Iris Posted November 25, 2022 Share Posted November 25, 2022 The sale of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, which was expected to fetch up to $25 million, has been controversially called off shortly before the behemoth's bones were due to hit the auction block. The cancellation comes after experts raised concerns that a significant proportion of the bones are actually replicas from another famous T. rex skeleton, which was not disclosed by the auction house. The T. rex skeleton, known as Shen, was uncovered at the Hell Creek Formation in Montana and dates back to between 66 million and 68 million years ago during the Cretacous period (145 million to 66 million years ago). Shen is around 40 feet (12.2 meters) long, 15 feet (4.6 m) tall and 7 feet (2.1 m) wide, and it weighs in at around 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg). The dinosaur king was due to be auctioned off in Hong Kong on Nov. 30 by the U.K.-based auction house Christie's, and would have been the first T. rex to be sold in Asia. However, paleontologists noticed that a number of Shen's bones were remarkably similar to another famous T. rex skeleton, known as Stan, The New York Times reported. In 2020, Stan was auctioned by Christie's in New York for a whopping $32 million, making it the most expensive T. rex skeleton of all time. After mounting criticism, Christie's announced on Nov. 20 that it was pulling Shen from the upcoming auction just 10 days before it was due to go under the hammer, saying that the specimen would "benefit from further study," The New York Times reported. https://www.livescience.com/shen-t-rex-auction-called-off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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