Tyrannosaurus rex fossil nicknamed "Gus" fetches $50.1 million at New York auction

A nearly complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, dubbed "Gus," was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for $50.1 million, including fees, far exceeding the pre-sale estimate of $20-30 million. The fossil, excavated between 2021 and 2023 on a ranch in Harding County, South Dakota, is considered one of the largest and most complete T. rex specimens ever found, measuring about 3.8 metres tall and roughly 38 feet long.

The auction house described the specimen as an “outstanding exhibition-ready mounted skeleton,” noting that it comprises 183 bone elements and a high proportion of rare gastralia, making it about 61% complete by bone count and up to 80% by mass. The skull, described as exceptionally preserved, includes all six dentitions and is displayed separately from the mounted skeleton.

"The current trend towards dinosaur fossils being marketed and sold like rare artworks at vast prices by auction houses is very concerning, as is the idea of buying dinosaur fossils as a status symbol or a commodity," said Professor Richard Butler, a vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Birmingham.

"As this dinosaur was found in the USA, and in America you can do what you want with what you find on your land, the auction looks to be legal. But as a scientist, it still concerns me," added Professor Stephen Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh.

Scientists highlighted that private sales could limit research access, noting that fossils outside museum collections are harder to study. The sale surpasses the previous record for a dinosaur fossil, which was held by a stegosaurus named Apex that sold for $44.6 million in 2024.