A fossil skeleton called Jodi, built from the bones of a Nanotyrannus, has changed hands at auction in New York for $47.3 million, a figure that multiple major outlets carried in their own words. Reports place it among the most valuable fossils ever sold, and it is the resemblance to the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex, in miniature, that has drawn attention to it. What remains unsettled is who now holds these ancient bones, and whether they will be shown to the world or kept out of view.
Nanotyrannus Skeleton 'Jodi' Sells at Auction for $47.3 Million
A tiny tyrannosaur, a very large price
Forty-seven million dollars for a skeleton. Why is this the story?
Because of the ranking. CNN's headline calls it the second most valuable fossil ever sold, which puts a small tyrannosaur near the very top of the market.
Worth flagging that the ranking is what the headline says. We don't have the figure for the top fossil, so I can't tell you how close Jodi came.
And the animal? Why does a mini T. rex draw that kind of money?
The resemblance does a lot of work. Every headline leans on it, the Times says tiny tyrannosaur, the AP says mini T. rex.
Fair, but that's description, not an explanation of the price. Nothing here says why bidders went that high.
Do we know where Jodi came from?
Not from what we have. No excavation site, no date, no preparer.
Same with the auction house, the estimate and the number of bidders. All unknown here.
So what's the open question?
The buyer. A museum would mean researchers and the public can see it.
Or it goes private. Right now that's entirely unanswered, and anyone predicting either way is guessing.
El Pulso
- A Nanotyrannus skeleton named Jodi sold for $47.3 million, a price that set headlines across major news outlets at once.
- Coverage ranks the sale as the second highest ever for a fossil, placing it in rare company in the market for prehistoric remains.
- The buyer's identity has not been revealed, leaving open whether the specimen will travel to a museum or vanish into private hands.
- Key details such as the auction house, sale date, and where the bones were found remain absent from the reporting, so the story is still taking shape.
A fossil skeleton called Jodi, built from the bones of a Nanotyrannus, has changed hands at auction in New York for $47.3 million, a figure that multiple major outlets carried in their own words. Reports place it among the most valuable fossils ever sold, and it is the resemblance to the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex, in miniature, that has drawn attention to it. What remains unsettled is who now holds these ancient bones, and whether they will be shown to the world or kept out of view.
A skeleton nicknamed Jodi, assembled from the bones of a Nanotyrannus, sold at auction in New York for $47.3 million. Headlines from The Times, The New York Times, AP News, CNN and the BBC all carried the figure, and many described the animal as a small tyrannosaur that looks like a miniature T. rex. The AP rounded the price to $47 million, while others kept the exact sum.
CNN's headline says the sale makes Jodi the second most valuable fossil ever sold, though the available reporting does not name the top holder of that record or its price. The resemblance to T. rex is central to the appeal, and the skeleton carries a personal name, as many prominent specimens do. The coverage does not yet explain where Jodi was found, when it was excavated, or who prepared it.
The buyer is unknown, and that matters here. A fossil at this price could end up in a museum where scientists and the public can study it, or in a private collection out of sight. Nothing in the current reporting settles that question, and the next developments to watch are the buyer's identity and whether the skeleton becomes accessible.
A skeleton nicknamed Jodi, assembled from the bones of a Nanotyrannus, sold at auction in New York for $47.3 million. Headlines from The Times, The New York Times, AP News, CNN and the BBC all carried the same figure, and several of them described the specimen in similar terms: a small tyrannosaur that looks like a miniature T. rex.
The price is the center of the story. According to the CNN headline, the sale makes Jodi the second most valuable fossil ever sold. That ranking comes from the coverage itself, and the material available here does not say which fossil holds the top spot or what it fetched. The AP rounded the figure to $47 million in its own headline, while the Times, the BBC and CNN used the more exact $47.3 million.
The animal itself is part of the draw. Nanotyrannus is the name given to a tyrannosaur form that resembles a smaller version of Tyrannosaurus rex, and that resemblance runs through nearly every headline, from the AP's phrase about a dinosaur that looks like a mini T. rex to the Times's description of a tiny tyrannosaur. The skeleton has been given a personal name, Jodi, in the way prominent fossil specimens often are. The coverage available here does not explain where it was found, when it was excavated, or who prepared it.
The sale took place in New York, as the BBC headline states. The auction house, the date of the sale, the starting estimate and the number of bidders are not given in the material we have, so none of them can be reported here with any confidence.
Nor is it known who bought the skeleton. That question matters more than usual for a specimen like this. A fossil sold at this level can end up in a museum where researchers and the public can see it, or it can disappear into a private collection. Nothing in the available coverage says which path Jodi will take.
What can be said is narrow but clear: a Nanotyrannus skeleton sold for $47.3 million in New York, multiple major outlets reported it, and it is described as the second most valuable fossil ever sold. The next things to watch are the buyer's identity and whether the skeleton becomes accessible to scientists and the public or stays in private hands.
Citas Notables
The sale makes the Nanotyrannus the second most valuable fossil ever sold.— CNN headline (paraphrased)