A 150-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton was auctioned on Monday at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The nearly 9-meter-long flesh-eater was mounted on the tower's first floor and sold for €2 million.
Image: Getty Images/S. De Sakutin
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The unprecedented sale of the prehistoric remains was made by French auctioneer Aguttes. The winning €2 million ($2.34 million) bid, made by a French buyer, exceeded the auctioneer's expectations of between €1.2 and €1.8 million ($1.4 to $2.1 million).
According to Aguttes, the buyer wants the fossil to "go on display in a French museum."
The fossilized remains of the flesh-eating theropod were dug out of the Morrison Formation, a rich source of dinosaur fossils in the US state of Wyoming, between 2013 and 2015.
At almost 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) in height, the skeleton features 70 percent of the original bones and two virtually flawless rows of teeth. It appears to be a smaller version of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The skeleton apparently belongs to a previously unknown genus of theropod, according to Eric Mickeler, Aguttes' valuation expert for the sale. This means the buyer may determine the name of the dinosaur.
The creature would have been "a ferocious carnivore," Mickeler told German press agency dpa, adding that the prehistoric creature had a long and storied life.
"This one is unusual in that it lived for a long time, that is, we can tell from its bones that it died at an old age," he said. "It had accidents along the way, it had fractures that healed... but it didn't die from them."
The carnivorous dinosaur on display at the first floor of the Eiffel TowerImage: Getty Images/S. De Sakutin
The Jurassic lives on
The skeleton dates back to the late Jurassic period around 155 million years ago, which is opportune as the latest in the long-running Hollywood Jurassic Park franchise is being released in the US and Europe in June.
In December, Aguttes sold what it said was the largest mammoth skeleton in private hands, for €548,250. It was bought by the head of a waterproofing materials firm that has a mammoth as its logo.
Dinosaur skeleton auctions are nothing new. Back in 1997, the world's most complete and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex — named Sue — was sold for $8.36 million, with McDonald's and Walt Disney pitching in.
sb/eg/rls (dpa, AP, Reuters, AFP)
Famous dinosaurs you can visit
It's "Jurassic Park" in Berlin. In the film, the T. rex was overcome by the Spinosaurus. But at Berlin's natural history museum, the two dinosaurs will stand peacefully side-by-side for the next four months.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Emmert
When giants meet
In Steven Spielberg's blockbuster "Jurassic Park," the terrifying Spinosaurus and the T. rex met in a bloody battle. That was pure fiction. In reality, the two dinosaurs existed 40 million years apart from each other. The T. rex lived in North America; the Spinosaurus roamed Africa. A Spinosaurus skeleton was found several years ago in Morocco, but the one at the Berlin exhibition is a model.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
The multi-talented Spinosaurus
The Spinosaurus, which lived 100 million years ago, was a unique dinosaur species. It lived in the water, ate fish as large as cars, and was able to chew its prey to pulp in its powerful jaws. The first Spinosaurus bones were discovered in 1912, but they disappeared in the chaos of World War II. Now the world's first life-sized skeleton model of the species is shown at the Museum für Naturkunde.
Image: Reuters/J. Bourg
'Tristan' the T. rex
For the first time, dino fans can observe the Spinosaurus standing next to a T. rex - but only through June 12, when the Spinosaurus exhibit will close. The T. rex, known as "Tristan Otto" after the sons of its two owners, went on show in Berlin in December and will stay for three years. It is the only original skeleton of a T. rex in Europe to date and is one of only 50 reconstructions worldwide.
Image: DW/A. Kirchhoff
Visitor magnet
Because the real skull is too heavy for the 12-meter-long T. rex skeleton, it's displayed in Berlin's natural history museum in a separate case. A 3D printer was used to create the replica attached to the skeleton. The real skull is 1.5 meters long and 98-percent intact. In the last six weeks, 116,000 visitors have come to the museum to see "Tristan" before the Spinosaurus joined on February 9.
Image: Reuters/P. Kopczynski
Biggest dino found in Argentina
Forty meters long, 20 meters tall and weighing 80 tons - that's the probable size of the Stegosaurus that this bone belonged to. Discovered in Argentina in 2014, it is the largest dinosaur ever found. Since the skeleton was incomplete - unlike the T. rex now in Berlin - experts could only speculate over how large the Stegosaurus actually was.
Image: Imago/Xinhua/Telam
Calm plant eater
Unlike the predatory dinos in Berlin, the Stegosaurus was a peaceful vegetarian. The most complete Stegosaurus skeleton - including 300 original bones - measures 5.6 meters and is on display at the Natural History Museum in London.
Image: Getty Images/C. Court
Remarkably intact
This Titanosaurus was set up in the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The bones, representing a nearly intact skeleton, were discovered by a German oil company while it was drilling in Argentina. The region in Patagonia in southern Argentina is considered a jackpot for paleontologists.
