Rare 67-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton heads to auction in US with $9M estimate

A rare 67-million-year-old Nanotyrannus skeleton is set to go under the hammer in New York on Tuesday, with an estimated price of $6 million to $9 million.

According to Sotheby’s official auction listing, the fossil, nicknamed “Jodi,” will be offered at a dedicated auction in New York on Tuesday, with an estimated price of $6 million to $9 million.

Measuring about 6 meters (19.6 feet) from nose to tail, the mounted skeleton stands approximately 2.9 meters (9.5 feet) tall on its display frame, according to the listing.

The specimen comprises 191 fossilized bone elements from a single animal, including a nearly complete skull containing 53 bones and about 50 teeth at different stages of development.

Jodi was discovered in 2019 by Montana rancher Jodi Pierson on privately owned land in the Hell Creek Formation near the town of Jordan.

A team led by commercial paleontologist Clayton Phipps excavated the skeleton that year, and it was later acquired by a private collection.

Sotheby’s described Jodi as one of only three Nanotyrannus skeletons known to science and the first to reach the market since research strengthened the case for its classification as a distinct dinosaur.

DECADES-LONG DEBATE OVER DINOSAUR’S IDENTITY

For decades, paleontologists debated whether Nanotyrannus represented a separate predatory dinosaur or merely a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex.

Research published in 2025 concluded that Nanotyrannus was a smaller, faster and more lightly built dinosaur that lived alongside T. rex near the end of the Cretaceous period.

Scientists identified more than 150 anatomical differences between the two, including Nanotyrannus’ longer arms, larger hand claws and greater number of teeth.

An adult Nanotyrannus measured approximately 5.5 meters (18 feet) long, compared with about 12.2 meters (40 feet) for an adult T. rex.

The Sotheby’s auction catalog identifies Jodi as Nanotyrannus cf. lancensis, indicating that the specimen resembles the species but has not been definitively assigned to it.

The skeleton previously appeared at the Frieze Masters art fair in London in 2023, where it was presented as a juvenile T. rex.

It has since been prepared as a free-standing display using fossilized bones alongside sculpted and three-dimensionally printed replacement elements.

GROWING DEMAND FOR DINOSAUR FOSSILS

The auction comes amid growing demand for dinosaur fossils among wealthy private collectors.

In July, a T. rex skeleton named Gus sold at Sotheby’s for a record $50.1 million.

Such sales have raised concerns among paleontologists, who warn that scientifically important fossils could become unavailable for research if acquired by private collectors who restrict access.

Sotheby’s said Jodi is being sold with ownership rights and documentation covering its condition, authenticity, and legal provenance.