By: Angela Li
A Gorgosaurus dinosaur skeleton is going to be auctioned for the first time at Sotheby’s Auction House on July 28, 2022. The skeleton was first discovered in the Judith River Formation near Havre, Montana in 2018. The price the Gorgosaurus is said to fetch is between 5 million and 8 million US dollars. The dinosaur itself is about 3 meters tall and 6.7 meters long.
The Gorgosaurus is a dinosaur that roamed the Earth about 77 million years ago. Although the Gorgosaurus was faster and fiercer than a T-Rex, it was still smaller than its more famous relative. A typical adult Gorgosaurus weighed about 2 tons and had a much stronger bite than a T-Rex’s. Its bite force is about 42,000 newtons, and a T-Rex’s bite force is around 35,000 newtons. This sale will be the only second full dinosaur skeleton at Sotheby’s auction house since Sue the T-Rex sold in 1997 for about 8.36 million US dollars. Sotheby’s described the skeleton as “one of the most valuable dinosaurs to ever appear on the market.”
But while the auction is legal to private owners and collectors, scientists are not happy as it may ruin the chances of their research. “Any time that a vertebrate fossil is being sold, potentially privately, it’s disturbing,” Gregory Erickson, a paleontologist at Florida State University in Tallahassee who is not involved with the auction, told Live Science. “It steals away the potential for scientific advancement. But then again, in this case as near as I can tell, the specimen has been legally collected, so it’s fair game. That’s where our laws are.”
While the Gorgosaurus is being readied for the auction, starting on July 21, this beast will be on display at Sotheby’s York Avenue galleries in New York City.
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