T. rex skeleton goes for CHF4.8 million at Zurich auction

Going, going, gone: the head of 'Trinity' in Zurich on Tuesday © Keystone / Michael Buholzer

The skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus Rex dubbed “Trinity” has been auctioned in Zurich for more than CHF4.8 million ($5.4 million).

“The skeleton will remain in Europe,” said a spokesperson for auction house Koller. He did not give further details about the private buyer.

The 293 T. rex bones, assembled and erected into a growling 11.6-metre-long and 3.9-metre-high posture, had been expected to fetch between CHF5 million and CHF8 million ($5.6-$8.9 million) when it went under the hammer on  Tuesday.

It is the first time a T. rex skeleton has been auctioned in Europe.

Promoters say the composite T. rex – drawn from three sites in the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations of US states Montana and Wyoming – was built from specimens retrieved between 2008 and 2013. The skeleton is around 67 million years old.

More than half of the restored fossil is “original bone material”, and Koller says the skull is particularly rare and was remarkably well-preserved.

“When dinosaurs died in the Jurassic or Cretaceous periods, they often lost their heads during deposition. In fact, most dinosaurs are found without their skulls,” said Nils Knötschke, a scientific adviser who was quoted in the auction catalogue. “But here we have truly original Tyrannosaurus skull bones that all originate from the same specimen.”

Sue and Stan

T. rex roamed the Earth between 65 and 67 million years ago, and Hollywood films – perhaps epitomised by the blockbuster Jurassic Park franchise – have added to the public fascination with the carnivorous creature.

The same areas were the source of two other dinosaur skeletons that also went on the block, says Koller. “Sue” sold for $8.4 million over a quarter of a century ago, and “Stan” fetched nearly $32 million three years ago.

Tuesday’s sale, part of a wider auction of artifacts, marks only the third time such a T. rex skeleton has gone up for auction, Koller says.