The world’s most expensive dinosaur fossil — found in 2022 in Colorado — is headed to a museum in New York City.
“Apex,” a nearly complete set of stegosaurus fossils, sold for nearly $45 million at auction earlier this year in New York. A commercial paleontologist, Jason Cooper, found the fossil on his property in Moffat County in 2022 near the town of Dinosaur, Colorado.
Now, the buyer, Kenneth C. Griffin, is loaning the fossil to the American Museum of Natural History. The New York Times reports the loan is for 4 years. It will go on display on December 8. Scientists say the fossil is one of the largest and most complete stegosauruses ever found — more than 254 bone elements of about 320 were discovered. It is more than 150 million years old and is 27 feet long.
Griffin is a hedge fund manager and worth $47 billion, according to Forbes.
A previous auction of a Tyrannosaurus rex was sold at auction in 2020 for nearly $32 million.
