Latest news with #Tyrannosaurusrex
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Science
- Indian Express
Dinosaur fossil unearthed beneath Colorado museum's parking lot
In a surprising event, scientists at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, in Colorado, US, have unearthed a rare dinosaur fossil. And not from a faraway dig site, but from right beneath the museum's own parking lot! The discovery, revealed by the museum on July 9, came during a routine drilling operation in January aimed at evaluating the feasibility of switching to geothermal energy. As the team extracted a cylindrical rock core from 760 feet below the surface, they encountered a fossilised vertebra measuring about 2.5 inches in diameter. It turned out to be the oldest and deepest dinosaur fossil ever found within Denver's city limits, according to the museum's release, cited by CNN. The partial vertebra is believed to belong to an herbivorous, bipedal dinosaur from the ornithopod group, a category of plant-eating dinosaurs that includes duck-billed hadrosaurs. Though scientists were unable to identify the exact species, the fossil dates back more than 67 million years, placing it in the Late Cretaceous period. 'We knew those dinosaurs were nearby in other parts of Colorado or Wyoming, but we didn't know that they were in Denver, too,' said Dr James Hagadorn, the museum's curator of geology, as per CNN reports. 'Now, we have another plant eater that's been cruising around Denver munching on, who knows, gingers and palm leaves and other ferns and plants 67 million years ago.' The museum, which houses about 115,000 fossils in its collection, has now placed the ornithopod vertebra on public display. Hagadorn noted that there are only two other known instances worldwide of a dinosaur bone being found through a core sampling project, making this fossil likely the first of its kind ever showcased in a museum. Despite the fossil's importance, the rest of the dinosaur's remains will remain underground. 'Unfortunately, we can't excavate our entire parking lot. Parking is really important at the museum and in all cultural centres,' Hagadorn joked according to CNN. 'But the bonus here is that people can now park right on top of a dinosaur.' The drilling project initially aimed to explore alternative energy sources, not fossils. 'It's like the lucky strike,' Hagadorn told CNN. The museum team has since used satellite and elevation data to date the new fossil and others in the Denver region more precisely. Their findings, published in Rocky Mountain Geology in June, offer a clearer picture of Denver's ancient inhabitants, which include not just ornithopods but also Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Torosaurus. 'No one ever dated these things before,' said Hagadorn. 'Today, we were able to use some specialised maps, geologic maps, GIS and really precise elevations that you can now get from satellites to place all these things in space and then in time.' (With inputs from CNN)
Mint
5 days ago
- Science
- Mint
Largest piece of Mars fetches $5.3 million at auction, young dinosaur skeleton steals the show
New York City recently hosted an auction of rare geological and archaeological objects, featuring the largest piece of Mars ever found which was sold for over $5 million. However, it was a rare young dinosaur skeleton which actually stole the show when it fetched more than $30 million in a bidding frenzy. The 54-pound (25-kilogram) rock, officially named NWA 16788 was sold for approximately $5.3 million, including fees and costs, making it the most valuable meteorite ever auctioned. The rock was discovered in the Sahara Desert, Niger by a meteorite hunter in November 2023, after it was blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike, according to Sotheby's report, cited by AP. The red, brown and gray meteorite is about 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly 7% of all the Martian pieces currently on this planet, AP reported. Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby's highlighted the rarity of the find, noting that only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites found on Earth are Martian. 'This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,' Hatton said. 'So it's more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars.' Stealing the show was a rare young dinosaur skeleton that fetched an astounding $30.5 million, including fees and costs after a six minutes bidding war among six interested participants. The skeleton is identified as a Ceratosaurus nasicornis, which is one of only four known skeletons of its species and the only juvenile one. The species resemblesthe Tyrannosaurus rex but is smaller. The bidding began with a high advance offer of $6 million, quickly escalating during the live round with bids $500,000 higher than the last and later $1 million higher than the last before ending at $26 million. The winner plans to loan dinosaur skeleton to an institution, Sotheby's told AP. This sale marks the third-highest amount paid for a dinosaur at an auction. A Stegosaurus skeleton called 'Apex' holds the record after it was sold for $44.6 million last year at Sotheby's. Parts of the juvenile dinosaur were found in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, which is considered a gold mine for dinosaur bones. It was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting company. The skeleton is more than 6 feet (2 meters) tall and nearly 11 feet (3 meters) long, and is believed to belong to the lateJurassic period, about 150 million years ago. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) long, while the T. rex could be 40 feet (12 meters) long, the news agency reported.
