A rare Nanotyrannus skeleton sold at Sotheby’s in New York on Tuesday for $47.3 million, becoming the second most valuable fossil ever sold at auction. The specimen, nicknamed Jodi, drew six bidders in a 12-minute contest that blew past its $6 million to $9 million estimate, according to CNN.
Jodi measures 9.6 feet tall and 19.6 feet long, Sotheby’s said. The skeleton holds 191 bone elements, including a virtually complete skull.
Researchers only recently confirmed Nanotyrannus as a distinct species rather than a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex. Jodi is one of only three relatively complete Nanotyrannus skeletons known to science, according to Sotheby’s.
Montana rancher Jodi Pierson discovered the fossil in 2019, and commercial paleontologist Clayton Phipps excavated it. The specimen comes from the Hell Creek Formation, a fossil-rich stretch across Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas.
The sale fell just short of the fossil auction record: a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton named Gus sold for $50.1 million in July. The buyer of Jodi has not been identified.
Source: CNN
