By: Tristan Ascenzo

In nine days, in New York City, Sotheby’s auctions will auction the skeleton of a 76-million-year-old dinosaur called a Gorgausarus.

Even though the Gorgausarus dinosaur might seem like a nobody, its relative is the T-Rex. As a matter of fact, the Gorgausarus had a stronger bite force. These creatures had a bite force of a crushing 42,000 newtons, while the T-Rex could only muster 35,000.

The Gorgausarus lived in what we now call the Western United States and Canada. It was an apex carnivore with no predators. They were alive during the cretaceous period, which accounts for most of the time dinosaurs roamed the earth.

It is estimated that the skeleton will sell for five to eight million dollars. You never know how high an auction can go, though, because the fossil of a T-Rex sold for $31.8 million.

“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,” said Sotheby’s head of science and pop culture, Cassandra Hatton.

This is the first time Gorgosaurus fossils will be auctioned to anybody who wants to buy them. “This is the only one that you can actually buy, so it’s an exciting moment, both for private collectors and institutions,” said Hatton. Scientists are worried that if they will be unable to study the fossils if a private collector buys them.

In the future, scientists must decide whether to continue allowing others to own these historic fossils, or if they should keep them in museums for people to observe.