Topline
The most complete skeleton ever found of the dinosaur deinonychus, maybe best known as the “velociraptor” seen in the Jurassic Park franchise and one of the rarest of all dinosaur fossils, is going up for sale next month in an historic auction.
Key Facts
“Hector,” named after one of the Trojan warriors in the Iliad, is a skeleton made up of about 126 fossil bones dating back to roughly 108 million to 115 million years ago that was excavated from Wolf Creek Canyon in Montana in 2014, according to Christie’s.
Christie’s said it will be the first time a deinonychus fossil ever appears at auction, and expects the skeleton to sell for between $4 million and $6 million.
Complete deinonychus fossils are among the rarest of all dinosaur remains, and “Hector” is the only complete specimen in private hands, while only two other sets are housed in museum collections, according to Christie’s.
The skeleton will go on view at Christie’s showroom in New York Saturday before going to auction on May 12, marking the only public display of the specimen after it was part of an exhibition in Copenhagen that ran from 2020 to 2021.
Surprising Fact
The deinonychus dinosaurs featured in Jurassic Park were called velociraptors in the films, which is actually the name of a completely different species. Michael Crichton, who wrote the novels on which the franchise is based, said he was drawn to the dramatic nature of the name. In reality, velociraptors were less aggressive and likely about the size of turkeys, according to Christie’s.
Key Background
The demand for dinosaur fossils among private collectors has grown in recent years. A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton sold for $31.8 million in 2020, which broke the record for the most expensive dinosaur bones ever sold at auction. The skeleton, nicknamed “Stan,” will be housed in a new museum in Abu Dhabi, according to National Geographic. Celebrity collectors like Nicolas Cage and Leonardo DiCaprio have reportedly bought prehistoric bones. However, the dealing of dinosaur skeletons is controversial. Some experts in the field say fossils being snapped up by private collectors prevent the bones from being viewed by the public and being studied by researchers, and concerns have been raised about the dinosaur market fueling trafficking and stealing specimens in order to sell them. Cage agreed to return the $276,000 skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar for which he reportedly beat DiCaprio in a bidding war at auction after it was revealed to have been previously stolen.
Further Reading
T. Rex Skeleton Sells For $31.8 Million At Christie's Auction (Forbes)
One Of The World’s Best-Known T-Rex Skeletons Could Sell For $8 Million Next Month (Forbes)
