Prof Nudds is also looking to set new standards in the private ownership of vertebrate fossils so that the skeletons will not be lost to science after they are handed to private collectors. One of the two experts, University of Manchester Professor of Palaeontology John Nudds said Shen's skull is incredibly complete and well-preserved, including the jaw, dentary bones which hold teeth, and the skull and nasal bones.
The predator is 12.2m long and stands 4.6m high, with its serrated teeth bared ferociously. Larger bones have more scientific value as well, since more features and evidence of injury or disease can be detected in larger bones, said Mr Hyslop.Īfter the skeleton was studied by two leading palaeontologists from the United Kingdom and the US, Shen was prepped and mounted in an accurate hunting pose in a German lab. No bone is equal, and a thigh bone carries more weight than a toe bone. While only 79 of about 380 bones of the T-Rex were uncovered, Shen is 54 per cent represented by bone density - where weighted percentage values are assigned to each bone. In response to queries from The Straits Times, Mr Hyslop said: "Given its scale and significance, it is possible that a private buyer may loan or donate (Shen) to a museum, and it is also possible that the skeleton will be purchased directly by a museum."Ībout 67 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous era, Shen prowled and hunted on the Hell Creek Formation - layers of rock that stretch over parts of Wyoming, South and North Dakota, and Montana. In May, the most complete Deinonychus skeleton ever found, according to Christie's, was sold to an unknown buyer. In 2021, a Paris auction house sold the world's largest triceratops skeleton to a private collector in the US. In 2020, Stan was auctioned for a staggering US$31.8 million, and it will go to the upcoming Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi.īut a Gorgosaurus skeleton from Sotheby's was auctioned off to an undisclosed buyer in July. In 1997, Sue was bought for the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, with financial backing from organisations like McDonald's. So far, only two T-Rex skeletons have ever been auctioned, and both went to museums.
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