IT. rex fossil fetches more than $50 million at auction from mysterious bidder – National
A rare Tyrannosaurus rex fossil believed to be one of the largest and most complete ever found has sold at auction for more than $50 million to an anonymous buyer.
Sotheby’s in New York said the 67-million-year-old fossil, nicknamed Gus, is now the most expensive set of dinosaur bones ever sold, selling for $50.1 million, surpassing the nearly $45 million price of a nearly complete Stegosaurus sold at a similar auction in 2024.
Before that, the record was held by a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nicknamed Stan, which sold for nearly $32 million in 2020.
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Gus, T. rex which is 38 feet long, is 63 percent complete, according to Suthu, those bones make up 75 to 80 percent of the animal’s total weight.
Standing upright with its tail extended and its right foot slightly raised, Gus is a 12-and-a-half-foot (3.8 m) tall and remarkably well-preserved specimen of a mature dinosaur, with a jaw full of teeth, two “well-represented” feet and a number of rare bones, including the furcula, or wishbone.
The dinosaur was discovered in 2021 on a cattle ranch in South Dakota, near where a team of paleontologists had just completed another excavation. After several days of searching, a metatarsal was found and five years of excavation and reconstruction involving more than 1,000 pieces.
The head of ‘Gus,’ part of the T. rex skeleton, shown during a media preview at Sotheby’s Breuer building in New York on July 1, 2026. The 67-million-year-old skeleton was discovered during excavations on private land in South Dakota. Comprised of 183 fossil bones, it is one of the remains of T. rex are the most complete ever found.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images
It is named after the owner of the farm, Gary Licking, who died during the excavation.
“Gus is not just a unique find, but an example that has been excavated, documented, repaired, and cared for with true professionalism,” said Cassandra Hatton, Suthu’s vice chairman, after Tuesday’s sale.
“The market responds when large specimens are properly cared for,” he added.
The auction house said the top bidder, who participated by phone, has not been named and has not used the name of six other prospective buyers during the 10-minute battle, with auctioneer Phyllis Kao urging them to “Try to bite harder” at one point during the exchange.
The private sale of these fossils has disturbed the scientific community, which says that the image of its size and importance should be displayed in museums and other research institutions so that it can be “preserved, documented and accessible to future generations.”
“Our hope is that the new owner recognizes the extraordinary scientific and educational value of Gus the T. rex and that they intend to keep it in the public’s trust by immediately donating it to an accredited natural history museum,” Kristi Curry Rogers, president-elect of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, a representative group of scientists, academics and students, said in a statement Tuesday.
“That result will ensure that this amazing specimen continues to advance science, rather than being unavailable for study.”
The piece was estimated to fetch between $20 and $30 million before the sale.
— via files from The Associated Press
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