A roughly 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton set a record as the most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold at auction, according to The New York Times.
The skeleton fetched $50.1 million at Sotheby’s, far exceeding its estimated value of $20 million to $30 million.
The specimen, named “Gus,” features 183 fossil bone elements, making it roughly 61% complete by bone count. Paleontologists discovered the fossil in South Dakota, and experts estimate it is around 67 million years old.
The sale broke the previous auction record set in 2024, when the Stegosaurus skeleton “Apex” sold for $44.6 million.
While Gus’s success highlights the rapidly growing dinosaur collectibles market, experts warn that such fossils have minimal safeguards for authenticity verification.