Sotheby’s planned to auction a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton on July 14. The sale has drawn attention to how private buyers are increasingly outbidding museums for important fossils. Researchers worry this trend could limit new scientific discoveries.
The auction house prepared to open live bidding on assorted fossils, with the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton listed as lot 20. The specimen is described as the centerpiece of what Sotheby’s called the sale of the epoch.
Private collectors have been outbidding museums in recent fossil sales. This shift makes it harder or impossible for scientists to study the specimens and advance understanding of prehistoric life.
The concerns center on the growing role of wealth and hype in paleontology. Museums traditionally served as the main buyers that kept fossils available for research.