A 150-million-year-old juvenile ceratosaur, a predatory dinosaur from North America, has been sold at an auction by Sotheby’s for a record-breaking $30.5 million. The sale price surpassed the estimated value of $4 million to $6 million and is now the third-highest on record.
The ceratosaur fossil, discovered in 1996, was initially acquired by the Museum of Ancient Life in Utah before being sold to commercial paleontologist Brock Sisson, who mounted it and brought it to Sotheby’s for auction. The specimen is notable for its complete, delicately preserved skull and is only the fourth Ceratosaurus skeleton ever found.
The bidding process took six minutes, with six bidders competing both in-person and online. Sotheby’s has not disclosed the identity of the winning bidder. The sale price follows high sums paid for dinosaur fossils at auction in recent years, including the $44.6 million “Apex” stegosaur sold by Sotheby’s last year.
The record-breaking sale has raised concerns about the commercialization of paleontology and potential financial challenges for museums working with private landowners to study fossils. Some experts worry that the sale could desecrate sacred ground, while others see it as an opportunity for scientific study.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/science/sothebys-dinosaur-auction-ceratosaurus.html