Nanotyrannus skeleton "Jodi" is being auctioned at Sotheby's in New York

A few months after the record sale of a T-Rex skeleton, another dinosaur is on the auction program in New York. The almost two meter high and six meter long skeleton of Nanotyrannus “Jodi” will be auctioned in New York on October 27th, the auction house Sotheby's announced. The price is estimated at between six and nine million US dollars.

"'Jodi' is the exceptionally rare assembled skeleton of a Nanotyrannus and one of only three skeletons of this species known to science," said Sotheby's. “Among other things, the skeleton has an almost complete skull.” It is also the first Nanotyrannus to be offered for sale since the genus was scientifically confirmed. Research has long been concerned with the question of whether the Nanotyrannus was simply a juvenile T-Rex.

Just in July, a 67 million year old skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex was sold at an auction in New York for a record sum of around 50 million dollars (around 44 million euros). The skeleton went to a private buyer. Auctions of this type are criticized because the skeletons are so often withheld from research and from the public. Due to the hype at auctions, prices rise into the millions - amounts that public museums and universities often cannot afford.