Tyrannosaurus rex remains to date back 67 million years have been sold to a private buyer for 5.55 million Swiss francs ($6.2 million; £5 million).
A T. rex is being auctioned off for the first time in Europe.
The specimen, which is 11.6 meters long and 3.9 meters tall, has been called “one of the most spectacular T. rex skeletons in existence.”
The growing amount of dinosaur fossils that are ending up in private collections worries scientists.
Although it is not the first or highest-priced T. rex auction, such sales are not common.
A T. rex skeleton that was slated to sell for up to $25 million (£21 million) last year was withdrawn after questions were raised about its origins.
The skeleton is known as “293 Trinity” because it was constructed from three separate T. rexes found in Wyoming and Montana during the US dinosaur era. It is composed of 293 distinct bones that were extracted from specimens between 2008 and 2013.
More than half of 293 Trinity is actual bone, which is a remarkably high amount considering that most dinosaur skeletons sold at auction are partially constructed of casts or replacements.
It was bought and sold in Zurich at the Koller auction house. Dr. Hans-Jacob Siber of the Swiss Aahal Dinosaur Museum called Trinity a “special beast” in an interview for the company website.
A representative for the auction company said that the dinosaur was purchased by a private person and will stay in Europe. Koller believes it will be put on exhibit for the general public, although it’s unclear at this point what the owners’ plans are.
