A rare skeleton of Nanotyrannus, a smaller T. rex relative, has sold at auction at Sotheby’s in New York for US$47.3 million, after a 12-minute bidding war among six contenders. The specimen, named Jodi, is one of only three relatively complete Nanotyrannus skeletons known to science. Blowing well past an estimate of $6 to $9 million, the sale narrowly missed the auction record for a fossil, set in July with the sale of Gus — an exceptional T. rex skeleton that went under the hammer for US$50.1 million. Measuring 9.6 feet tall and 19.6 feet long, Jodi is just over half as long as Gus, with scarcity of similar specimens likely playing a role in pushing the sale price up. The very existence of the Nanotyrannus species is hotly debated in paleontology; researchers have only recently tipped the scales in favor of considering Nanotyrannus a distinct dinosaur rather than a juvenile T. rex. The specimen, according to Sotheby’s, is exceptionally preserved, made up of 191 bone elements, and includes a “virtually complete” skull. The skeleton was discovered in 2019 by Montana rancher Jodi Pierson — who also inspired its name — and excavated by Clayton Phipps, a commercial paleontologist known as the “Dinosaur Cowboy.” Like several other important fossils previously sold at auction, Jodi comes from Hell Creek Formation, a geological boneyard stretching across Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas. One of the first skeletons of T. rex was found there in 1902, and the name T. rex was given to the species based on fossils unearthed in the area. In 2006, a short distance away from Jodi’s excavation site, Phipps had unearthed the “Dueling Dinosaurs,” a legendary fossil now at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. It features two skeletons apparently locked in combat — a Triceratops and a smaller tyrannosaur, now identified as a Nanotyrannus. The third known Nanotyrannus skeleton is Jane, also from Hell’s Creek, which is housed at the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois. Based on the overall size and bone development, Jodi is an adult specimen, according to Sotheby’s. The missing bones have been replaced with custom 3D printed and sculpted elements, and the fossil was offered with “full rights,” meaning it doesn’t contain any copyrighted elements from other dinosaurs. Its new owner — whose identity is unknown — can therefore create replicas of the skeleton and sell them to museums or collectors. High-value sales of dinosaur fossils have drawn strong criticism by scientists, because they remove specimens from the public realm and make them unavailable for studying. “We’ve really just found out that Nanotyrannus is real, and now one of the best skeletons is about to be sold to the highest bidder,” said Steve Brusatte, a professor of paleontology and evolution at Scotland’s University of Edinburgh, in an email. “It’s harrowing to think it could disappear into the vaults of a collector rather than displayed on a museum where it can wow and inspire kids and families and the public at large.” David Hone, a paleontologist and reader in zoology at Queen Mary University of London, said he was very surprised that Jodi sold for so much more than the estimates. “It does feel like this is a bubble of prices on dinosaurs which must burst at some point, they can’t keep rising forever,” he added in an email. “In terms of the potential scientific value of the specimen it’s very hard to say without proper and verified study by experts,” Hone said. “I’d be very surprised if the specimen ended up in a public collection and available for study, and so until that point it is effectively outside of science.”
