Buying and transferring a 44 million dollar skeleton of a dinosaur in America

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York pulled back a large beige curtain last Thursday and announced that Apex, the most complete stegosaurus dinosaur skeleton ever discovered, will be on display this Sunday. The week will be exposed for the next four years.

Ken Griffin, the billionaire and well-known patron of the museum, bought the 150-million-year-old skeleton for $44.6 million at a Sotheby’s auction this summer, making it the most expensive fossil skeleton ever sold, from a A T-Rex dinosaur named “Stan” that was sold at Christie’s auction was outbid.

“Apex”, which is the remains of the dinosaur “Stegosaurus” and dates back to about 150 million years ago, was discovered in “Colorado” in a site that has long been the site of the discovery of remains belonging to the “Late Jurassic”. Stegosaurus, which was a herbivore, is distinguished from other species by a series of kite-shaped plates on its back and tail, which were probably used for defense and display.

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London’s National History Museum currently houses a similar skeleton of a stegosaur named Sophie, which was discovered in Wyoming in 2003. Dinosaur remains have been auctioned and sold many times at world famous auctions.

This auction first sold a T-Rex fossil named “Sue” in 1997 for $8.3 million. In 2022, a Gorgosaurus was sold for $6.1 million, and Maximus, a T-Rex skull, was sold for $6.1 million. Also, the remains of Dorothy, a triceratops dinosaur, were sold for $7.4 million in 2021. Christie’s also sold a Velociraptor skeleton in 2022 for $12.4.

However, the sale of these prehistoric remains has always been criticized. Paleontologists have particularly criticized the sale of remains of such scientific species as luxury goods.