Bones on the Block

This week Sotheby’s will auction off a fossilized skeleton of a gorgosaurus, an apex predator that terrorized North America 77 million years ago.

The “exhibition-ready mounted skeleton” is over nine feet high and almost 22 feet long. It has 79 actual fossil elements, with some additional cast pieces to complete the specimen. The fossils were excavated in 2018 in Choteau County, Montana.

Gorgosaurus, which means “deadful lizard,” grew to be about 30 feet long and had a very T. rex-like aspect – big head, little arms, a gaping maw full of teeth. 

Bidding starts at $3.5 million, as Sotheby’s expects the piece to sell in the $5 million - $8 million range. Also up for auction: a number of fossilized teeth, claws, and assorted bones from multiple species of dinosaurs. Bidding for a 440-pound triceratops skull starts at $240,000.

There are only 20 known fossilized specimens of the gorgosaurus, most of them found in Canada, which does not permit export of such things into private hands. The auction house highlights that rarity, calling the piece “the only known example available for private ownership.”

But maybe it shouldn’t be. These rare finds belong in a museum, not in some billionaire’s trophy room. The auction takes place on July 28.

Photo credit: Sotheby's