For the first time, 67-million-year-old T-Rex skeleton to be auctioned in Europe

In what comes as a first, a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus-Rex skeleton will be auctioned in Switzerland next month (April 18). This will be the first time that a T-Rex will go under the hammer in Europe and only the third time worldwide that an entire 'skeleton' of exceptional quality was on offer.

According to the auction house, the skeleton, named 'Trinity' stands tall at 3.9 metres and is currently valued between $6.5-$8.7 million (Eight million Swiss francs). Experts, however, believe that the figure is rather conservative and that it may go up as the auction date approaches.

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The sale becomes all the more important as only 32 skeletons of adult T-Rex's - one of the largest apex predators to have ever walked the face of the Earth - had been discovered worldwide.

Read more: This 'shark-toothed' dinosaur gave tough competition to T-Rex

Trinity has been composed using the bone material of three T-Rex specimens. They were excavated between 2008-2013 in the US states of Montana and Wyoming. The Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations in the respective states are well-known for the discoveries of two other T-Rex skeletons to have gone under the hammer.

By law, such specimens can only be sold if the fossil was discovered on private land, which in this case it was. The auctioneers stated that Trinity was provided by a private individual and had been flown to Switzerland in nine large crates to be assembled.

"The Zurich auction is therefore an exceptional opportunity to acquire such a fossil of the highest quality," said the auction house.

T-Rex is one of the most fascinating reptiles of yore. Its huge size, scary teeth and sharp claws make it unique and collector's favourite. Notably, in 2020, a T-Rex skeleton nicknamed 'Stan' was sold for a whopping $31.8 million in New York.

It then shredded the previous record set by a specimen called Sue that was sold for $8.4 million in October 1997 by Sotheby's to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Read more:T-Rex dinosaur fossil named Stan sells for record-breaking $31.8 million

(With inputs from agencies)

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