A huge T-Rex skeleton has fetched GBP 5 million at auction in Switzerland in what has been described as a first in Europe.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, understood to be between 65 and 67 million years old, has fetched CHF 5.5 million (GBP 4.93 million) at the auction in Zurich, which took place on Tuesday, 18th April.
It is currently unclear who bought the skeleton but a spokesperson for the auction house said that it would “remain in Europe”, without providing further details about the anonymous buyer.
The huge skeleton, dating back to the Cretaceous period, can be seen in the footage being installed before the auction. The images show a timelapse of the preparations, with the skeleton being assembled on a metal frame.
Other footage also shows close-up images of the assembled skeleton of the massive apex predator, dubbed ‘Trinity’ by its previous owner due to the fact that it was assembled using bones from three different skeletons.
Newsflash obtained a statement from the Koller auction house on Tuesday, 18th April, saying that the event was the first of its kind in Europe and only the third time in the world that “a skeleton of an entire T. rex dinosaur of exceptional quality” was put up for auction.
The statement also said: “Mounted in a dynamic, scientifically accurate and modern pose, it is among the finest specimens of one of the largest terrestrial predators ever to inhabit the Earth.
“With an astonishing length of 11.6 metres (38 feet) and a towering height of 3.9 metres (12.8 feet), Trinity is one of the most spectacular T. rex skeletons in existence, a well-preserved and brilliantly restored fossil.”
The Koller auction house said that the Tyrannosaurus skeleton is made up of “more than 50 per cent original bone material” and that they come from “three Tyrannosaurus specimens excavated between 2008 and 2013, from the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations in Montana and Wyoming.”
The auction house added that both sites are “known for two of the most important Tyrannosaurus discoveries”.
These include ‘Sue’, which sold at auction for USD 8.4 million (GBP 6.7 million) in 1997, and ‘Stan’, “whose world-record hammer price of USD 31.8 million [GBP 25.6 million] in 2020 catapulted dinosaur fossil prices into a realm usually reserved for the most sought-after works of art.”
The auction house explained that each of Trinity’s 293 bones was “painstakingly excavated, cleaned and restored before it could be assembled.”
They added: “For an entire dinosaur, this process often takes between seven and ten years – an enormous effort for a team of palaeontologists, preparators and conservators.
“Trinity’s rarity and importance is in large part due to its incredibly well-preserved skull, which comes from a single specimen.”
Scientific advisor and fossil expert Nils Knoetschke is quoted as saying: “Dinosaur skulls are very rare; they are among the most valuable components of fossil skeletons.”
He added: “In fact, most dinosaurs are found without their skulls. But here we have original Tyrannosaurus skull bones, all from the same specimen.
“In all three specimens, the preparation was done very well, and the whole is very well preserved’.
“I was particularly surprised that not only the vertebrae, but also the filigree spines of the dorsal and cervical vertebrae are present. The very fine bones from inside the skull are usually lost, and these are also preserved in Trinity.”
And Dr Hans-Jakob Siber, a palaeontologist and the director of the Dinosaur Museum in Aathal, Switzerland, said: “I was impressed when I saw it, because it all seems to fit together so nicely.”
He added: “It’s one of the most impressive mounts I’ve seen. The quality of the restoration plus the quality of the mount sort of breathes life again into the specimen, which lived millions and millions of years ago. TRX-293 TRINITY would certainly be an astonishing attraction in any museum in the world.’
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
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