The skeleton of a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex, named TRX-293 Trinity, has been unveiled to the public in Switzerland ahead of its auction next month.
Millions of years after dinosaurs ruled the Earth, this giant carnivore is expected to fetch NZD$15 million when it goes under the hammer in Zurich on April 18.
This T-Rex skeleton is only the third to be offered at auction and the first in Europe.
The skeleton was named ‘Trinity’, because it was built out of three individual T-rex remains; with the rest of the name derived from the 293 bones in its skeleton.
'Trinity' stands 3.9 metres high and measures 11.6 metres long.
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Hans Jacob-Siber, a palaeontologist at the Aathal Dinosaur Museum in Switzerland, said that T-Rex fossil discoveries are extremely rare. He added that "it’s not a cast or a copy, it’s the original. And there are very few, very few… In fact, until about 1970 or 1980, there used to be less than a dozen Tyrannosaurus, most of them were already in United States' museums."
Due to the rarity of T-rex fossils, massive interest is generated whenever a skeleton comes up for sale.
Two other T-Rexes discovered in North America, called Sue and Stan, fetched NZD$13.5 million and NZD$51.11 million respectively when they were sold in 1997 and 2020. Koller believes that even if a private individual buys the skeleton, the public will still get to see it in the future.
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