
A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton is expected to sell for £4.8million when it is auctioned next month.
The 66 million year old dinosaur measures 15 feet tall by 40 feet long and is one of the largest ever discovered.The female skeleton, named Samson, is made up of 170 bones and is more than 50 per cent complete.Its head is undistorted and one of the most complete in existence.
Samson was found in South Dakota, United States, in 1987 and excavated in 1992.
Experts have mounted the skeleton ready for sale at the Venetian hotel, Las Vegas, on October 3. It had previously been stored in a crate.
Thomas Lindgren, co-consulting Director of Natural History at auctioneers Bonhams & Butterfields, hopes the skeleton will be bought by a museum.
Samson’s skull is one of the most complete in existence
Good condition: Samson’s skull is one of the most complete in existence’We have had tremendous worldwide interest in Samson,’ he said.’Although we cannot predict who the successful buyer will be, it is our hope that a museum or institution will find the funding to purchase it.’I estimate it will sell for between £3.6million and £4.8million.’Samson is one of the largest known Tyrannosaurus specimens ever discovered.’It boasts an undistorted and virtually complete skull, which is considered to be one of the most complete in existence.
‘It has been prepared and beautifully mounted on a custom armature and can be clearly identified as a dinosaur.’
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