Stegosaurus skeleton “Apex”
The largest and most complete stegosaurus fossil ever discovered was sold for $44.6 million on Wednesday at Sotheby’s in New York, becoming the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction.
The dinosaur remains, named “Apex,” exceeded the pre-sale minimum estimate by over 11 times. It was discovered on private land in Moffat County, Colorado, near the town of Dinosaur, by paleontologist Jason Cooper on his property in 2022.
“Apex” measures 3.4 meters in height and 8.2 meters in length from nose to tail, over 30% larger than “Sophie,” the most intact stegosaurus specimen to date, which has been displayed at the Natural History Museum in London.
The skeleton was sold to an anonymous buyer who plans to explore the possibility of loaning the specimen to a U.S. institution. After the sale, the buyer remarked, “Apex was born in America and will remain in America!”
“Apex” is among the most complete skeletons ever found, with 254 fossilized bone elements out of a total of approximately 319. The skeleton belongs to a large and robust adult and shows evidence of rheumatoid arthritis, indicating that it lived to an old age, according to Sotheby’s. The specimen showed no signs of battle wounds and was preserved in hard sandstone, which protected the bones from deformation.
“Apex” was the main attraction at Sotheby’s natural history auction, with other lots including meteorites, minerals, and, for the first time, Paleolithic tools.
In total, the auction raised $45.8 million, the highest amount ever recorded for a natural history auction.
