A complete stegosaurus skeleton goes up for sale at Sotheby's

A complete stegosaurus for the first time at auction. It will happen July 17 at Sotheby’s during Geek Week, a week of sales devoted to science and popular culture. “Apex,” as the giant dinosaur (3.35 meters tall by 6 meters long) has been dubbed, is the best stregosaur ever to come to market. It is a “virtually complete and incredibly well-preserved” fossil, as the auction house says, which is why the estimate is high: between $4 million and $6 million, making it one of the most valuable dinosaur fossils ever offered.

The July 17 auction marks a significant moment, as it is the first time an auction house has worked to bring a dinosaur specimen to market since the day it was found. Sotheby’s has worked closely with the owner to document the entire process, from discovery and excavation to restoration, and then preparation and mounting, ensuring that the documentation and sale of the specimen is handled with the highest standards and transparency.

Apex was discovered in May 2022 in the Morrison Formation, located in Moffat County, Colorado, near a town that is curiously, ironically, named Dinosaur. The excavation was completed in October 2023. The specimen shows no signs of combat or predation wounds. However, evidence of arthritis indicates that it lived to an advanced age. The name “Apex” was chosen to emphasize its importance within the Stegosaurus family. A comparable fossil, “Sophie,” is now preserved in the collection of the National History Museum in London. Apex is 30 percent larger than Sophie and boasts an impressive femur length of 114 centimeters.

Stegosaurus is the best-known member of the armored dinosaurs (Thyreophores), characterized by the distinctive shape and arrangement of dermal armor on its back, extending from neck to tail. Fossils of this intriguing group of dinosaurs have been found in Jurassic-Cretaceous localities throughout Eurasia, North America, and Africa. In the Morrison Formation, Stegosaurus species are classified into two genera, Stegosaurus and Hesperosaurus. They differ mainly in the shape of their dorsal plates: the plates of Stegosaurus are taller and more pointed, while the plates of Hesperosaurus are wider and more rounded. Both genera share a series of four spikes at the end of the tail. Taxonomic distinctions between these two genera and their species remain an ongoing topic of debate.

Prior to the July 17 sale, Apex will be on display at Sotheby’s galleries in New York, along with highlights from other sales scheduled during Geek Week, ranging from natural history to space exploration. The exhibition will be free and open to the public.

“Apex,” says the auction house, “not only represents a significant achievement for paleontology, but also continues Sotheby’s tradition of pioneering natural history auctions. After unveiling the inaugural Gorgosaurus skeleton in July 2021 and securing the historic sale of the first stand-alone skull of Tyrannosaurus rex with Maximus in December 2022, Apex marks the latest significant addition to this series. This follows Sotheby’s groundbreaking 1997 sale of Sue the T. rex, the first dinosaur ever to be sold at auction.”

As part of the effort to raise awareness about transparency and the documentation process, the buyer will receive a copy of the dinosaur’s scan data, along with a full license to use any 3D data in any way he or she chooses, including scans. and molding. In this way, the sale of Apex will allow primary information about the dinosaur to remain in the specimen and promote collaboration in future research and education.

A complete stegosaurus skeleton goes up for sale at Sotheby's

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.