United States
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Dinosaur skeleton once mistaken for young T. rex sells for $47.3 million
A mounted dinosaur skeleton once thought to be a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex sold at auction for $47.3 million.
Sotheby's auctioned a dinosaur skeleton nicknamed Jodi in New York, a year after researchers confirmed it belonged to a distinct genus. The mounted skeleton stands roughly 10 feet tall.
The skeleton sold for $47.3 million. It had once been mistaken for a young Tyrannosaurus rex before being identified as a different dinosaur.
Sotheby's said the Nanotyrannus was one of just three such skeletons known to science and the first offered for sale since U.S. researchers confirmed the genus's existence last October.
The buyer's identity has not been disclosed. Six interested parties competed in bidding that lasted 12 minutes.
Jodi had been displayed as a juvenile T. rex at London's Frieze Masters international art fair in October 2023, before the Nanotyrannus classification.
Responding to the auction, Brusatte expressed alarm at the possibility that Jodi could disappear from public view. He described that prospect as deeply troubling.