Record-Breaking Sale: A rare dinosaur fossil, a Stegosaurus nicknamed “Apex,” sold for a record-breaking $44.6 million at a Sotheby’s auction
by Saraunia Oct 18, 2024
The largest stegosaurus skeleton ever found has been sold for a record-breaking $44.6m at a New York auction. Nicknamed Apex, the 150-million-year-old skeleton – standing 11 feet (3.3 metres) tall and 27 feet (8.2 metres) long – was sold on Wednesday to an anonymous American buyer, said Sotheby’s.
In 2022, Christie’s auction house had to withdraw a tyrannosaurus rex skeleton a few days before the auction in Hong Kong, owing to doubts about its authenticity.
The name Apex was intended to highlight the prominence of the find – between 79 and 85 percent fossil – within the stegosaurus family. Fifty percent of a fossil is generally considered a significant find.
Apex lived long enough to show signs of arthritis, Sotheby’s said.
Stegosaurus skeletons are on display around the world, but Sotheby’s said Apex is 30 percent larger than Sophie, the most complete stegosaurus on public display to date, which is housed in the Natural History Museum in London.
Wednesday’s auction follows an increasing trend for the sale of dinosaur remains.
The largest stegosaurus skeleton ever found has been sold for a record-breaking $44.6m at a New York auction.
Nicknamed Apex, the 150-million-year-old skeleton – standing 11 feet (3.3 metres) tall and 27 feet (8.2 metres) long – was sold on Wednesday to an anonymous American buyer, said Sotheby’s.