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
The curious animals of Amsterdam's Art Zoo
Jaap Sinke, one of the artists of Darwin, Sinke & van Tongeren, with a replica of a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil at the Art Zoo in Amsterdam in June. AMSTERDAM – Ms Eva Krook stood inside a canal mansion in Amsterdam in 2024, nervously awaiting news about a lost Tyrannosaurus rex. She had received a phone call from Italy informing her that there had been a mix-up with four crates, in which the giant fossil replica had been packed for shipping to her new museum. The massive tail, rib cage, pelvic bone and limbs had all arrived. But when she opened up the fourth crate, it was empty, save for a few scattered wood shavings. The T. rex's skull was missing. This was one of the hiccups in setting up the Art Zoo, an ambitious new museum that opened to the public in the centre of Amsterdam in June . Situated in a 17th-century mansion in the city's canal district, the museum brings together natural history and contemporary taxidermy created by two Dutch artists who call themselves Darwin, Sinke & van Tongeren. Ms Krook, the museum's director, said the T. rex was not her only logistical problem. She also had to figure out how to get a giant gorilla, made of more than 70m of denim, through the building's long and narrow front doors. 'This is a landmark building, so it's not like we can just break a door to fit it in,' she said. 'I joked that I felt like I was visiting the gynaecologist because we're always trying to figure out how to get the baby out – or in this case, in.' The T. rex and denim gorilla are just two of more than 200 extraordinary objects now on show at the Art Zoo. The museum was created by Ferry van Tongeren and Jaap Sinke, a Haarlem, Netherlands-based artistic duo behind Darwin, Sinke & van Tongeren. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore No train service across entire Bukit Panjang LRT line due to power fault Asia Autogate glitch causes chaos at KLIA and Johor checkpoints, foreign passport holders affected Singapore S'pore sees no baby boom in Year of the Dragon despite slight rise in births in 2024 Singapore A deadly cocktail: Easy access, lax attitudes driving Kpod scourge in S'pore Singapore 'I thought it was an April Fool's joke': Teen addicted to Kpods on news that friend died Singapore New auto pet wash service in Buona Vista draws flak, but firm stands by its safety Life Don't call me a motivational speaker: Why Adam Khoo has moved on to options trading Sport Lionesses forward Danelle Tan ready for new challenge in Japan Van Tongeren and Sinke trained as artists, but went into advertising after graduation. In 2005 Van Tongeren sold his agency, planning to retire, but instead teamed up with Sinke to follow a dream. The two became what they call 'fine taxidermy' artists and set up a company that they named after themselves, as well as evolutionary English theorist Charles Darwin, a major source of inspiration. A 4.8m crocodile hangs from the ceiling in the entry hall of the Art Zoo in Amsterdam. PHOTO: ILVY NJIOKIKTJIEN/NYTIMES For the Art Zoo, they brought together some of their existing taxidermy works, along with hundreds of new ones they made especially for the museum. They also collected fossils, shells, cages and display cases, and assembled other curious objects to complement the animals. In the entry hall, a 4.8m crocodile hangs from the ceiling, bound in red ropes. In the foyer, tropical birds with bright blue and green wings cling to dozens of antique birdcages. On one wall of the living room hangs a wreath made of entangled lethal snakes: cobras, pythons and a black mamba. A leopard crouches in an antique furnace, and spotted ostrich chicks make a nest in a conch shell. The leg of a mammoth stands like a pillar nearby. Tropical birds clinging to dozens of antique birdcages in the foyer of the Art Zoo. PHOTO: ILVY NJIOKIKTJIEN/NYTIMES This eclectic museum came together over about two years. Mr Peter van Duinen, director of the Vrije Academie, an educational institution that leases the building, had used two floors for temporary art exhibitions, but he wanted something more permanent. He worked with Ms Krook, his wife, to find the right people for the job. The mansion is known as the Cromhouthuizen, after its original owner, Jacob Cromhout, a merchant and regent, or member of the city's governing class. It has been preserved for centuries in near-perfect condition, with its original marble floors and Baroque ceiling frescos, and was previously home to the Bible Museum. Sinke and van Tongeren take inspiration for their taxidermy work from 17th-century Dutch and Flemish still-life paintings, which often included exotic animals depicted in dramatic postures. 