For those who love to study the history of evolution and have a special interest in dinosaurs, there is exciting news. For the first time ever, a fossilized skeleton of a Gorgosaurus will be put up for auction. The 77-million-year-old skeleton is said to be a relative to Tyrannosaurus rex.
The rare Gorgosaurus will be auctioned during an event on July 28 in New York. The event will be organized by Sotheby’s auction house.
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The Rare Gorgosaurus Skeleton Was Discovered In 2018
According to the Associated Press, the event will be the first time a Gorgosaurus specimen has ever been placed for private auction. All other skeletons of the dinosaur are in museum collections.
“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, said.
In an Instagram post, Sotheby’s said the skeleton was uncovered in 2018. It was near Havre, Montana, in the Judith River Formation. “This discovery was particularly exceptional due to the rarity of Gorgosaurus material south of the Canadian border, this being one of only a few found in the United States,” the post detailed.
“Translated to ‘fierce’ or ‘terrifying’ lizard, the Gorgosaurus was a fearsome apex carnivore that reigned during the Late Cretaceous period, roaming the earth approximately 77 million years ago,” the auction house added on Instagram.
About The Gorgosaurus Specimen
The extraordinary specimen is 10 feet tall and 22 feet long. It is also “very large” for a typical Gorgosaurus, a representative revealed ahead of the auction. The auction house expects the skeleton to fetch between $5 million to $8 million.
“This specimen, which was a very large, mature individual at the time of death, has a particularly well-preserved skull, including a left maxilla and an assortment of cranial bones,” they explained to USA Today. “Crucially the specimen also contains the three major bones which create the orbit, the feature which distinguishes the Gorgosaurus from the T. rex.”
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