Dinosaur
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
Chronology : 1987 2021
Fossils are classified in the chronology of the species.
Chronology : 1987 2021
Fossils are classified in the chronology of the species.
Intro
Large carnivorous dinosaurs are found in China, Mongolia, Canada and the United States. The first three do not grant export permits for these fossils. The only country from where such theropods can be legally exported is the United States, provided that the specimen originates from private land.
Allosaur
1
2020 SOLD for € 3.07M by Binoche et Giquello
The allosaurus was the king of its land during the Upper Jurassic period around 155 million years ago, but its geographical distribution was apparently limited : most skeletons are excavated in Wyoming. The silting up of a river or a mudslide had buried these dinosaurs before the bodies were dislocated and the fossilized bones were kept in excellent condition.
The allosaurus has a remarkable similarity with its much later successor the Cretaceous tyrannosaurus but it is smaller. It has all the characteristics of the most formidable predators. The claws gripped and lacerated the prey and the 7 cm long teeth were curved backwards to prevent the victim from escaping. The very tall hind legs attest to its frightening power.
An adult specimen can reach ten meters. A specimen with that length and mounted 3.50 m high ready for an attack was sold for € 3.07M from a lower estimate of € 1M by Binoche et Giquello on October 13, 2020, lot 140. Three ribs have traces of wounds, certainly in a fight with another beast.
The allosaurus has a remarkable similarity with its much later successor the Cretaceous tyrannosaurus but it is smaller. It has all the characteristics of the most formidable predators. The claws gripped and lacerated the prey and the 7 cm long teeth were curved backwards to prevent the victim from escaping. The very tall hind legs attest to its frightening power.
An adult specimen can reach ten meters. A specimen with that length and mounted 3.50 m high ready for an attack was sold for € 3.07M from a lower estimate of € 1M by Binoche et Giquello on October 13, 2020, lot 140. Three ribs have traces of wounds, certainly in a fight with another beast.
Le "grand-père" du T-Rex, l'allosaure de 10 mètres de long proposé par @BGiquello vient de remporter 3 067 400 € !
— Drouot (@Drouot) October 13, 2020
L’animal, jamais vu sur le marché, est l’un des plus grands spécimens de cette espèce connu à ce jour. pic.twitter.com/ViUmft6q5E
2
2007 Dracula and Fantasia
2011 SOLD for $ 2.75M by Heritage
The inhabitants of the Earth sometimes have difficulty in supporting one another. I take the example of a terrible battle that was fought in the Jurassic.
The techniques of discovery and excavation of fossilized dinosaur skeletons are improving, and recent findings supplement and amend our knowledge. It is a matter for professionals, of course. Wyoming is their preferred ground, for the abundance of such remains.
In spring 2007, researchers at International Dinosauria were excited by the discovery of an allosaurus, whose dentition is well preserved. As they progressed in the recovery of bones of this flesh-eating dinosaur, they make a stunning and unprecedented discovery : a stegosaurus skeleton is mingled with the bones of the allosaurus.
There is no doubt that the animals killed one another 155 million years ago. Their corpses did probably fall into a river or were quickly buried by a mudslide, and the skeletons were not dispersed by other predators of the time.
It was anticipated that the dinosaurs were fighting. Grass-eating specimens were often the losers, as already shown by the bite of an allosaurus in the neck plate of a stegosaurus. But the discovery of two skeletons together was a considerable scientific novelty.
Both fossils were sold in one lot for $ 2.75M by Heritage on June 12, 2011. The allosaurus named Dracula is 6.30 m long and 70% complete. Fantasia, the stegosaurus, is 5.40 m long and 75% complete.
The techniques of discovery and excavation of fossilized dinosaur skeletons are improving, and recent findings supplement and amend our knowledge. It is a matter for professionals, of course. Wyoming is their preferred ground, for the abundance of such remains.
In spring 2007, researchers at International Dinosauria were excited by the discovery of an allosaurus, whose dentition is well preserved. As they progressed in the recovery of bones of this flesh-eating dinosaur, they make a stunning and unprecedented discovery : a stegosaurus skeleton is mingled with the bones of the allosaurus.
