"We strongly hope that the new owner, whether it's an institution or private, will ensure that it's being seen by the public," Belin said. "A secure, permanent collection ensures that the observations that a scientist makes of a fossil can be tested and replicated-and a commercially held fossil has no such assurance," Carr said.īelin, of Christie's, said he hoped a public institution would buy Shen, and added that the whole skeleton had been fully researched, recorded in 3D and "all the elements of the skeleton will be made available for the public to research". Thomas Carr, a paleontologist from the US, described such sales as being "unquestionably harmful to science" even if the skeletons had been studied before being sold. He told AFP the trend was " bad news for science", and the remains belonged in museums. "It's a sad thing that dinosaurs are becoming collectible toys for the oligarch class, and I can only hope this fad ends soon," said Steve Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh. Another T-rex, "Stan", was sold for $31.8 million by Christie's in 2020.īut the trend for prehistoric auction lots has some experts concerned. In July, the first skeleton of a Gorgosaurus went under the hammer for $6.1 million in New York. The T-rex skeleton will be on display for three days before being shipped to Hong Kong to be sold in November. Shen-which lived during the Cretaceous period about 67 million years ago-is not the only dino auctioned in recent years. It makes me feel in awe because it's quite majestic," said Lauren Lim, 33, who went to view the exhibit. "I've never seen a real-life fossil before. It was excavated from private land in the Hells Creek Formation in Montana in the United States in 2020. The adult dino, which stands 4.6 metres tall and 12 metres long, is thought to be male. "We really wish that Shen will find a new home amongst our Asian collectors here." "None of the 20 T-Rex that exist in the world is owned by either an Asian institution or an Asian collector," said Francis Belin, president of Christie's Asia Pacific. The 1,400-kilo frame, composed of about 80 bones, will be the first T-rex skeleton auctioned in Asia, according to Christie's, which has not given an estimate for the lot.ĭubbed Shen, meaning god-like, it will be on display for three days before being shipped to Hong Kong to be sold in November.
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