Nanotyrannus skeleton Jodi sold in New York for a billion crowns

In New York, Sotheby's has sold the skeleton of a Nanotyrannus dinosaur nicknamed Jodi. According to Czech media, the price was around a billion crowns. The buyer's name has not been disclosed.

It is one of only three relatively complete Nanotyrannus skeletons in the world. According to the auction house, it is the first such specimen to reach the market since last October, when American scientists confirmed that the species existed. Nanotyrannus and Tyrannosaurus rex lived side by side roughly 67 million years ago.

The price nearly matched the world record

The final sum far exceeded the estimate of 6–9 million dollars and fell only slightly short of the auction record for a fossil. That record was set in July, when the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton named Gus sold for 50.1 million dollars.

Sotheby's describes Jodi as a skeleton in excellent condition, ready for display: it consists of about 191 fossilized bones and has a “beautifully preserved, virtually complete skull.”

A dispute over private collections

The auction took place amid a debate about whether dinosaur skeletons should be sold into private hands. Paleontologist Steve Brusatte told the BBC that the July auction was worrying. “I don't know of any museum or university that could afford to pay such a sum,” he said. In his words, it is as if the “Mona Lisa” belonged to a single super-rich person and nobody could see it.

Brusatte expressed hope that such auctions will not become a trend, as they could harm science and public education.

A find from Montana

The skeleton was discovered in Montana in 2019 by farmer Jodi Pierson and excavated by Clayton Phipps, a commercial paleontologist known as the “dinosaur cowboy.” Like several other high-profile finds, Jodi comes from the Hell Creek Formation, which stretches across Montana, Wyoming, and North and South Dakota. It was there, in 1902, that one of the first Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons was found.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz