A 77-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton is expected to reach up to $ 8 million ($ 12 million) when it goes up for auction in the United States this month.
The complete fossilized skeleton of a Gorgosaurus, which was more than three meters high and six meters long, will go on sale by Sotheby’s in New York on July 28th.
This carnivore of the tyrannosaurid family lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous period and was found in 2018 in Montana.
It is the only example of the species available to private collectors, with the rest of the specimens housed in museums and other institutions.
The Gorgosaurus was a close relative of the well-known Tyrannosaurus rex, although the latter lived about 10 million years later, and although it was slightly smaller than its more famous cousin, the two ancient carnivores shared many characteristics. , such as the great chiefs. , a mouth full of curved, serrated teeth and small two-toed forearms.
An adult male weighed up to two tons and some paleontologists speculate that the Gorgosaurus was faster, even fiercer, and had stronger jaws than the T. rex, according to Sotheby’s.
The specimen to be auctioned was, at the time of his death, a large adult and his skull was especially well preserved, according to the auction house, which highlighted the “immaculate” state of the skeleton thanks to the characteristics of the ecosystem where the fossil was found.
The skeleton will be on display to the public starting July 21 at New York’s Sotheby’s Gallery.
The auction house has a long history of selling dinosaur fossils and in 1997 was the first to offer a complete skeleton, the famous T. rex known as Sue, which sold for $ 8.36 million (12, $ 3 million) and can be seen at the Field Museum in Chicago.