A set of fossilized bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex named Gus went under the hammer at Sotheby's in New York for a record $50.1 million, the Associated Press (AP) reports, citing auction organizers. The house initially expected to receive no more than $30 million for the fossil remains, which are about 70 million years old.
Gus thus set a record for cost not only among tyrannosaurs, but also among dinosaurs in general. As a result of the auction on Tuesday, July 14, it displaced the stegosaurus Aipex, found in Colorado, from first place, whose bones were sold by the same auction house for $45 million in 2024. The most expensive tyrannosaurus was previously considered Stan, whose remains were found in North Dakota and sold in 2020 for almost $32 million.
The new most expensive dinosaur was also discovered in the United States in South Dakota. As the auctioneers noted, more than 60% of Gus’s bones were collected, which is a rarity in archaeology. The auction organizers were especially delighted by the skull of the ancient lizard, which preserved its powerful jaw and teeth, as well as the fork-shaped bone, which is usually rarely found during such excavations.
“The market responds well when such examples are treated properly,” said Sotheby's vice-chairman Cassandra Hutton.
It's a world record for Gus! The T. Rex just sold for $50.1 million at Sotheby's New York, becoming the most expensive dinosaur ever up for auction.
Discover the story of the 67-million-year-old fossil >> https://t.co/nARpEBfo5K pic.twitter.com/cKUHe3MXYF
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) July 14, 2026
It is unknown into whose collection Gus, 12.5 feet (about 4 m) tall and 38 feet (11.5 m) long, will now end up. The buyer chose to remain anonymous. The human rights group of scientists, The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, has already appealed to the new owner not to hide Gus from the public.
“We hope the new owner recognizes the incredible scientific and educational significance of Gus the Tyrannosaurus and plans to donate it to a licensed natural history museum,” said the organization’s director, Christy Curry Rogers.
By the way, the stegosaurus Aipex and the tyrannosaurus Stan, despite being purchased by private investors, are exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and its counterpart in Abu Dhabi (UAE), respectively. As AP notes, in the Arab country Stan was combined into a composition with another tyrannosaurus, with whom they began a “battle” over the body of a defeated Triceratops.
