9 publishers · first seen Tue, 27 Oct 2026 17:10 UTC · updated Thu, 29 Oct 2026 13:49 UTC
A rare Nanotyrannus skeleton named Jodi sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $47.3 million after a 12-minute bidding war among six contenders, making it the second-most valuable dinosaur fossil ever sold at auction. The 19.6-foot-long and 9.6-foot-tall specimen, discovered in 2019 by Montana rancher Jodi Pierson on private land in the Hell Creek Formation, comprises approximately 191 fossil bone elements and includes a virtually complete skull. Jodi is one of only three relatively complete Nanotyrannus skeletons known to science and the first to come to market since the genus was confirmed as distinct from juvenile T. rex last year.
The buyer’s identity has not been disclosed, and concerns have been raised by paleontologists about the fossil’s potential removal from public and scientific access. Experts including Thomas R Holtz Jr and Steve Brusatte warn that such high-priced private sales could limit research and education, though some note that privately owned fossils have sometimes been loaned to or displayed in museums. The sale follows the July auction of the T. rex Gus, which sold for $50.1 million.
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