Dino-mite auction of old, nasty predator
It’s millions of years old — and could be yours for a few million bucks.
A preserved skeleton of a carnivorous dinosaur that roamed the earth 76 million years ago is being auctioned in New York this month.
It roamed the Earth in Montana, where the skeleton was discovered in 2018, according to Sotheby’s, which is managing its sale.
The skeleton of the gorgosaurus was discovered in the Judith River Formation near Havre. It measures nearly 10 feet tall and 22 feet long.
The dinosaur was at the top of the food chain.
The skeleton is expected to fetch between $5 million and $8 million at auction when it goes on sale July 28.
“In my career, I have had the privilege of handling and selling many exceptional and unique objects, but few have the capacity to inspire wonder and capture imaginations quite like this unbelievable gorgosaurus skeleton,” Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s global head of science and popular culture, told The Associated Press.
The fearsome carnivore reigned during the Late Cretaceous period. It was native to what is now western North America.
All known such skeletons, both from the U.S. and Canada, are housed in institutional collections, making this the only specimen of its kind available for private ownership, a Sotheby’s spokesman said.
The gorgosaurus predates the tyrannosaurus rex by 10 million years, and was slightly smaller.
A typical adult male could weigh up to 2 tons, and its large size was accompanied by an acute sense of smell and hawk-like eyesight.
Paleontologists speculate that the gorgosaurus was faster and fiercer than its cousin the T. rex, and believe it had a stronger bite.