The largest skeletal remains uncovered yet of a Stegosaurus was sold for $44.6m on Wednesday at Sotheby’s in New York, setting record as the most valuable dinosaur fossil ever auctioned. The 161-million-year-old fossil dinosaur dubbed “Apex,” measuring about 3.4m (11ft) tall and 8.2m (27ft) long, is among the most complete ever found.
Palaeontologist Jason Cooper discovered the remains on his privately owned land in Moffat County, Colorado, near the fittingly-named town of Dinosaur in 2022. The buyer, who beat out six other bidders, remains anonymous, but they intend to loan Apex to an institution in the US.