There is no doubt that the animals killed one another 155 million years ago. Their corpses did probably fall into a river or were quickly buried by a mudslide, and the skeletons were not dispersed by other predators of the time.
It was anticipated that the dinosaurs were fighting. Grass-eating specimens were often the losers, as already shown by the bite of an allosaurus in the neck plate of a stegosaurus. But the discovery of two skeletons together was a considerable scientific novelty.
Both fossils were sold in one lot for $ 2.75M by Heritage on June 12, 2011. The allosaurus named Dracula is 6.30 m long and 70% complete. Fantasia, the stegosaurus, is 5.40 m long and 75% complete.
3
2013 Elderly Specimen
2018 SOLD for € 2M by Aguttes
When paleontologists begin to release a new fossil in 2013 they immediately believe that it is an allosaurus. After the completion of its excavation in 2015 and of its preparation in 2017 they observe that this beast was different from allosaurs by a slightly larger quantity of teeth. The bone structure also has a few unprecedented characteristics including an extended shape of the pubis.
This dinosaur 2.60 m high, nearly 9 m long and 70% preserved was an old adult. It probably died by a fall in the river and not in a landslide because its bones were not compressed during the fossilization, allowing for example to construct with accuracy the three-dimensional shape of its muzzle. Its bone pathologies are discernible.
It has been inspected by specialists but it remains to find its actual place in the evolution of theropods. Its next owner will be invited to contribute to its scientific designation.
After a public exhibition on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, this fossil was sold for € 2M from a lower estimate of € 1.2M by Aguttes on June 4, 2018, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This dinosaur 2.60 m high, nearly 9 m long and 70% preserved was an old adult. It probably died by a fall in the river and not in a landslide because its bones were not compressed during the fossilization, allowing for example to construct with accuracy the three-dimensional shape of its muzzle. Its bone pathologies are discernible.
It has been inspected by specialists but it remains to find its actual place in the evolution of theropods. Its next owner will be invited to contribute to its scientific designation.
After a public exhibition on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, this fossil was sold for € 2M from a lower estimate of € 1.2M by Aguttes on June 4, 2018, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Un squelette d’une espèce inconnue de dinosaure présenté à Lyonhttps://t.co/j1faTjBOps pic.twitter.com/3zXOTdgrtE
— Le Progrès (@Le_Progres) March 13, 2018
Diplodocus
2018 SOLD for € 1.44M by Binoche et Giquello
During the Jurassic around 155 million years ago, the quadruped herbivore diplodocus was facing the allosaurus in the muddy lands of current day Wyoming. Its giant size may have discouraged the predators. The neck and the stabilizing tail are extremely long, allowing the dinosaur to feed on grasses or leaves as it fancies.
A skeleton fossil 13 m long passed at Aguttes on June 13, 2019, lot 1, despite a pre-sale exhibition at Heathrow Airport.
A specimen of fossil skeleton from the species Kaatedocus Siberi was sold for € 1.44M by Binoche et Giquello on April 11, 2018, lot 72. This small diplodocus is 12 m long and 3 m high.
A skeleton fossil 13 m long passed at Aguttes on June 13, 2019, lot 1, despite a pre-sale exhibition at Heathrow Airport.
A specimen of fossil skeleton from the species Kaatedocus Siberi was sold for € 1.44M by Binoche et Giquello on April 11, 2018, lot 72. This small diplodocus is 12 m long and 3 m high.
2013-2014 Hector the Deinonychus
2022 SOLD for $ 12.4M by Christie's
Dame Nature created twice the most terrific beasts, the allosaur in the Upper Jurassic 155 million years ago and the Tyrannosaur at the end of the Cretaceous 66 million years ago. Elderly specimens from both species could grow up to more than 10 m from muzzle to tail's end.
In the mean time the carnivorous dinosaurs had not lost their domination over their territories in current day Wyoming and Montana, in a favorable environment of tropical and sub-tropical forests, lagoons, swamps, and river deltas. One of them, living during the early (lower) Cretaceous 110 million years ago, was the 3.40 m long deinonychus, a wording describing its 5-inch impaling claws.
