Overview
- The mounted Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed Gus sold to an unnamed phone bidder for $50,130,000 at Sotheby’s in New York, a result reported on Tuesday that set a new auction record for a fossil.
- Sotheby’s says Gus is about 67 million years old, measures roughly 38 feet long and 12.5 feet tall, and includes 183 fossil elements—about 61–63% of the skeleton by bone count and up to 75–80% by mass—after excavation from a South Dakota ranch between 2021 and 2023.
- Paleontologists and the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology warned that privately held specimens can be effectively lost to science because researchers may not get guaranteed access and top journals often decline work on privately held material.
- The result continues a recent run of blockbuster fossil sales—including 2024’s Apex stegosaurus and 2020’s Stan—that have pushed prices beyond most museums’ budgets even though some private buyers later loan or donate specimens to public institutions.
- With the buyer’s identity and plans unknown, scientists say the sale leaves the long‑term availability of Gus for study and public display uncertain and could increase calls for stronger stewardship rules or new funding approaches so museums can compete.