Stegosaurus named Apex goes for $44.6M at auction, most expensive fossil ever sold

A Stegosaurus fossil from the Late Jurassic period broke a record Wednesday after being sold for over $40 million during a live auction.

A mounted Stegosaurus skeleton dubbed "Apex" was bought for $44.6 million during an auction by Sotheby's, a British-founded fine arts company headquartered in New York. Sotheby's confirmed the final price to USA TODAY and said more info is coming.

The Stegosaurus is predicted to have lived between 161-146 million years ago.

The fossil was unearthed in May 2022 on privately owned land in Moffat County, Colorado, near a town named Dinosaur, according to Sotheby's YouTube video about the Apex.

"This particular specimen is really, really exciting because it is enormous," Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's global head of science and popular culture, said in the video. "It has an incredible level of preservation."

How big is the Stegosaurus fossil?

The exhibition-ready mounted skeleton measures 11-feet-tall and nearly 27-feet-long from nose to tail, with a femur length of 45 inches, according to Sotheby's. The Stegosaurus has a 20-foot 5-inch footprint due to the "curvature of the spine and elevated position of the tail," the fine arts company added.

The fossil is "virtually complete" with 254 of its 319 total bone elements accounted for, according to Sotheby's. Additional 3D printed and sculpted elements are also included.

Based on the size and degree of the fossil's bone development, Sotheby's said it determined that the skeleton belonged to a "large" and "robust adult individual" who lived to an advanced age. Evidence of arthritis, specifically in the vertebrae, further indicates the specimen's length of life.

The fossil does not have any signs of combat-related injuries, or evidence of post-mortem scavenging, Sotheby's said.

The skeleton is anatomically correct and mounted in an aggressive attack pose on a custom steel armature, according to the fine arts company.

"The specimen was meticulously prepared to the highest standards, showcasing the fossils’ natural beauty and preserving important contextual information, including fossilized skin impressions, and three ossicles (throat armor), which are offered along with the specimen," Sotheby's said.

Apex is now the most expensive fossil ever sold

The Stegosaurus fossil was anticipated to be sold for $4 million to $6 million, Forbes reported. The sale went above expectations and broke a record, beating out the previous most expensive fossil, a Tyrannosaurus skeleton named Stan that was sold by Christie's auction house to the state of Abu Dhabi in 2020 for $31.8 million, according to the outlet.

The next two highest-sold skeletons included a Tyrannosaurus fossil named Sue in 1997 for $8.36 million (valued at $16.22 million today), and a Deinonychus fossil named Hector in 2022 for $12.4 million, according to Forbes.

Sotheby's shared an X post on Wednesday confirming that Apex is now the "most valuable fossil ever sold at auction."

The auction house did not identify who the buyer or the seller was, but they told Forbes the founder of the skeleton was a "well-known and respected commercial paleontologist."