Dinosaur Auction: Tyrannosaur Skeleton Fetches $1 Million Despite Objections

Dinosaur auction leads to sale of contested Tyrannosaur skeleton.

By: Wynne Parry, LiveScience Senior Writer
Published: 05/20/2012 08:13 PM EDT on LiveScience

NEW YORK — A nearly complete tyrannosaur skeleton has sold for just over $1 million, in spite of a call to halt its auction because the fossils may have been taken illegally from Mongolia.

During an auction this afternoon (May 20), Heritage Auctions sold the Tyrannosaurus bataar specimen to an anonymous bidder on the condition that the sale receive court approval.

Opponents did not want the sale to go forward under any condition. A temporary restraining order filed in the name of the Mongolian president Elbegdorj Tsakhia sought to prevent the sale of the skeleton. The court documents contend that the specimen originated in Mongolia, and that the export of fossils excavated in Mongolia is a criminal offense under the country's law.

Under the terms of the sale, the specimen will not be delivered to the buyer until the sale receives court approval, according to Gregory Rohan, president of Heritage Auctions. [Up For Auction: A Natural History Gallery]

Attorney Robert Painter, who represents the Mongolian president, attempted to stop the sale when the tyrannosaur's turn came toward the end of today's natural history auction. Painter said he would continue pursuing the case and attempt to hold Heritage Auctions in contempt of court for going forward in spite of the temporary restraining order.

During the auction, a handful of Mongolians protested from the sidewalk nearby, holding photos of the specimen and a banner reading "It's a national treasure of Mongolia return our stolen treasure."

"We want this dinosaur to go back to Mongolia where it belongs, that is the sole purpose of this," said Bolorsetseg Minjin, a Mongolian paleontologist and director of the Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs, who was among those on the sidewalk.

In response to concerns about the provenance of specimen, a species that is an Asian relative to the North American Tyrannosaurus rex, Heritage Auctions released a statement on Friday saying the specimen entered the United States legally, and that "the consignors warranted in writing to Heritage that they hold clear title to the fossils."

Heritage Auctions has not identified the seller or the buyer, citing a need to protect confidentiality.

"Somebody doesn't put something like this in a major auction that is broadcast and promoted worldwide if they have got something to hide. If there is a title problem, you go and sell it secretly to someone in a backroom for a suit case full of cash," Rohan said. "That is something we have nothing to do with."

Paleontologist Mark Norell from the American Museum of Natural History has supported the Mongolian case, saying that looting of fossils is an increasing problem for the country.

The 8-feet (2.4-meters) tall and 24-feet (7.3-meters) long specimen sold for $1,052,500. It was one of many items up for auction.

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Wynne Parry on Twitter @Wynne_Parry. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

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Comments

[phalynx]

06:43 PM on 05/22/2012

Thinking out loud again: If we could ever extract some viable t-rex DNA and successfully clone a few; we could train, armor and use them for war.

[zanedy]

07:54 AM on 05/22/2012

Saray Palin said those bones are less than 5000 years old, and aren't worth much more than 3 Big Macs with fries and shakes, a 12 gauge shot gun, a tin of chew, and a King James!!!

[gypsysailor]

02:30 AM on 05/22/2012

Since 1986 it has been illegal to take any kind of artifact from a designated site in this country. There are a few ways to get around this act, which is an abomination. The greedy universities and collages that sponsered this act in the US have no idea of what they have perpretrated on casual citizens. If you pick up an exposed arrowhead on a river bank you can go to prison. If you pick up a fossil on public land, your land, you can go to prison. But if a farmer uncovers an artifact during plowing said lands they are not in the wrong. However they cannot stop and pick the artifact up either. The scientific community has screwed everyone over in this case. The incidence of 'grave robbing' which prompted the law in the first place was minimal to begin with, much like the voter fraud which is being touted now. Not enough to start a fire over.

[VileOverlord]

09:37 AM on 05/22/2012

All that rhetoric and complaining about the theft of Native artifacts over the hundreds of years put together will get you a Nickle. The Smithsonian still has thousands and thousands of pounds of relics and remains that were "given" to them from collectors that tribes have attempted to get back for almost as long as they have had them. Their answer; they don't exist or the back log for cataloging is so big or, my favorite, "how can we tell whom to return them to. Leaders and holy persons have offered to help with the returns but they continue to stall and all remains continue to sit in boxes, piles or bags.

[Parade Keegan]

10:29 AM on 05/22/2012

If it could be proved the sale wouldn't have gone through. Just because someone says it's mine doesn't make it so.

[Acert]

07:39 PM on 05/21/2012

If it enters the states, the government should seize it via eminent domain.

[VileOverlord]

09:39 AM on 05/22/2012

That law does not apply, the FTC could seize it on grounds of artifact repatriation and then just hold it forever like Native bones.

[A-Voice-of-reason]

06:24 PM on 05/21/2012

Not to be mean but, what is Mongolia going to do with the specimen? Do they have a museum or anything there to house it? I want a dinosaur skeleton...

[Al Schrader]

06:09 PM on 05/21/2012

Yeah, he got cheated. You see, reptile bones are made of bone cells same as any other living vetebrates. Each bone cell contains a nucleus which stores the DNA or life code. If this DNA is extracted and placed into a fresh unfertilized lizard egg, it may be possible to hatch a T-Rex.
A T-Rex skeleton with good DNA could be worth 300 million or more...Al

[cagog]

11:20 PM on 05/21/2012

Sorry to say this, but it has already happened, some old guy called John Hammond of InGen created clone dinosaurs in some island of the coast of Costa Rica.

[nasknit]

05:41 PM on 05/22/2012

It was a fictional story! Could this happen some day? Maybe. But, the DNA used in the book/movie came from blood sucking insects Preserved in Amber, NOT fossilized bone fragments.

[musikhut]

06:03 PM on 05/21/2012

I kind of find it sad to think that this rare piece of antiquity has the same value as a 325 sq,ft. parking garage in New York.

[bakdoc1980]

05:39 PM on 05/21/2012

The guy is getting ripped-off, the bones are only six thousand years old and planted by Satan in order to cast doubt as to the true biblical age of the Earth!

[hnnbar]

06:22 PM on 05/21/2012

LOL

[mikeyparks]

05:32 PM on 05/21/2012

Do they also want the bones back from all the Mongolian beef?

[tstratford]

05:22 PM on 05/21/2012

It seems to me, this buyer could be a philanthropist. Help others that are less fortunate. That's a story worth printing!

[mds308]

05:17 PM on 05/21/2012

What was Pebbles share?

[modenaro]

04:27 PM on 05/21/2012

If its not about the money, its about the money.

[wmu7013601]

04:26 PM on 05/21/2012

Just another example as to how bad we have become. It does not matter if what is being done is right or wrong as long as you have the money to do it.

[Cashman Knows All]

04:25 PM on 05/21/2012

I sense that John Hammond is behind this!

[Payton Fischer]

04:18 PM on 05/21/2012

an anonymous buyer? im pretty sure that a dinosaur skeleton is like the best decorative item you could ever purchase for your house. it would make the room. i mean who even needs a sofa when you have a dinosaur?