Dinosaur skeleton up for sale
Giant carnivorous dinosaur skeletons rarely go on sale, so this week is a particularly exciting one for avid fossil collectors, with the auctioning in Paris of an Allosaurus skeleton.
The Sothebys sale is the second large auction of fossils in less than six months, after Bonhams sold more than 400 dinosaur items in New York in May.
The Allosaurus - an older, smaller cousin of the Tyrannosaurus Rex - walked the earth 155 to 145 million years ago, and weighed up to three tonnes.
Found in Wyoming in the US, the 33-ft long skeleton is the most complete of its species, with 70% of its bones.
The massive fossil is estimated to sell for around 800,000 euros ($1.1m) - and it could go into a private collection. But who would buy a dinosaur with such a whopping price tag?
'Flashy fossils'
Eric Mickeler, a natural history specialist at Sotheby's, told Reuters that "in the last few years, you've had modern art collectors who think this kind of item can find its place in an interior with modern art".
The auctioneers hope the Allosaurus will follow in the footsteps of its most famous fossil, Sue - a Tyrannosaurus Rex - which was sold to a Chicago museum for a record price of $8.3 million (£5.2m) in 1997....
Read entire article at BBC News
The Sothebys sale is the second large auction of fossils in less than six months, after Bonhams sold more than 400 dinosaur items in New York in May.
The Allosaurus - an older, smaller cousin of the Tyrannosaurus Rex - walked the earth 155 to 145 million years ago, and weighed up to three tonnes.
Found in Wyoming in the US, the 33-ft long skeleton is the most complete of its species, with 70% of its bones.
The massive fossil is estimated to sell for around 800,000 euros ($1.1m) - and it could go into a private collection. But who would buy a dinosaur with such a whopping price tag?
'Flashy fossils'
Eric Mickeler, a natural history specialist at Sotheby's, told Reuters that "in the last few years, you've had modern art collectors who think this kind of item can find its place in an interior with modern art".
The auctioneers hope the Allosaurus will follow in the footsteps of its most famous fossil, Sue - a Tyrannosaurus Rex - which was sold to a Chicago museum for a record price of $8.3 million (£5.2m) in 1997....