Dinosaur's Price Skyrocketed in 12 'Thrilling' Minutes of Bidding

A once-misidentified "teenage T. rex" just netted an adult-sized price. The mounted skeleton of a newly recognized species, Nanotyrannus, sold at Sotheby's in New York for $47.3 million. That makes it the second-priciest dinosaur ever auctioned after a Tyrannosaurus rex called "Gus." The AP reports that "Jodi"—named for the Montana rancher who found the bones on her land in 2019—has been expected to fetch $6 million to $9 million. Standing about 10 feet tall with a nearly complete skull, Jodi is one of only three known Nanotyrannus skeletons and the first offered for sale since researchers confirmed last year it's a distinct genus, not a juvenile T. rex.

The anonymous buyer prevailed after what the BBC terms "a thrilling 12 minutes of auction bidding between six interested parties." The blockbuster sale is intensifying a long-running debate over whether such rare fossils should land in private collections or public museums, with some paleontologists warning that soaring prices risk locking key specimens out of research and public view.