RAPID CITY, S.D., July 15 (Rapid City Online) — A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nicknamed Gus has sold for $50.1 million at Sotheby’s, setting a record as the most expensive dinosaur fossil ever auctioned.
The sale matters for two reasons. First, it shows how rare a large, well-preserved T. rex skeleton is on the open market. Second, it highlights how much of the animal survived the millions of years between death and discovery: Sotheby’s described Gus as one of the largest and most complete T. rex specimens ever found.
What sold?
Sotheby’s said Gus was about 67 million years old and measured about 38 feet long and 12.5 feet tall. The auction house also said the skeleton included 183 fossil bone elements and represented roughly 75% to 80% of the dinosaur’s original bone mass.
Reports on the bone count are not identical. Fox News, citing Sotheby’s, said the specimen was about 61% complete by bone count. Channel News Asia and AccuWeather, also citing Sotheby’s, described it as about 63% complete. The difference appears to come from the way completeness is measured: one figure is based on how many bones are present, while another reflects how much of the animal’s original mass those bones represent.
Where was Gus found?
According to Sotheby’s as reported by Fox News, BBC and AccuWeather, the fossil was found on a cattle ranch in Harding County, South Dakota, on land owned by the late Gary “Gus” Licking. Fox News said Licking had spent years finding smaller fossils on the property before he teamed with Thomas Heitkamp and the Theropoda Expeditions team to look for something larger. BBC reported that the discovery team spent three years carefully excavating the specimen.
Channel News Asia said the fossil was discovered in 2021.
Why did it fetch so much money?
At auction, rarity and condition matter. Gus drew seven bidders in a 10-minute bidding war, Sotheby’s said, with the winning bidder participating by phone and remaining anonymous.
Before the sale, BBC reported that Sotheby’s had valued the specimen at $20 million to $30 million. The final price more than doubled the top estimate.
How does it compare with earlier dinosaur sales?
Gus also surpassed the previous record for a dinosaur fossil at auction. CNN and Live Science, citing Christie’s and the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, reported that the T. rex known as Stan sold in 2020 for $31.8 million after being found in South Dakota in 1987.
For paleontologists, fossils like Gus can matter because they add to the limited number of large T. rex specimens that are known. For auction houses and wealthy buyers, they are among the rarest and most recognizable objects ever offered for sale.
