Record! The world's largest fossil triceratops skeleton was auctioned for 6.6 million euros

Source: CCTV news client

The world's largest surviving Triceratops skeleton fossil sold 6.6 million euros at an auction house in Paris, the French capital, on the 21st, setting a record for the highest number of dinosaur fossils in Europe.

△ The fossil skeleton of the triceratops that was auctioned this time (Source: Reuters)

Triceratops was a herbivorous dinosaur that lived in the late Cretaceous period, about 68 million to 65 million years ago, and was characterized by three horns on the head, one of which was above the nostrils and the other two slightly elongated horns on the forehead.

The Triceratops fossils, which are more than 66 million years old, were unearthed in South Dakota in 2014 and named "John the Great" based on the name of the landowner at the site of the excavation, and have been certified by guinness world records as the world's largest recorded triceratops skeleton fossil to date. This Triceratops died in an ancient alluvial plain, and the remains are well preserved in the mud, with a skeleton integrity of more than 60% and a skull integrity of more than 75%, which is relatively rare.

In preparation for the auction, professionals first pieced together more than 200 fossil Triceratops skeletons in Italy, agencies AFP reported. The patchwork triceratops skeleton fossil is more than 7 meters long, the height of the hip from the ground is 2.7 meters, of which the skull is 2.62 meters long and 2 meters wide, and the length of the two slightly longer horns is more than 1.1 meters.

Organized by the Drouå auction house in Paris, the auction was won by more than a dozen people, and the hammer fell at 5.5 million euros, and the total transaction amounted to 6.6 million euros, which was much higher than the estimated price of 1.2 million to 1.5 million euros. The buyer is a private American collector who did not want to be named.

Auctioneer Alexandre Gegello said: "This is a European record and we are tapping into the market. ”

According to Gicello, the dinosaur fossil market is relatively new, and the current market size is growing exponentially.

Last year, the skeleton fossil of a Tyrannosaurus rex sold for nearly $32 million at Christie's in New York, setting a record for the highest number in the history of dinosaur skeleton fossil auctions in the world.