France: Fossil of largest dinosaur ever put up for sale to be auctioned

The skeleton of the dinosaur largest ever put up for sale will be auctioned on November 16th in France, for an estimated price of between 3 and 5 million euros (US$ 3.2 and US$ 5.2 million).

The Apatosaurus specimen, a herbivore measuring more than 20 metres long and weighing around 20 tonnes in life, has more than 75% from its original bones and was discovered in Wyoming, United States, in 2018.

“The dinosaurs sold previously were large carnivores, such as tyrannosaurs,” “Olivier Collin du Bocage, auctioneer at the Drouot auction house and partner in the sale with Barbarossa, told AFP.

“Here we have the kindest and largest of the dinosaurs, the first icon of Jurassic Park,” he added.

The fossil, named Vulcain, will be on display from Saturday until its auction in the greenhouse of the Château Dampierre-en-Yvelines, on the outskirts of Paris, where King Louis XIII, King Louis XIV and King Louis XV stayed.

The excavation was financed by a French investor and after the discovery, the fossil, composed of 300 bones, was sent to France to be treated.

“We received large blocks of rock, some of which weighed more than a ton.“said Nicolas Tourment, founder and director of Paleomoove Laboratory, which was in charge of the restoration.

“We extracted the bones from the rocks and consolidated them“, he added.

For palaeontologist Eric Mickeler, the fossil, which is around 150 million years old, has considerable scientific value. “It’s not an Apatosaurus Ajax, it’s not a Ferox and it’s not a Louisiae either”he claimed.

“It has characteristics of all three if taken separately”the specialist noted.

Another peculiarity: the skeleton has a protuberance at the base of the tail, probably the result of a predator’s bite.

The sales contract stipulates that the future owner agrees to allow paleontologists access to the dinosaur so that they can study it.

To identify potential buyers, Olivier Collin du Bocage plans to contact in the coming months: “donors, patrons, foundations and collectors from Dubai, China and elsewhere.”