'It's all about poses,' van Tongeren said in an interview, adding that he likes to reference early anatomical drawings by artists such as Andreas Vesalius and Leonardo da Vinci that presented their flayed subjects as if they were alive, moving and sometimes even dancing. He and Sinke also borrowed from the concept of the cabinet of curiosities: artful collections of exotic objects, fossils, shells and dead animals that were popular among artists and scientists of Enlightenment-era Europe and were the predecessors of modern museums. Animals crawling out of bottles in a former kitchen at the Art Zoo. It took about two years for the museum to come together. PHOTO: ILVY NJIOKIKTJIEN/NYTIMES In a former kitchen downstairs, van Tongeren and Sinke have transformed the room into a place called 'Darwin's Workshop'. Surrounding a 19th-century papier-mache reproduction of a gorilla's muscles are various objects such as giant crabs, speckled shells and lizards emerging from glass beakers. It appears to be a scientific laboratory, filled with anatomical drawings and plaster busts of Darwin's head. 'They focus on the idea of the 'Gesamtkunstwerk',' a concept in which everything in the space, including the furniture and the artworks, 'adds up to one tableau vivant', said Ms Krook said. 'Each room has a dialogue between the architecture and the art, so that the whole is greater than its parts.' Flowers on display. PHOTO: ILVY NJIOKIKTJIEN/NYTIMES Sinke said that none of the animals in the Art Zoo were killed for the purposes of taxidermy. As a sign in the entryway explains: 'All died of natural causes, under the care of zoos and breeders.' Even the extremely rare species on show – a giant anteater, a Brazilian pygmy owl and a Persian leopard – were all acquired as road kill or corpses, Sinke added. The giraffe skeleton in the atrium is real, as is the mammoth leg in the living room, Mr van Duinen said, but the T. rex replica was made from an original 66-million-year-old fossil found in the Black Hills of South Dakota and that was exhibited for some time in the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands, where it was named Stan. Ms Eva Krook, the director of the Art Zoo, with a cheetah at the museum. PHOTO: ILVY NJIOKIKTJIEN/NYTIMES It took Ms Krook three months to locate the missing replica of Stan's skull last winter, but after several phone calls, she located it in a storage facility in the south of Holland. Van Tongeren drove down to retrieve it, and brought the remaining piece of the T. rex to Amsterdam in his van. NYTIMES
Gulf Insider
6 days ago
- Science
- Gulf Insider
At Sotheby's Auction, $30 Million Dinosaur Skeleton Stuns As Martian Meteorite Sets Record
A 54-pound fragment of Mars, dislodged by a cosmic collision and hurled 140 million miles to Earth, became the most valuable meteorite ever sold at auction on Wednesday. But it was a rare young dinosaur skeleton that captured the spotlight – fetching more than $30 million in a frenzied bidding battle. The meteorite, named NWA 16788, sold for $5.3 million after fees at Sotheby's auction of rare geological and archaeological objects. Described by Sotheby's as the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth, the rock was discovered in November 2023 by a meteorite hunter scouring the Sahara Desert in Niger. Pre-sale estimates had placed its value between $2 million and $4 million. 'This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,' said Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's vice chairman for science and natural history, ahead of the auction. Measuring nearly 15 inches long, the meteorite accounts for nearly 7 percent of all known Martian material on Earth. But while bidding for the Martian rock unfolded in careful increments – often coaxed along by the auctioneer – the atmosphere shifted when a juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton took center stage. Only four Ceratosaurus skeletons are known to exist, according to Sotheby's, and this specimen—the only juvenile among them—was fiercely contested. After opening at $6 million, the bidding surged in $500,000 and then $1 million increments, drawing gasps from the audience as six bidders drove the price to $26 million before fees. The official sale price, with premiums included, came to $30.5 million, making it the third-most expensive dinosaur skeleton ever sold at auction. The buyer, whose identity was not disclosed, plans to loan the skeleton to a public institution. Assembled from 140 fossilized bones unearthed in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, the juvenile Ceratosaurus stands more than six feet tall and stretches nearly 11 feet long. Its lineage dates back some 150 million years to the late Jurassic period. For comparison, adult Ceratosaurus specimens could grow up to 25 feet long—smaller than their more famous Tyrannosaurus rex cousins, which reached lengths of 40 feet. The skeleton's dramatic sale reflects a growing appetite among private collectors and institutions for rare paleontological specimens. Last year, Sotheby's sold a Stegosaurus skeleton nicknamed 'Apex' for a record-setting $44.6 million. By contrast, the Martian meteorite's record-breaking result unfolded with less spectacle. Two pre-auction offers, $1.9 million and $2 million, set the stage for a steady sequence of modest live bids. Final bidding stalled at $4.3 million, before fees lifted the total. Scientific analysis confirmed that NWA 16788 is an 'olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,' a type of volcanic rock formed from slowly cooling magma beneath Mars's surface. Testing by a specialized lab matched its chemical composition to Martian samples first analyzed by NASA's Viking landers in the 1970s. The meteorite's pitted glassy exterior – a result of superheating during atmospheric entry – offered the first clue that it was not, as Hatton said, 'just some big rock on the ground.' Both the meteorite and the dinosaur skeleton now stand as trophies of scientific and natural history, as well as reminders of the market's growing fascination with relics from Earth's past—and Mars's distant terrain.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Largest piece of Mars rock goes for $5.3 million, but baby dinosaur fossil grabs attention at Sotheby's auction; details inside
