T. rex ‘Gus’ becomes world’s most expensive dinosaur
A 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nicknamed “Gus” has sold for $50.13 million at Sotheby’s in New York, becoming the most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold at auction, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The final price, which includes Sotheby’s premiums but excludes applicable taxes and other costs, far exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $20 million to $30 million. The skeleton was the headline lot of the Natural History including Gus Rex auction, held on July 14.
Measuring approximately 11.6 meters, from head to tail and standing around 3.8 meters tall, Gus ranks among the largest T. rex specimens ever discovered. Its skull measures about 1.37 meters, while its thigh bone is approximately 1.28 meters long.
The specimen contains 183 fossilized bone elements and is around 63% complete by bone count. The preserved remains account for an estimated 75% to 80% of the dinosaur’s original bone mass. Around 82% of the skull is represented, including all six tooth-bearing sections.
The fossil was discovered on a cattle ranch in Harding County, South Dakota, owned by the late Gary “Gus” Licking, after whom the dinosaur was named. A team led by Thomas Heitkamp excavated the specimen during three field seasons between 2021 and 2023, followed by several years of laboratory preparation, documentation and mounting.
“Tyrannosaurus rex is the most iconic pre-historic species in the fossil record, and Gus stands firmly among the greatest examples ever found,” Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s vice chairman and worldwide head of science and natural history, said ahead of the sale.
The sale broke the previous auction record held by Apex, a stegosaurus skeleton that fetched $44.6 million at Sotheby’s in 2024. Apex was later placed on long-term loan at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Modigliani’s “Elvire, en buste” sold for $31.3 million, setting a new Sotheby’s Paris record.
