NEGOCIOS
Subastarán el tricerátops más grande del mundo
September 2, 2021 - October 21, 2021 - Big John, el mayor esqueleto de tricerátops conocido, se venderá en octubre en la casa de subastas Drouot en París. Tras el descubrimiento del dinosaurio en 2015 en Estados Unidos, ahora es ensamblado en una galería de exhibición en la capital francesa antes de su presentación al público el 16 de septiembre.
Sixty-six million-year-old Big John roamed the lands of modern-day South Dakota. His eight-metre long skeleton is more than 60 per cent complete and includes a near-complete skull, which measures 2.62 metres in length and two metres wide. Palaeontologists unearthed the first piece of bone in 2014.
The Drouot auction house estimates Big John’s skeleton could fetch between €1.2 million and €1.5 million.
“I imagine there are about 10 buyers worldwide for this kind of piece,” said Alexandre Giquello, the auctioneer at Drouot.
“Usually buyers manifest a bit later, shortly before the auction, but here we have already noted a lot of interest,” he said.
In October 2020, a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex specimen named Stan became the world’s most expensive dinosaur when it was auctioned by Christie’s for a jaw-dropping $31.85 million. Stan took the record from Sue, another T. rex fossil which was auctioned in October 1997 by Sotheby’s, for $8.36 million -- nearly $13.5 million today, given the inflation rate.
Big John’s showing in Paris will only last until it is sold on October 21, at Hôtel Drouot.