Nanotyrannus skeleton goes to auction in New York with £4.5m price tag
A rare Nanotyrannus dinosaur skeleton, nicknamed 'Jodi', is set for auction in New York with an expected price of up to $9 million. The sale has reignited debates among scientists regarding the ethics of selling significant fossil remains to private collectors.
Why it matters
The commercialization of rare scientific specimens raises concerns about the loss of public access to important paleontological discoveries.
The auction house added that the Nanotyrannus is "one of only three such skeletons known to science."/Screengrab
The mounted skeleton of a newly-identified dinosaur once mistaken for a young Tyrannosaurus rex is up for auction - with a price-tag of at least $6m (£4.5m).
Nicknamed "Jodi", the roughly 10-foot-tall (3m) skeleton will be auctioned by Sotheby's in New York. The sale comes a year after researchers confirmed that the skeleton belongs to a distinct genus.
The Late Cretaceous carnivore is expected to fetch up to $9m when it goes under the hammer on Tuesday. The auction comes after Sotheby's sold a Tyrannosaurus rex, dubbed "Gus", for a record $50.1m (£37.4m) in July.
The sales comes as some in the scientific community debate whether dinosaur remains should be sold privately.
Sotheby's described "Jodi" as an "excellent exhibition-ready" skeleton with about 191 fossil-bone elements and a "beautifully preserved, virtually complete skull".
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