A detailed study of a deinonychus in the 1960s led to reconsider the opinion about the behavior of the carnivorous giants, from then considered to be agile and fast in their horizontal running posture with stretched tail, so obsoleting the slow standing of the previous popular imagery. Its unusually long stretched arms were used in the attack and the large optic lobes attest for a sharp eyesight. Wrongly identified as the Velociraptor, this species became one of the star dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park franchise.
A 3 m long fossil made of 126 remaining bones was excavated in Montana in 2013-2014. Named Hector in reference to the Iliad warrior, it was sold for $ 12.4M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 57C.
Further research on the physical capabilities of the deinonychus could help to model the transition from reptile to bird through the archaeopteryx, in the Jurassic, 40 million years earlier.
In the mean time the carnivorous dinosaurs had not lost their domination over their territories in current day Wyoming and Montana, in a favorable environment of tropical and sub-tropical forests, lagoons, swamps, and river deltas. One of them, living during the early (lower) Cretaceous 110 million years ago, was the 3.40 m long deinonychus, a wording describing its 5-inch impaling claws.
A detailed study of a deinonychus in the 1960s led to reconsider the opinion about the behavior of the carnivorous giants, from then considered to be agile and fast in their horizontal running posture with stretched tail, so obsoleting the slow standing of the previous popular imagery. Its unusually long stretched arms were used in the attack and the large optic lobes attest for a sharp eyesight. Wrongly identified as the Velociraptor, this species became one of the star dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park franchise.
A 3 m long fossil made of 126 remaining bones was excavated in Montana in 2013-2014. Named Hector in reference to the Iliad warrior, it was sold for $ 12.4M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 57C.
Further research on the physical capabilities of the deinonychus could help to model the transition from reptile to bird through the archaeopteryx, in the Jurassic, 40 million years earlier.
#AuctionUpdate In an exhilarating end to our Evening Sales, THE RAPTOR sold with a price realized of $12.4 million pic.twitter.com/uaVEkGtOmk
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) May 13, 2022
2018 Gorgosaurus
2022 SOLD for $ 6.1M by Sotheby's
Gorgosaurus, the dreadful lizard, is a genus of the Tyrannosaurid family. It lived in the late Cretaceous around 77 million years ago, 10 million years before the T. Rex, in the same marshy shores of an inland sea that divided the current time North America. About 20 specimens are known, to be compared with the more than 50 T. Rex.
Both bipedal beasts look very similar. Slightly smaller, Gorgosaurus had the more powerful biting force and muscular legs that enabled a more speedy run balanced by its long tail.
The incomplete fossil skeleton of a gorgosaurus was excavated in Montana in 2018. It has 79 elements, the rest of it being replaced by casts for its exhibition mounting. The left side of the skull is the best preserved with its maxilla and its three bones that compose the rounded orbit. The axial skeleton is also well preserved from cervical to caudal.
This prepared specimen is 2.80 m high and 6.70 m long. The dimension of the skull is 98 x 67 x 43 cm.
This fossil was sold for $ 6.1M by Sotheby's on July 28, 2022, lot 201.
Both bipedal beasts look very similar. Slightly smaller, Gorgosaurus had the more powerful biting force and muscular legs that enabled a more speedy run balanced by its long tail.
The incomplete fossil skeleton of a gorgosaurus was excavated in Montana in 2018. It has 79 elements, the rest of it being replaced by casts for its exhibition mounting. The left side of the skull is the best preserved with its maxilla and its three bones that compose the rounded orbit. The axial skeleton is also well preserved from cervical to caudal.
This prepared specimen is 2.80 m high and 6.70 m long. The dimension of the skull is 98 x 67 x 43 cm.
This fossil was sold for $ 6.1M by Sotheby's on July 28, 2022, lot 201.
Unlike most dinosaur specimens that have come to market before, the buyer of this Gorgosaurus will also get to name it! pic.twitter.com/VcjbV7ugc3
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) July 20, 2022
□ Un squelette de Gorgosaurus découvert en 2018 dans le Montana va être mis en vente chez Sotheby's, le premier du genre à être disponible aux enchères ⤵️
— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) July 6, 2022
□ @DDesobeau #AFP #AFPTV pic.twitter.com/KBikWxDsbU
Tyrannosaur
1
1987 Stan
2020 SOLD for $ 32M by Christie's
The successive discoveries of tyrannosaur fossil skeletons allow us to better understand the characteristics of this beast which lived at the end of the Cretaceous just before the final disaster of that era 66 million years ago. Stan is one of the specimens which provided the most elements to these analyzes.
