Biggest Stegosaurus Fossil Ever Found Sells for $44.6M

A stegosaurus fossil found in Colorado two years ago has become the most valuable fossil ever sold, fetching $44.6 million at an auction in New York City. Sotheby's says the stegosaurus, nicknamed Apex, sold for more than 11 times pre-sale estimates, the BBC reports. Apex, found by fossil hunter Jason Cooper on land he owns near the town of Dinosaur, is the largest and most intact stegosaurus ever found, with 254 fossil bone elements out of a total of around 319, reports the Guardian. The auction house said signs of rheumatoid arthritis suggest Apex lived to an advanced age.

Paleontologists had complained about the sale, fearing Apex could end up disappearing into a billionaire's mansion, but the anonymous buyer plans to look into lending the 27-foot-long fossil to an institution, the Guardian reports. "Apex was born in America and is going to stay in America," said the buyer, one of seven who joined the bidding. The previous fossil auction record was set when a T. rex found in private land in South Dakota sold for $31.8 million in 2020. It was sent to the United Arab Emirates, where it will go on display in a museum due to open in Abu Dhabi next year. (More dinosaurs stories.)