A stegosaurus skeleton will be sold at auction for the first time (7 photos)

Apex is the largest stegosaurus skeleton ever found. It is 8.2 meters long and was found two years ago at Dinozaur National Monument in Colorado. This amazing lot is expected to fetch approximately $6 million at auction.





Jason Cooper discovered a bone sticking out of a rock formation on his property in Dinosaur, Colorado, on his 45th birthday in May 2022. With the help of friends, he began excavating the site and cleaning up the fossils he found.

“We looked around. My friend found several vertebrae. I said, 'Oh my God, this is going to be a really great birthday!'" he told BBC News.

Fossil hunters recorded as much data as they could about where the fossils were found and moved them back to Cooper's dyno shop, where they began work on assembling the skeleton, which he called Apex.



Fossil hunter Jason Cooper discovered the impressive 8.2m-long stegosaurus skeleton while walking around his property in Colorado on his 45th birthday.

Previous excavations at the Cooper site resulted in the discovery of large numbers of Jurassic dinosaurs, several of which the fossil hunter donated to institutions such as the Brigham Young University Museum of Paleontology in Provo, Utah, and the Forest Science Museum in Miami.

But Cooper immediately realized that Apex was an exceptional find: the dinosaur remains were 11.5 feet (3.5 m) tall, about 27 feet (8.2 m) long and 6 feet (1.8 m) deep. width at 70% completeness. Skeletons - even partial ones - of this plate-tailed herbivore are rare, so Apex is truly a unique and particularly important specimen.





The giant fossil took more than a year to excavate and the skeleton, 70 percent complete, will sell for up to $6 million at Sotheby's in Manhattan this July.

However, the lucky fossil lover was even more amazed when he learned that Sotheby's believes the find, which has lain underground for 150 million years, could fetch up to $6 million at auction.

Cooper's Stegosaurus is still "substantially complete," but the bones are well preserved and the impressive 247 pieces are mounted on steel frames, Sotheby's said in a press statement. Apex will be the first stegosaurus to go under the hammer at auction.



Experts say this stegosaurus skeleton is one of the best fossils of its kind.

The skeleton is one of the best and most valuable fossils of its kind, according to Cassandra Hutton, head of science and popular culture at the auction house.

“No one has ever found a 100% dinosaur,” she added. “A stegosaurus as good as this one is hard to find, and I think it will be incredibly important.” Even casts of the skin have been preserved.”



Welcome sign from the city of Dinosaer. It is a small town with a population of only 243 people (2020 census).

The apex will be auctioned for between $4 million and $6 million on July 17 during Sotheby's annual Geek Week sale in Manhattan. The highest bidder will receive a copy of the dinosaur scan data, as well as a full license to use any 3D data they wish. This, Sotheby's said, "will allow primary information about the dinosaur to remain with the specimen and facilitate collaboration in future research and education."



Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado

Bidding is expected to be brisk as tech moguls and Hollywood stars now hold dinosaur fossils in high esteem and are eager to add them to their estate holdings.

This is sad news for paleontologists, who argue that keeping valuable fossils in private hands hinders scientific research and keeps them from the public.

Steve Brusatte, professor of paleontology at the University of Edinburgh, told CNN that Apex should be in a museum.

“It’s a shame when such a fossil, which could enlighten and arouse the curiosity of so many people, simply disappears into the mansion of an oligarch,” he said.



In 2019, it was reported that Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe and Nicolas Cage were among the celebrities who had purchased prehistoric remains. Nicolas Cage reportedly purchased the T-rex skull for $236,000 in 2007 after bidding with Leonardo DiCaprio, but returned it after it was reported stolen.