We have to face the facts : the tyrannosaurus, a distant successor to the allosaurus, had characteristics much more efficient than humans, in terms of sight and smell, running speed, strength and appetite. I have no reliable data about its intelligence.
The deposits are mainly concentrated on the Hell Creek Formation, an island continent bordering Montana, the Dakotas and Wyoming. In the lifetime of the terrible lizards, it was a coastal plain filled with swamps, forests and estuaries. The sediments had been displaced by the slow rising of the Rocky Mountains down to a width of 100 m or more in which the discovery of fossils is virtually unlimited.
The distribution of the species was possibly wider, but the swamps of these Badlands originally limited the dispersal of the skeletons and provided good conditions for fossilization.
Hell Creek has been known since the beginning of the 20th century as a reservoir of tyrannosaurs. More than 50 specimens have been found.
It was an amateur prospector who discovered in 1987 the hip bones of a specimen that was given his own first name, Stan. An error in paleontological interpretation delayed the researches. The excavation required 30,000 hours of work between 1992 and 1995. This male tyrannosaurus, approximately 70% complete in mass, is one of the largest specimens, measuring 11.3 m between the muzzle and the tip of the tail.
Traces on the bones provide valuable informations on the life of prehistoric animals. Stan had lesions created by the teeth of other tyrannosaurs. His broken neck had been healed by fusion of two injured vertebrae. He ate an edmontosaurus and a triceratops just before his death. In our time he plays the stars with more than 60 complete casts for use in museums and exhibitions.
The fossil includes 188 original pieces, compared with the 350 bones of a complete animal. The skull is almost perfect. Missing elements are represented by casts. It was sold for $ 32M from a lower estimate of $ 6M by Christie's on October 6, 2020, lot 59. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Stan deserves a similar notoriety as Sue, the 12.3 m long male tyrannosaurus found by a lady named Sue in 1990, which was sold for $ 8.4M by Sotheby's in 1997.
We have to face the facts : the tyrannosaurus, a distant successor to the allosaurus, had characteristics much more efficient than humans, in terms of sight and smell, running speed, strength and appetite. I have no reliable data about its intelligence.
The deposits are mainly concentrated on the Hell Creek Formation, an island continent bordering Montana, the Dakotas and Wyoming. In the lifetime of the terrible lizards, it was a coastal plain filled with swamps, forests and estuaries. The sediments had been displaced by the slow rising of the Rocky Mountains down to a width of 100 m or more in which the discovery of fossils is virtually unlimited.
The distribution of the species was possibly wider, but the swamps of these Badlands originally limited the dispersal of the skeletons and provided good conditions for fossilization.
Hell Creek has been known since the beginning of the 20th century as a reservoir of tyrannosaurs. More than 50 specimens have been found.
It was an amateur prospector who discovered in 1987 the hip bones of a specimen that was given his own first name, Stan. An error in paleontological interpretation delayed the researches. The excavation required 30,000 hours of work between 1992 and 1995. This male tyrannosaurus, approximately 70% complete in mass, is one of the largest specimens, measuring 11.3 m between the muzzle and the tip of the tail.
Traces on the bones provide valuable informations on the life of prehistoric animals. Stan had lesions created by the teeth of other tyrannosaurs. His broken neck had been healed by fusion of two injured vertebrae. He ate an edmontosaurus and a triceratops just before his death. In our time he plays the stars with more than 60 complete casts for use in museums and exhibitions.
The fossil includes 188 original pieces, compared with the 350 bones of a complete animal. The skull is almost perfect. Missing elements are represented by casts. It was sold for $ 32M from a lower estimate of $ 6M by Christie's on October 6, 2020, lot 59. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Stan deserves a similar notoriety as Sue, the 12.3 m long male tyrannosaurus found by a lady named Sue in 1990, which was sold for $ 8.4M by Sotheby's in 1997.
