The largest stegosaurus fossil ever found is going up for auction next month with an estimated value of up to $6 million.
The specimen, known as “Apex,” was excavated near the Morrison Formation in Colorado near the town of Dinosaur in 2023, according to Sotheby’s auction house.
The part of the armored dinosaur was first discovered on the nearby property of commercial paleontologist Jason Cooper, according to the auction house. Overall, it measures 11 feet in height and 20 feet in length and contains 247 fossil bones. The age of the dinosaur is estimated at 146 to 161 million years.
Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s senior vice president and global head of science and popular culture, told ABC News she remembers getting a call from Cooper about the find.
“Oh my God, we have something incredible on our hands,” Hatton said of the discovery at the time.
Sotheby’s will auction the specimen on July 17 for an estimated $4 million to $6 million in New York. Sotheby’s sold a 200-pound Tyrannosaurus rex head for $8.3 million in 1997.
As for how Apex got its name, Sotheby’s says it’s believed to be the largest and most complete stegosaur ever discovered.
For nearly a decade, a stegosaurus specimen named Sophie, housed in the National History Museum in London, held the title of largest and most complete stegosaur ever discovered. Apex is 30% larger than Sophie, based on a femur length of 45 inches, according to Sotheby’s.
“Through a painstaking process of excavation, preparation and installation, ‘Apex’ sets a new standard for all future discoveries of this scale and further reinforces Stegosaurus’ enduring appeal and lauded status in popular culture,” Hatton said in a press release. release.
But Sotheby’s sale next month could also reignite a long-running debate over whether dinosaur fossils should be sold to private collectors.
Paul David Polly, a professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Indiana University, said auctions often focus on finding complete dinosaurs versus studying the environment, which provides an incomplete picture of the specimen.
“[An auction] he fetishizes complete dinosaur skeletons despite good careful scientific study,” said David Polly
Additionally, in the hands of private collectors, fossils may not be available to the public, preventing scientists from studying them.
“Because [the fossils] they’re in a private collection, they can’t contribute to the diversity of things we know about the world,” said Canadian paleontologist Greg Funston.
Regardless, it is legal to sell fossils that have been found on private property in the US. Other countries such as Canada, Brazil and South Africa restrict the sale and export of fossils found in those countries.
David Polly said private landowners will grant access to the highest bidder, which is often not scientists. “People are starting to see fossils as having monetary value, and scientists who work for nonprofits don’t have the money to buy fossils,” he said.
Hatton says there are other issues to consider during the debate over the private sale of fossils. “I think the debate is more about whether dinosaurs should be considered property, and that’s a much larger conversation,” Hatton said.
Spencer G. Lucas, an American paleontologist at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, said commercial paleontology can preserve fossils for science and education.
“That would be my hope [the fossils] it will be available for scientific research,” he said.
Prior to the July 17 sale, Apex will be on display at Sotheby’s galleries in New York, the auction house said. The exhibition will be free and open to the public.