A mounted skeleton of Nanotyrannus, a carnivorous dinosaur once mistaken for a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, sold for $47.3m at Sotheby's in New York on Tuesday. The specimen, nicknamed "Jodi", exceeded its $9m estimate after 12 minutes of bidding between six interested parties. The buyer's identity remains undisclosed.
The roughly 10-foot-tall skeleton contains about 191 fossil-bone elements and a virtually complete skull. Sotheby's described it as "exhibition-ready" and noted it is one of only three known Nanotyrannus skeletons. The sale makes "Jodi" the second-most valuable dinosaur fossil ever auctioned, behind a Tyrannosaurus rex called "Gus" that sold for $50.1m in July.
Nanotyrannus lived approximately 67 million years ago alongside T. rex during the Late Cretaceous period. Researchers confirmed the genus as distinct from T. rex only last October, ending decades of debate. Megan Jenkins, a palaeontologist at the University of Portsmouth, explained that Nanotyrannus "was for a very long time believed to be sort of a teenager of T. rex" but is "a lot smaller and a lot more gracile" with "blade-like teeth for slicing through meat."
The skeleton was discovered in Montana's Hell Creek Formation by rancher Jodi Pierson and later excavated by commercial palaeontologist Clayton Phipps. The research that confirmed Nanotyrannus as a separate genus relied partly on the famous "Dueling Dinosaurs" fossil, found eight miles away, which shows a Nanotyrannus and Triceratops apparently in combat.
The sale has intensified scientific debate over whether dinosaur remains should enter private collections or remain in public institutions. Prof Steve Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh called the auction "harrowing," warning it could disappear "into the vaults of a collector rather than displayed in a museum where it can wow and inspire kids and families." He noted no museum could afford such prices. Jenkins acknowledged both perspectives, noting that excavation requires substantial investment and that many high-value specimens eventually reach public display.