T. rex could become most expensive fossil ever - but it's a ​problem for scientists

A Tyrannosaurus rex fossil nicknamed Gus sold at auction for 50.1 million dollars on Tuesday at Sotheby's in New York, becoming the most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold at auction. An anonymous phone bidder won the piece after a 10 minute bidding contest against six other prospective buyers, surpassing the prior record of nearly 45 million dollars paid for a stegosaurus named Apex in 2024. The specimen, discovered in 2021 on private land in Harding County, South Dakota, is about 61 percent complete, measures roughly 38 feet long and about 12 and a half feet tall, and is estimated to date to about 67 million years ago; it was named after ranch owner Gary Licking, who died during the excavation process. A scientific advocacy group, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, said it hopes the new owner will donate the fossil to an accredited natural history museum so it remains available for research and public display.