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Stegosaurus Worth $45M Becomes the Most Expensive Dinosaur Fossil Ever Sold at Auction

By Sarah Currier on July 23, 2024

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The first Stegosaurus fossil to be presented at auction was just sold for a record-breaking $44.6 million. For more than 15 minutes, prospective buyers at Sotheby's in New York increased their bids to nearly 11 times the fossil's estimated value of $6 million. In the end, the Stegosaurus sold for the highest price of any dinosaur skeleton in history, beating the record of $31.8 million set by Stan the Tyrannosaurus Rex in 2020.

The skeleton was found near the town of Dinosaur in Moffat County, Colorado, in 2022. As the town name may suggest, the area is highly prized by paleontologists, due to the abundance of Jurassic era fossils found there. This particular skeleton was discovered when paleontologist Jason Cooper went on a birthday hike on his property and noticed part of a massive femur protruding from a nearby rock. The fossil was unearthed by Cooper and his team a year later, and the man worked closely with Sotheby's during the dinosaur's restoration and mounting process.

The Stegosaurus, named Apex by Cooper, is 11 feet tall and nearly 27 feet long from head to tail, making it the best-preserved fossil of its kind to ever be found. It is 70% intact, consists of 319 skeletal pieces, and is approximately a third larger than Sophie, the famous Stegosaurus displayed at the Natural History Museum in London.

Even though Apex now resides in a private collection, there is a possibility that the public could still get a chance to see the skeleton. The buyer, Citadel founder Ken Griffin, is currently exploring options to loan the dinosaur to American museums. In the coming years, Apex may have another the chance to wander North America just like he did when he was alive.