BERN, Switzerland (AP) 鈥� Nearly 300 Tyrannosaurus rex bones that were dug up from three sites in the United States and assembled into a single skeleton sold Tuesday at an auction in Switzerland for 4.8 million francs ($5.3 million), below the expected price.
Crafted into an open-mouth pose, the T. rex skeleton measuring 11.6 meters long (38 feet long) and 3.9 meters high (12.8 feet) high came in under the anticipated range of 5 million to 8 million francs when it went under the hammer at the Koller auction house in Zurich.
Koller had said Tuesday鈥檚 sale would be the first time such a T. rex skeleton would go up for auction in Europe. The composite skeleton, featuring 293 bones, was a showpiece of an auction that featured some 70 lots, and the skull was set up next to the auctioneer's podium throughout.
鈥淚t could be that it was a composite 鈥� that could be why the purists didn't go for it,鈥� Karl Green, the auction house鈥檚 marketing director, said by phone. 鈥淚t's a fair price for the dino. I hope it's going to be shown somewhere in public.鈥�
Green did not identify the buyer, but said it was a 鈥淓uropean private collector.鈥� Including the 鈥渂uyer's premium鈥� and fees, the sale came to 5.5 million Swiss francs (about $6.1 million), Koller said.
Promoters said the composite T. rex, dubbed 鈥淭rinity,鈥� was built from specimens retrieved from three sites in the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations of Montana and Wyoming between 2008 and 2013.
Koller said 鈥渙riginal bone material鈥� comprised more than half of the restored skeleton. The auction house said the skull was particularly rare and also remarkably well-preserved.
"When dinosaurs died in the Jurassic or Cretaceous periods, they often lost their heads during deposition (of the remains into rocks). In fact, most dinosaurs are found without their skulls," said Nils Knoetschke, a scientific adviser who was quoted in the auction catalog. 鈥淏ut here we have truly original Tyrannosaurus skull bones that all originate from the same specimen.鈥�
T. rex roamed the Earth between 65 and 67 million years ago. A study published two years ago in the journal Science estimated that about ever lived. Hollywood movies such as the blockbuster 鈥淛urassic Park鈥� franchise have added to the public fascination with the carnivorous creature.
The two areas the bones for Trinity came from were also the source of other T. rex skeletons that were auctioned off, according to Koller: Chicago鈥檚 Field Museum of Natural History bought 鈥淪ue鈥� for $8.4 million over a quarter-century ago, and 鈥淪tan鈥� three years ago.
Two years ago, a that the Guinness World Records declared as the world's biggest, known as 鈥淏ig John,鈥� was sold for 6.6 million euros ($7.2 million) to a private collector at a Paris auction.
Jamey Keaten, The Associated Press