#AuctionUpdate @ChristiesInc sets a #WorldAuctionRecord for a #TyrannosaurusRex named #STAN which sold for $31,847,500 #crushing the estimate of $6-8M. pic.twitter.com/0QM9iWMKjt
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) October 7, 2020
2
1990 Sue
1997 SOLD for $ 8.4M by Sotheby's
On August 12, 1990 a team of paleontologists completed an excavation campaign in the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Upon leaving, they notice that a tire of the truck is flat. Sue Hendrickson takes advantage of this downtime to go to a cliff unexplored by the group. She finds the fossil remains of a tyrannosaurus rex that will be identified by her first name, Sue.
The bones had not been scattered. The animal had lived about 67 million years ago and probably died in a stream of water that pushed it against some obstacle.
The tyrannosaurus is the most spectacular of the dinosaurs, and Sue was the largest and most complete specimen at the time of its excavation. The skeleton is 90% complete by mass and 73% by the number of elements. The cranial fossil weighs 270 kg and is 1.40 m long and the teeth are almost intact.
The owner of the land, a member of the Sioux tribe, claimed that the team had paid him the right to take and clean up the fossil, but not the transfer of ownership. Justice follows and he becomes the sole owner of Sue. He then commissioned Sotheby's to manage the auction. Due to Sue's exceptional scientific interest, paleontologists were worried about the risk of purchase for a private collection.
Nothing equivalent had happened on the market. On October 4, 1997 the bidding was started at $ 500K. Sue was sold for $ 8.4M to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
At the time of the sale, this dinosaur had been identified as exceptional but had never been mounted. Its exhibition at the Field Museum was inaugurated in May 2000. Scientific investigations have not been interrupted. The age of the animal is estimated at 28 years, making it until 2013 the dean of the tyrannosaurs. It was 12.30 m long and 4 m high at the hips and its weight in life was estimated at about 10 tons.
The image is shared by Wikimedia with attribution to the user Zissoudisctrucker. It shows Sue in its most recent display configuration at the Field Museum.
The bones had not been scattered. The animal had lived about 67 million years ago and probably died in a stream of water that pushed it against some obstacle.
The tyrannosaurus is the most spectacular of the dinosaurs, and Sue was the largest and most complete specimen at the time of its excavation. The skeleton is 90% complete by mass and 73% by the number of elements. The cranial fossil weighs 270 kg and is 1.40 m long and the teeth are almost intact.
The owner of the land, a member of the Sioux tribe, claimed that the team had paid him the right to take and clean up the fossil, but not the transfer of ownership. Justice follows and he becomes the sole owner of Sue. He then commissioned Sotheby's to manage the auction. Due to Sue's exceptional scientific interest, paleontologists were worried about the risk of purchase for a private collection.
Nothing equivalent had happened on the market. On October 4, 1997 the bidding was started at $ 500K. Sue was sold for $ 8.4M to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
At the time of the sale, this dinosaur had been identified as exceptional but had never been mounted. Its exhibition at the Field Museum was inaugurated in May 2000. Scientific investigations have not been interrupted. The age of the animal is estimated at 28 years, making it until 2013 the dean of the tyrannosaurs. It was 12.30 m long and 4 m high at the hips and its weight in life was estimated at about 10 tons.
The image is shared by Wikimedia with attribution to the user Zissoudisctrucker. It shows Sue in its most recent display configuration at the Field Museum.
3
2020-2021 Maximus Rex
2022 SOLD for $ 6.1M by Sotheby's
Maximus Rex (greatest king) is the name of the fossil skeleton of Tyrannosaurus Rex excavated over two seasons in 2020 and 2021. The beast is a contemporary neighbor of Stan and Sue from Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota.
Maximus was a large adult specimen. Its 135 cm skull is one of the best ever discovered with 30 of the 39 bones remaining, preserved in fine details. All the tooth bearing jaw elements are present with no less than 29 teeth in various states of completeness. Most of the post cranial has been destroyed by erosion.
The pathologies include bite marks and parasitic holes plus traces from bone infections. Insect borings suggest that the carcass had not been immediately covered.
