Sotheby’s sells skeleton of Gorgosaurus dinosaur for over $6M

CAIRO – 31 July 2022: Sotheby's International Auctions, in New York, announced the sale of the skeleton of a Gorgosaurus dinosaur, for more than $6 million.

This came during an auction dedicated to the natural history of the Gorgosaurus family of dinosaurs.

The auction house had put the skeleton of a Gorgosaurus dinosaur for sale with an estimated price starting from $3 million, up to $8 million. However, it was sold for $6,069,500.

The skeleton dates back to the late Cretaceous period. It is 77 million years old. It was discovered in 2018 in Montana. The skeleton is  9 feet 2 inches tall. It consists of 79 fossil elements.

The Gorgosaurus is a genus of the Tyrannosaurus Theropod dinosaurs that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous period between about 76.6-75.1 million years ago.

Fossil remains have been found in the province of Alberta in Canada and possibly in the US state of Montana.

The Gorgosaurus was smaller in size than the Tyrannosaurus and Tarbosaurus, and closer in size to the Pterosaur and Daspletosaurus. Adults ranged in size from 8 to 9 meters (26 to 30 feet) from snout to tail.

Paleontologists estimated the weight of the adult Gorgosaurus at about 2.4 tons (2.8 US tons), possibly closer to 2.8 - 2.9 tons.

Its massive head was attached to the body by an "S"-shaped neck. The forelimbs were small and had only two clawed fingers.