{"id":5576,"date":"2024-07-18T21:41:58","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T13:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/?p=5576"},"modified":"2024-07-18T21:41:58","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T13:41:58","slug":"record-breaking-stegosaurus-fossil-sells-for-44-6-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/2024\/07\/record-breaking-stegosaurus-fossil-sells-for-44-6-million\/","title":{"rendered":"Record-Breaking Stegosaurus Fossil Sells for $44.6 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time : <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

In a stunning turn of events, a nearly complete stegosaurus skeleton nicknamed “Apex” has shattered auction records, selling for an astounding $44.6 million at Sotheby’s New York. This sale, which took place on July 17, 2024, as part of the auction house’s annual “Geek Week” series, has catapulted Apex to the status of the most expensive fossil ever sold. Standing 11 feet tall and stretching 27 feet from nose to tail, this remarkable specimen consists of 319 bones, with 254 being original fossils dating back to the Late Jurassic Period, approximately 146 to 161 million years ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The journey of Apex began in May 2022 when commercial paleontologist Jason Cooper discovered the fossil on private land in Moffat County, Colorado, near the aptly named town of Dinosaur. Excavated from the renowned Morrison Formation, an area known for its rich fossil deposits, the dig was completed in October 2023. Cooper’s property has previously yielded several Jurassic period dinosaurs, some of which have been donated to institutions such as the Brigham Young University Museum of Paleontology and the Frost Museum of Science.<\/p>\n

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The final selling price of $44.6 million far exceeded Sotheby’s initial estimate of $4-6 million, surpassing the previous record held by a Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed “Stan” that sold for $31.8 million in 2020. The auction attracted significant attention from collectors, museums, and dinosaur enthusiasts worldwide, though the identity of the buyer remains undisclosed, as per Sotheby’s policy. This extraordinary sale has once again highlighted the immense value placed on well-preserved dinosaur fossils in both scientific and commercial spheres.<\/p>\n

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However, the record-breaking auction has also reignited debates within the scientific community about the ethics of selling scientifically significant fossils to private collectors. Many paleontologists express concern that such high-priced sales may limit scientific access to important specimens, potentially hindering research and educational opportunities. Critics argue that fossils should be housed in public institutions where they can be studied and shared with the broader scientific community. Despite these concerns, some, including Jason Cooper, remain hopeful that even privately purchased specimens will eventually be made available for scientific study or donated to museums, ensuring that Apex and other remarkable fossils continue to contribute to our understanding of Earth’s prehistoric past.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Reading Time : <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>A nearly complete stegosaurus skeleton, nicknamed “Apex,” sold for a record-breaking $44.6 million at Sotheby’s New York. Discovered in Colorado’s Morrison Formation, Apex’s sale has sparked debates over the ethics of auctioning significant fossils to private collectors, potentially limiting scientific access and research opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[201,194,67],"tags":[196,19,32,165,4,93,94],"class_list":["post-5576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everydays-chit-chat","category-finance","category-wealthytalks","tag-196","tag-benedicte","tag-entreprise-strategy","tag-finance","tag-gout-design","tag-investments","tag-money"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5576"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5582,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5576\/revisions\/5582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}