76 million-year-old meat-eating dinosaur skeleton to be auctioned

The fossilised skeleton of a relative of the T rex will be auctioned in New York this month, Sotheby’s has announced.

The Gorgosaurus walked the earth around 76 million years ago.

The dinosaur was an apex carnivore that lived in what is now the western United States and Canada during the late Cretaceous Period.

The theropod predates its relative, the Tyrannosaurus rex, by 10 million years.

The creature’s remains will be a highlight of Sotheby’s natural history auction on 28 July.

The specimen being sold was discovered in 2018 in the Judith River Formation near Havre, Montana, Sotheby’s said.

It measures nearly 10ft tall and 22ft long.

All other known Gorgosaurus skeletons are in museum collections, making this the only specimen available for private ownership, according to the auction house.

Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s global head of science and popular culture, said: “In my career, I have had the privilege of handling and selling many exceptional and unique objects, but few have the capacity to inspire wonder and capture imaginations quite like this unbelievable Gorgosaurus skeleton.”

Sotheby’s presale estimate for the fossil is between $5m and $8m (£4.1m and £6.6m).

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