
Tyrannosaurus rex and Nanotyrannus lived alongside each other during the same geological period, about 67 million years ago.
From juvenile T. rex to Nanotyrannus
Jody was originally displayed as a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex at the Frieze Masters International Art Fair in London in October 2023. It was later classified as a member of the genus Nanotyrannus.
Rancher Jody Pearson discovered the skeleton on her land in Montana’s geologically well-studied Hell Creek Formation. Commercial palaeontologist Clayton Phipps later excavated it.
Phipps also discovered the fossils known as the “dueling dinosaurs.” Found in 2006 about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from Jody, the specimen appears to represent a Nanotyrannus and a Triceratops preserved in combat.
The discovery of the “Duel of the Dinosaurs” was pivotal to research by Lindsay Zanno and James Napoli, whose paper classified Nanotyrannus as separate from Tyrannosaurus. The research brought decades of debate over the animals’ identities to an end.
Debate over private fossil sales
Jody’s auction has renewed debate over whether important dinosaur remains should be sold privately or displayed in public institutions. Some scientists have warned that auctions could usher in a new era of fossil collecting by ultra-wealthy buyers.
Researchers told the BBC after the sale that the remains should be displayed in a public place, where they could be studied more freely.
Professor Steve Brusatte, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh and a consultant on the Jurassic Park film, previously described the sale of the Tyrannosaurus Gus as a “concern” in an interview with the BBC World Service’s What in the World programme in July.
“I don’t know of any museum or university that can command that kind of price,” he said. “Imagine if the Mona Lisa was owned only by the super-rich, not on display, and not available for people to see or enjoy.”
Brusatte said he hoped such sales would not become a trend, warning that they could negatively affect scientific research and public education.
Commenting on Tuesday’s auction, he said it was “tragic” that Jody could disappear from public view.
“We just learned that Nanotyrannus is real, and now one of the best skeletons is about to be sold to the highest bidder. It’s heartbreaking to think that it could end up in a collector’s vault rather than being displayed in a museum where it can surprise and inspire children, families and the public,” he told the BBC.
Jacobs told the Today programme that there were two sides to the debate, noting that considerable time, effort and money had gone into excavating the specimens.
“I don’t begrudge anyone involved in wanting to sell it for such a high price,” she said. “It’s a frightening prospect, but the reality is that many of them will be exposed to the public eye… These things will no doubt end up in museums someday.”
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
