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The dinosaur skeleton named “Jodi,” which is about 67 million years old, sold for $47.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. The sale far exceeded its pre-sale estimate, AnewZ reports, and made the skeleton the second-most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold at auction.
Six bidders competed by phone and online for 12 minutes. An anonymous phone bidder won the auction. Auctioneer Quig Bruning brought down the hammer at $40.5 million, with the final price reaching $47.255 million including fees.
Sotheby’s estimated the skeleton’s pre-sale value at $6 million to $9 million. “Jodi” ranks behind “Gus,” a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that sold for $50.1 million in July 2026, setting a record.
“Jodi” also surpassed “Apex,” a Stegosaurus skeleton that sold for $44.6 million in 2024. “Apex” is currently on long-term loan to the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
“Jodi” provides evidence that Nanotyrannus was a distinct genus
“Jodi,” dating back about 67 million years, was previously thought to be a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex. But research on the fossil has shed light on a long-running scientific debate, providing evidence that Nanotyrannus was a distinct genus that lived alongside T. rex in the Late Cretaceous period.
Cassandra Hatton, head of science and natural history at Sotheby’s, called the discovery a major advance in paleontology. “Jodi is a very interesting dinosaur — a genus that has been proven to be new,” Hatton said, adding that the animal occupied a different ecological niche from T. rex.
Unlike its larger relative, Nanotyrannus was built for speed: it had longer arms, larger hand claws and slimmer legs. While T. rex had powerful jaws and teeth capable of crushing bone, Nanotyrannus had narrower teeth adapted for cutting flesh.
Hatton also pointed to key differences in the skull and jaw. Some parts of the Nanotyrannus jaw had up to 17 tooth sockets, compared with about 12 in T. rex.
Fossil consists of 191 bone elements
The adult specimen was about six metres long and stood 2.9 metres tall on its display mount. Its skeleton includes about 191 fossil bone elements, including a nearly complete skull made up of 53 bones, a complete furcula and all four hand claws.
“There are about 191 bones in the entire specimen, which is a very high number for a skeleton,” Hatton said. She underscored the importance of the well-preserved skull in identifying the dinosaur’s anatomical features.
Jodi Pierson, a ranch owner in Montana, discovered the fossil in 2019 on her property near Jordan, Montana. The skeleton was later named in her honour.
According to Sotheby’s, only three large Nanotyrannus skeletons are known to science, and “Jodi” is the second-most complete of them.
The fossil’s multimillion-dollar sale has highlighted growing interest in rare dinosaur remains. Rising auction prices have attracted wealthy collectors while also raising questions about access for scientific research.
The sale also includes the rights to make and sell replicas and casts of the skeleton. Some researchers have warned that fossils acquired by private collectors may become inaccessible to scientists and the public, potentially limiting future research and museum exhibitions.
The buyer’s identity has not yet been disclosed. It is therefore unclear whether “Jodi” will be available for scientific research or put on public display.
