An imposing, 38-foot long Tyrannosaurus rex fossil sold for a record $50.1 million at auction on Tuesday. But its purchase — likely by a private buyer — is being criticized by paleontologists and other scientists.
The fossil nicknamed Gus is considered one of the largest and most complete T. rex skeletons ever discovered. Many hoped a museum would buy the impressive specimen but the Smithsonian and three other large natural history museums that NPR contacted said they did not bid on it. Because the fossil may not be available for public viewing or research, the sale has upset many in the scientific community.
The president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, an advocacy group of scientists, openly criticized Sotheby's, which handled the sale.
"The auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's are complicit in removing data from the scientific process," Stuart Sumida told NPR. "And [they are] complicit [in] placing scientifically valuable specimens into the cabinets of curiosity of a few wealthy individuals and away from the eyes of children and adults alike for years to come."
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