A first in Europe. A skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex, a species that lived 67 million years ago, will be auctioned on April 18 in Switzerland, the first in Europe, the Koller house announced Saturday.
Called “Trinity”, the complete specimen of almost 3.9 meters high and 11.6 meters long is estimated between 6.11 and 8.15 million euros (6 and 8 million Swiss francs), according to the catalog of this house based in Zurich.
“This is a very low estimate,” warns the Koller house natural history expert, Christian Link, as we witness a real enthusiasm from buyers for these types of relics.
“Exceptional opportunity”
Trinity “is one of the most spectacular extant T-rex skeletons, a well-preserved and brilliantly restored fossil,” according to the auction house.
It will be “the third time in the world and the first time in Europe” that a T-rex skeleton is put up for sale, according to the Koller house, which insists on the rare quality of the T-rex skeleton.
“It is an exceptional opportunity to acquire a fossil of such quality,” said expert Christian Link, recalling that most specimens of this type are found in museums.
A well preserved skeleton
More than half of Trinity’s skeleton was assembled from bones from three different T-rex specimens found between 2008 and 2013 in formations in Montana and Wyoming, USA, again according to the sale catalogue. .
The tyrannosaur head belongs to one of these three tyrannosaurs and is “incredibly well preserved,” the expert argued. The auction house wants to be transparent about the origin of the different parts of the skeleton, explained Christian Link.
Last year Christie’s auction house had to withdraw another T-rex skeleton – also from Montana – from sale in Hong Kong for a few days due to doubts about parts of the skeleton.
Only 32 adult T-rex skeletons – among the largest predators to ever live on Earth – have so far been found in the world, according to a study published in 2021 by the scientific journal Nature.
frustrated paleontologists
Sales of dinosaur skeletons regularly enliven auction soirees, even if it means frustrating paleontologists, who see it as one less opportunity to display them in museums.
A complete skeleton of Gorgosaurus, a cousin of the T-rex dinosaur species that lived more than 77 million years ago, was sold in July at Sotheby’s auction in New York for 5.72 million euros.
In May, also in New York but at Christie’s, a skeleton of Deinonychus antirrhopus, which had inspired the Velociraptor in Steven Spielberg’s film “Jurassic Park” (1993), had been sold for 12.4 million dollars, expenses included, to an Asian customer.
This price, more than double its estimate, made it the second most expensive auction for a dinosaur skeleton, far from the big star, however, a T-rex came out in 2020 for $31.8 million.
Source: BFM TV
