T-Rex Fossil "Gus" Breaks Auction Record, Sold for $50.1 Million

Illustration of a T-Rex skeleton. Photo: Pexels.

JAKARTA - The Tyrannosaurus rex fossil nicknamed "Gus" sold for 50.1 million US dollars in a Sotheby's auction in New York on Tuesday. That value makes it the most expensive fossil ever sold at auction.

Anadolu Agency, quoted Wednesday, July 15, said the price included the auction fee. Gus surpassed the previous record held by a stegosaurus fossil named Apex, which sold for 44.6 million US dollars at Sotheby's in 2024.

Gus' sale price is also far above the initial estimate of US$ 20 million to US$ 30 million.

The name Gus is taken from the owner of the land where the fossil was found in the Hell Creek Formation, Harding County, South Dakota, United States.

According to Sotheby's, the skeleton has a body length of about 11.5 meters and stands 3.8 meters tall. Its skull measures about 137 centimeters, while its femur reaches 128 centimeters.

The skeleton has 183 fossil bone parts and is considered complete at around 61 percent if calculated from the number of bones.

The bones found represent about 75 to 80 percent of the total bone mass of the animal. With this level of completeness, Gus is one of the most complete T-Rex skeletons ever found.

The fossil, which is estimated to be around 67 million years old, was excavated between 2021 and 2023.