The almost complete fossilized remains of a stegosaurus 161 million years old, discovered in Colorado In 2022, they will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in NY next weekthe auction house officials reported.
The dinosaur, which Sotheby’s is calling Apex, is 11 feet tall and 27 feet from nose to tail, according to Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s global head of science and popular culture.
Stegosaurus, with its distinctive spiky dorsal plates, is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs in the world.
Apex, which Hatton called “the kind of dinosaur you see in a coloring book,” was discovered in May 2022 on private land near the town of Dinosaur, Colorado. Excavation was completed in October 2023, according to Sotheby’s.
Although experts believe that stegosaurus used the fearsome spikes on its tail to fight, this specimen shows no signs of combat, Sotheby’s said. The fossil does show signs of arthritissuggesting that Apex lived to a ripe old age.
Hatton said Apex was found “with its tail curled under its body, which is a common death pose for animals.”
The dinosaur will be auctioned on July 17 as part of Sotheby’s “Geek Week” series.
Sotheby’s estimates it will sell for between $4 million and $6 million, but that’s just an estimate.
“This is an incredibly rare animal.”says Hatton. “A stegosaurus of this size has never been auctioned before, so now we will know what its real value is.”