World · North America · 41 mins ago
Nanotyrannus skeleton Jodi sells for $47.3 million at Sotheby’s
A Nanotyrannus skeleton called Jodi sold for $47.3 million at Sotheby’s in New York on Tuesday, including fees.
The price was more than five times its $9 million high estimate, and the fossil is now one of the most expensive fossils sold at auction.
Jodi is about 67 million years old and was found in Montana in 2019 by rancher Jodi Pierson.
Scientists now classify Nanotyrannus as distinct from T. rex, after decades of debate over whether it was a young T. rex.
The sale follows Sotheby’s July auction of a T. rex called Gus for $50.1 million, a record for a prehistoric fossil.
Some scientists worry private sales can limit public access and make it harder for museums and researchers to study important specimens.
Jodi’s buyer and future display plans were not announced.
Nanotyrannus skeleton Jodi sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $47.3 million, including fees.
The sale price was more than five times the skeleton’s $9 million high estimate.
The roughly 67-million-year-old specimen has 191 fossil bone elements, including a nearly complete skull.
Researchers identified Nanotyrannus as a distinct genus after decades of debate over whether it was a young Tyrannosaurus rex.
The sale has renewed concern among some scientists that important fossils could end up in private collections and out of public view.
- Who
- Sotheby’s sold the skeleton, nicknamed Jodi. Rancher Jodi Pierson discovered it.
- What
- The Nanotyrannus skeleton sold for $47.3 million, including fees.
- When
- Tuesday, 27 October 2026.
- Where
- Sotheby’s in New York.
- Why
- Not stated
Scientists concerned about private fossil sales
Auction houses
Public access
Scientists concerned about private fossil sales
Important fossils should be displayed where the public can see and study them.
Auction houses
Not stated
Private sales
Scientists concerned about private fossil sales
Scientists warn that fossils could disappear into private collections and harm research and public education.
Auction houses
Auction houses say private investment helps fund the excavation, preservation and study of specimens.
The Dueling Dinosaurs fossil was found eight miles from Jodi.
Rancher Jodi Pierson discovered the skeleton in Montana.
The skeleton was exhibited at London’s Frieze Masters as a juvenile T. rex.
Researchers published work identifying Nanotyrannus as distinct from T. rex.
Jodi sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $47.3 million, including fees.
- Sale price
- $47.3 million including fees
- High estimate
- $9 million
- Fossil age
- About 67 million years
- Fossil elements
- 191
- Discovery location
- Montana’s Hell Creek Formation (ARTnews); Hall Creek Formation (BBC)
4 sources
Jodi the Nanotyrannus Nets $47.3M at Auction, Crushing Its Estimate
Sotheby’s Dinosaur ‘Jodi’ Sells for $47.3 M., More Than Five Times Its High Estimate
Skeleton of Nanotyrannus ‘Jodi,’ T. Rex’s Cousin, Is Auctioned for $47.3 Million
Nanotyrannus skeleton goes to auction in New York with £4.5m price tag
What people are saying
harrowing
was for a very long time believed to be sort of a teenager of T. rex
one of only three such skeletons known to science