Latest news with #KimmeridgianStage
Mint
19-07-2025
- Science
- Mint
Anonymous buyer spends ₹263 crore to own 150-million-year-old dinosaur fossil; ‘Bezos or Musk?' wonders social media
A very rare dinosaur fossil has been sold for $30.5 million ( ₹ 263 crore) at an auction in New York. It was a Ceratosaurus, a meat-eating dinosaur with a horn on its nose, sharp teeth and bony armour on its back and tail. The buyer wants to loan it to an institution, which is suitable for a specimen of this 'rarity and importance', Sotheby's auction house said. Professor Steve Brusatte has called such high prices shocking. The dinosaur expert from the University of Edinburgh feels museums cannot afford them. 'While I'm pleased that the buyer might loan the skeleton to a museum to be put on display, at this point, it is just a vague suggestion. The buyer is still anonymous,' Brusatte told CNN. He fears the fossil may end up hidden in a rich person's home and never be seen by the public again. 'My fear is that this skeleton will disappear into the ether, into the mansion of an oligarch or a bank vault to accumulate value as just another investment in the portfolio of a hedge fund, and not see the light of day until it's auctioned again, or maybe never at all,' he added. A Mars meteorite, the biggest found on Earth, was sold for $5.3 million in the same auction. In July 2024, a Stegosaurus fossil named Apex was sold by Sotheby's for $44.6 million ( ₹ 380 crore). Social media wondered who the buyer was. 'Bezos or Musk?' asked one YouTube user. Another called it 'bare bones capitalism'. 'Are you telling me Sotheby's got 4 million in fees?' asked one user as the official price differed from what was seen in the auction video. This fossil is special because it's the only young Ceratosaurus among the four known in the world. It is over 150 million years old. It belongs to Late Jurassic, Kimmeridgian Stage, estimated to have existed 154-149 million years ago. The fossil is 6 feet tall and over 10 feet long, with 139 bones. Its skull is almost complete with 57 bones. It is an 'exceptional, exhibition-ready mounted skeleton', according to Sotheby's. The skull has 43 teeth, along with 5 extra loose teeth. Its sharp teeth and horned nose are clearly visible. The bones are well-preserved, dark in colour and show fine details. Sotheby's says it is one of the best and most complete fossils of its kind. It was expected to sell for $4 to $6 million. However, it got much more after six bidders competed, CNN reported. It was shown at a museum in Utah from 2000 to 2024. Surprisingly, scientists have never formally studied this fossil in a research paper. Experts believe the fossil belonged to a young dinosaur due to the delicate bone structure. The skeleton has been carefully mounted in a dramatic pose with jaws open. It includes ownership documents, x-rays, 3D scans and legal certification. According to Sotheby's, the dinosaur skeleton is offered with full ownership rights.
Mint
19-07-2025
- Science
- Mint
Anonymous buyer spends ₹263 crore to own 150-million-year-old dinosaur fossil; ‘Bezos or Musk?' wonders social media
A very rare dinosaur fossil has been sold for $30.5 million ( ₹ 263 crore) at an auction in New York. It was a Ceratosaurus, a meat-eating dinosaur with a horn on its nose, sharp teeth and bony armour on its back and tail. The buyer wants to loan it to an institution, which is suitable for a specimen of this 'rarity and importance', Sotheby's auction house said. Professor Steve Brusatte has called such high prices shocking. The dinosaur expert from the University of Edinburgh feels museums cannot afford them. 'While I'm pleased that the buyer might loan the skeleton to a museum to be put on display, at this point, it is just a vague suggestion. The buyer is still anonymous,' Brusatte told CNN. He fears the fossil may end up hidden in a rich person's home and never be seen by the public again. 'My fear is that this skeleton will disappear into the ether, into the mansion of an oligarch or a bank vault to accumulate value as just another investment in the portfolio of a hedge fund, and not see the light of day until it's auctioned again, or maybe never at all,' he added. A Mars meteorite, the biggest found on Earth, was sold for $5.3 million in the same auction. In July 2024, a Stegosaurus fossil named Apex was sold by Sotheby's for $44.6 million ( ₹ 380 crore). Social media wondered who the buyer was. 'Bezos or Musk?' asked one YouTube user. Another called it 'bare bones capitalism'. 