The sale of the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth and a rare young dinosaur skeleton at an auction of rare geological and archaeological objects in New York on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, left everyone stunned. The piece of Mars was sold for just over $5 million, while the dinosaur skeleton fetched more than $30 million in a bidding frenzy. According to Sotheby's, the 54-pound (25-kilogram) rock named NWA 16788 was discovered in the Sahara Desert in Niger by a meteorite hunter in November 2023, after having been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike and traveling 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) to Earth. The estimated sale price before the auction was $2 million to $4 million. 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The final bid was $4.3 million, news agency AP reported. The official sale price was about $5.3 million after adding several fees and costs. It was the most valuable meteorite ever sold at auction, Sotheby's said. Live bidding moved slowly as the auctioneer tried to encourage more bids and lowered the minimum bid increments. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 21st Century Skills Start with Confident Communication Planet Spark Learn More Undo Meanwhile, the bidding of the dinosaur skeleton sparked a war among six bidders over six minutes. With a pre-auction estimate of $4 million to $6 million, it is one of only four known Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeletons and the only juvenile skeleton of the species, which resembles the Tyrannosaurus rex but is smaller. Bidding for the skeleton started with a high advance offer of $6 million, then escalated during the live round with bids $500,000 higher than the last and later $1 million higher than the last before ending at $26 million. People applauded after the auctioneer gaveled the bidding closed. Live Events Sotheby's reveals the winner's plans with dinosaur skeleton The auction house said the buyer plans to loan the skeleton to an institution. It was the third-highest amount paid for a dinosaur at auction. A Stegosaurus skeleton called 'Apex' holds the record after it was sold for $44.6 million in 2024 at Sotheby's. Parts of the skeleton were found in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, a gold mine for dinosaur bones. Specialists assembled nearly 140 fossil bones with some sculpted materials to recreate the skeleton and mounted it so it's ready to exhibit, Sotheby's says. It was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting company. It's more than 6 feet (2 meters) tall and nearly 11 feet (3 meters) long, and is believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) long, while the T. rex could be 40 feet (12 meters) long. Mars meteorite is a rare find As far as the Mars meteorite is concerned, the bidding for it began with two advance offers of $1.9 million and $2 million. The live bidding slowly proceeded with increases of $200,000 and $300,000 until $4 million, then continued with $100,000 increases until reaching $4.3 million. The red, brown, and gray meteorite is about 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly 7% of all the Martian material currently on this planet, Sotheby's says. It measures nearly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 millimeters by 279 millimeters by 152 millimeters). It was also a rare find. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites found on Earth, the auction house says. 'This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,' Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby's, was quoted as saying in an interview before the auction. 'So it's more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars,' Hatton added. It's not clear exactly when the meteorite was blasted off the surface of Mars, but testing showed it probably happened in recent years, Sotheby's says. Hatton said a specialized lab examined a small piece of the red planet remnant and confirmed it was from Mars. It was compared with the distinct chemical composition of Martian meteorites discovered during the Viking space probe that landed on Mars in 1976, she said. The examination found that it is an 'olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,' a type of Martian rock formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma. It has a coarse-grained texture and contains the minerals pyroxene and olivine, Sotheby's says. It also has a glassy surface, likely due to the high heat that burned it when it fell through Earth's atmosphere, Hatton said. 'So that was their first clue that this wasn't just some big rock on the ground,' she said.
