A huge skeleton of a Gorgosaurus is up for auction, according to an announcement made by auction house Sotheby’s. The Tyrannosaurus rex relative roamed the world around 76 million years ago.
The Gorgosaurus skeleton will be the centerpiece of Sotheby’s natural history auction in New York on July 28th, according to the company.
Sotheby’s also said in a post on Twitter on Tuesday that this is the first-ever Gorgosaurus skeleton to be offered at an auction which is 10 feet tall and 22 feet long.
The caption of the post reads: “Measuring 10 feet tall and 22 feet long, meet the first-ever Gorgosaurus skeleton to be offered at auction. Watch as our Dinosaur is put together in our Sotheby’s New York galleries, open for viewing 21 July ahead of its sale in our Geek Week auction 28 July.”
Measuring 10 feet tall and 22 feet long, meet the first ever #Gorgosaurus skeleton to be offered at auction. 🦖
Watch as our #Dinosaur is put together in our #SothebysNewYork galleries, open for viewing 21 July ahead of its sale in our #GeekWeek auction 28 July. pic.twitter.com/dqR9oIUh16
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) July 5, 2022
During the late Cretaceous Period, the Gorgosaurus was an apex carnivore that existed in what is now the Western United States and Canada. It was 10 million years older than the Tyrannosaurus rex, CBS News reported.
Gorgosaurus skeleton discovered in Montana in 2018
According to Sotheby’s, the specimen being auctioned was discovered in the Judith River Formation in Havre, Montana in 2018.
All other known Gorgosaurus skeletons are in museum collections, making this one the sole specimen available for private ownership, the auction company said.
“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 Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s global head of science and popular culture.
The fossil’s presale estimate at Sotheby’s is $5 million to $8 million, CBS News further reported.
Gorgosaurus was a bipedal predator weighing more than two metric tons as an adult; dozens of large, sharp teeth lined its jaws while its two-fingered forelimbs were comparatively small.
Gorgosaurus lived in a lush floodplain environment along the edge of an inland sea. It was an apex predator, preying upon abundant ceratopsids and hadrosaurs. In some areas, Gorgosaurus coexisted with another tyrannosaurid, Daspletosaurus torosus.
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