According to an announcement from Sotheby’s auction house, a complete fossilized skeleton of the Gorgosaurus dinosaur, standing 3 meters tall and nearly 7 meters long, will be auctioned in New York City on July 28.
Sotheby’s (USA) announced on July 5 that it will auction the complete fossilized skeleton of the Gorgosaurus dinosaur.
Complete fossilized skeleton of the Gorgosaurus dinosaur. (Source: AP)
This is the first time the Gorgosaurus dinosaur skeleton will be auctioned, and Sotheby’s estimates that the item will fetch between $5 million and $8 million.
The announcement from Sotheby’s states that this specimen, standing 3 meters tall and nearly 7 meters long, will be auctioned in New York City on July 28. According to Sotheby’s, this is one of the most valuable dinosaur skeletons ever to appear on the market.
The Gorgosaurus dinosaur existed on Earth approximately 77 million years ago. An average adult Gorgosaurus weighed around 2 tons, slightly smaller than its more famous relative, the Tyrannosaurus rex (T-Rex).
According to paleontologists, the Gorgosaurus was more aggressive and agile than the T-Rex, with a stronger bite force of about 42,000 newtons, compared to the T-Rex’s bite force of 35,000 newtons.
Bite force measurements can help paleontologists understand the ecosystem in which dinosaurs lived, as well as which predators were strong enough to eat certain prey and what predators often competed with each other. For comparison, humans have a bite force of only 300 newtons.
The aforementioned Gorgosaurus skeleton was excavated from the Judith River Formation, near Havre, Montana, in 2018.
The upcoming auction in New York will mark the first time Sotheby’s has auctioned a complete dinosaur skeleton since selling Sue the T-Rex in 1997 for $8.36 million.
Cassandra Hatton, the head of science and popular culture at Sotheby’s, stated: “All other specimens of the Gorgosaurus dinosaur found are stored in museums. This is the only specimen of this dinosaur species that you can buy and own, making it an exciting event for both collectors and private organizations.”
Unlike other countries, the United States does not restrict the sale or export of fossilized bones. This means that international customers can also participate in the auction for the Gorgosaurus skeleton.
