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New York – The nearly complete fossil remains of a 161-million-year-old stegosaurus discovered in Colorado in 2022 will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York next week, auction house officials said.
The dinosaur that Sotheby’s is calling Apex is 11 feet (3.3 meters) tall and measures 27 feet (8.2 meters) from nose to tail, according to Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s global head of science and popular culture.
The stegosaurus, with its distinctive dorsal plates, is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs in the world.
Apex, which Hatton called “a coloring book dinosaur,” was discovered in May 2022 on private land near the town of Dinosaur, Colorado. The excavation was completed in October 2023, Sotheby’s said.
Although experts believe stegosaurs used their terrifying tail tips to fight, this specimen shows no signs of combat, Sotheby’s said. The fossil shows evidence of arthritis, suggesting that Apex lived to an advanced age.
Hatton said Apex was found “with its tail curled under its body, which is a common death posture for animals.”
The dinosaur will be auctioned on July 17 as part of Sotheby’s “Geek Week” series.
Sotheby’s estimates it will sell for $4 million to $6 million, but that’s just an educated guess.
“This is an incredibly rare animal,” Hatton said. “A stegosaurus of this caliber has never been auctioned before, so we’ll find out what it’s really worth.”