The skull displayed on an iron pedestal was sold for $ 6.1M by Sotheby's on December 9, 2022, lot 1. Its articulated assembly with jaws opened includes casts of the missing bones.
The post cranial fragments are joined to the lot. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The skull is the major element enabling to distinct a Tyrannosaurus Rex from the other Tyrannosauridae species which include the albertosaurus and the slighty earlier gorgosaurus.
Maximus was a large adult specimen. Its 135 cm skull is one of the best ever discovered with 30 of the 39 bones remaining, preserved in fine details. All the tooth bearing jaw elements are present with no less than 29 teeth in various states of completeness. Most of the post cranial has been destroyed by erosion.
The pathologies include bite marks and parasitic holes plus traces from bone infections. Insect borings suggest that the carcass had not been immediately covered.
The skull displayed on an iron pedestal was sold for $ 6.1M by Sotheby's on December 9, 2022, lot 1. Its articulated assembly with jaws opened includes casts of the missing bones.
The post cranial fragments are joined to the lot. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The skull is the major element enabling to distinct a Tyrannosaurus Rex from the other Tyrannosauridae species which include the albertosaurus and the slighty earlier gorgosaurus.
A ferocious visitor has arrived at #SothebysNewYork! This fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex skull (named Maximus!) is one of the best and most complete of its kind ever discovered.
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) November 8, 2022
Visit Maximus in our York Ave galleries before his auction this December. pic.twitter.com/7BaoweZFGP
2014 Triceratops
2021 SOLD for € 6.7M by Binoche et Giquello
In the popular imagery, the quadruped herbivore dinosaur Triceratops is the heavily armored giant rival of the tyrannosaurus, around 66 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous.
A triceratops skull excavated in Hell Creek in 2018 is 2.20 m long and 85 cm wide with its eponymous forehead horns about 75 cm long was sold for $ 500K by Sotheby's on April 28, 2021, lot 1.
On October 21, 2021, Binoche et Giquello sold for € 6.7M from a lower estimate of € 1.2M the fossil of Big John, considered as the largest known full triceratops, lot 1. It is illustrated in the pre sale release shared by Drouot.
The skeleton made of nearly 200 bones is 7.15 m long and 2.70 m high at the hip. The skull is 2.62 m long and the two major horns are 1.10 m long on a 30 cm base. The skeleton is 75 % complete for the skull and more than 60 % complete overall.
Big John had been wounded and probably killed in battle as evidenced with a severe tear below the neck, made from the horn of a similar beast. It has been discovered in 2014 in South Dakota and cleaned at the Zoic workshop in Trieste. Its displayed position ready to charge is inspired from the Wall Street Bull.
A triceratops skull excavated in Hell Creek in 2018 is 2.20 m long and 85 cm wide with its eponymous forehead horns about 75 cm long was sold for $ 500K by Sotheby's on April 28, 2021, lot 1.
On October 21, 2021, Binoche et Giquello sold for € 6.7M from a lower estimate of € 1.2M the fossil of Big John, considered as the largest known full triceratops, lot 1. It is illustrated in the pre sale release shared by Drouot.
The skeleton made of nearly 200 bones is 7.15 m long and 2.70 m high at the hip. The skull is 2.62 m long and the two major horns are 1.10 m long on a 30 cm base. The skeleton is 75 % complete for the skull and more than 60 % complete overall.
Big John had been wounded and probably killed in battle as evidenced with a severe tear below the neck, made from the horn of a similar beast. It has been discovered in 2014 in South Dakota and cleaned at the Zoic workshop in Trieste. Its displayed position ready to charge is inspired from the Wall Street Bull.
6 651 100 € !
— Drouot (@Drouot) October 21, 2021
C’est le résultat aux enchères de Big John, le plus grand tricératops découvert à ce jour, sous le marteau de Maître Giquello □□
□□ @BGiquello pic.twitter.com/YKlg9Vgszl
Big John, le plus grand Tricératops connu, exposé à Paris avant d'être vendu aux enchères https://t.co/EVefTsVy9A pic.twitter.com/kaYyozB7Jn
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) August 30, 2021