'Are you telling me Sotheby's got 4 million in fees?' asked one user as the official price differed from what was seen in the auction video. This fossil is special because it's the only young Ceratosaurus among the four known in the world. It is over 150 million years old. It belongs to Late Jurassic, Kimmeridgian Stage, estimated to have existed 154-149 million years ago. The fossil is 6 feet tall and over 10 feet long, with 139 bones. Its skull is almost complete with 57 bones. It is an 'exceptional, exhibition-ready mounted skeleton', according to Sotheby's. The skull has 43 teeth, along with 5 extra loose teeth. Its sharp teeth and horned nose are clearly visible. The bones are well-preserved, dark in colour and show fine details. Sotheby's says it is one of the best and most complete fossils of its kind. It was expected to sell for $4 to $6 million. However, it got much more after six bidders competed, CNN reported. It was shown at a museum in Utah from 2000 to 2024. Surprisingly, scientists have never formally studied this fossil in a research paper. Experts believe the fossil belonged to a young dinosaur due to the delicate bone structure. The skeleton has been carefully mounted in a dramatic pose with jaws open. It includes ownership documents, x-rays, 3D scans and legal certification. According to Sotheby's, the dinosaur skeleton is offered with full ownership rights. Originally found in 1996, it was held by a museum and later by Fossilogic LLC, who finished and displayed it in 2024–25.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
World's only complete baby dinosaur skeleton from 150-million-year ago up for auction
Sotheby's is auctioning the only known juvenile specimen of a Ceratosaurus nasicornis dinosaur for an estimated $4-6 million. It is one of the finest and most complete examples of its genus. A swift and agile distant cousin of the T. rex, the extraordinary Ceratosaurus youth at auction measures 6 feet and 3 inches tall and 10 feet 8 inches long. Sotheby's has mounted it for the first time in history as one of the most extraordinary examples from its genus. The remarkable specimen is the latest in Sotheby's "pioneering National History offerings," which began in 1997. In 2024, Sotheby's made a historic sale of Apex at $45 million, which set the world record for any dinosaur or fossil sold at auction. The Ceratosaurus reflects their 'commitment to presenting the most important and precious treasures from our planet's deep past,' as per a press release. Sotheby's will present it at auction on July 16. Have a few million to spare to buy a dinosaur? The Ceratosaurus nasicornis was first unearthed in 1996 at the famed Bone Cabin Quarry (West) in Wyoming. The fossil bed gained notoriety through the efforts of the American Museum of Natural History, which conducted extensive excavations from 1898 to 1905. Henry Fairfield Osborn, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the American Museum, called it 'the greatest find of extinct animals made in a single locality in any part of the world.' Hailing from one of the most significant dinosaur beds on Earth, archaeologists have only found three other Ceratosaurus in history. Cassandra Hatton, Vice Chairman, Science and Natural History, called the juvenile Ceratosaurus one of the "very finest dinosaurs" ever seen at auction. As the second most complete skeleton in existence, the 'beautifully mineralized" fossil bones give the rare object and piece of natural history a rich, grey-black color. Made up of 139 bone elements, the Ceratosaurus has 'a remarkably complete and fully articulated skull.' "The most delicate parts," Sotheby's continues, "have been well preserved, including its unique and distinctive nasal horn, elongate teeth, and row of bony armor running down its back and tail.' As a lethal predator, it boasts a unique anatomy that sets it apart from other theropods of the Late Jurassic, 'suggesting it occupied a specialized ecological niche.' At six feet tall, the 'baby' dinosaur would have frightened most humans as a tall specimen. However, its adult counterparts would have soared to even greater heights, imbuing the skeleton with the thrill and fear these prehistoric beasts tend to inspire. A dinosaur from a pivotal moment in Earth's history Sotheby's says the Ceratosaurus lived during the Kimmeridgian Stage of the Late Jurassic—a time of intense evolutionary activity, with warm climates, rising sea levels, and the slow breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea. Subsequently, due to the shifting conditions, dinosaurs flourished in diverse habitats that the shifting conditions produced across North America, Europe, and parts of Africa, 'allowing predators like Ceratosaurus and herbivores such as Stegosaurus and Apatosaurus to thrive," as per the press release. Not only will the lucky buyer purchase a rare dinosaur species, but one that lived at a fascinating moment in the planet's history. Two of the dinosaurs they previously sold are currently on display at two major museums in the United States, so the distinctive and impressive Ceratosaurus nasicornis will most likely end up in a gallery that the general public can visit. Solve the daily Crossword
