T-rex skeleton to be sold in Switzerland

A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton dating back 67 million years will be auctioned in Switzerland next month.

The skeleton dubbed* Trinity will go under the hammer in Zurich on April 18, the Koller auction house said.

Towering* 3.9m in the air, Trinity has been valued at between $6.5-8.7 million, according to the auction catalogue.*

Christian Link, who is in charge of natural history memorabilia* at Koller, said he believed that was a “very low estimate”.

Trinity is “one of the most spectacular T-rex skeletons in existence, a well-preserved* and brilliantly restored* fossil,” the auction house said.

The sale would mark only the third time worldwide that a skeleton of an entire T-rex dinosaur of exceptional quality will be offered at auction.

Koller pointed to a 2021 study in the scientific journal Nature indicating* that only 32 skeletons of adult T-rex’s, one of the largest terrestrial* predators* ever to walk the Earth, had been found worldwide.

The Trinity skeleton is made up of bone material from three T-rex specimens*. They were excavated between 2008 and 2013 from Hell Creek and Lance Creek in Montana and Wyoming in the United States, the auction catalogue said.

The two sites are known for the discoveries of two other significant T-rex skeletons that have gone to auction: the first called Sue went under the hammer in 1997 for $8.4 million, and the second named Stan, which took the world-record hammer price of $31.8 million in 2020.

Mr Link said Koller was intent on being transparent* about the origins of the bones that make up Trinity.

Just over half of the bone material in the skeleton comes from the three Tyrannosaurus specimens, he said. Trinity’s skull meanwhile is “incredibly well-preserved” and comes from a single T-rex specimen*.

Auction sales of dinosaur skeletons and other fossils have raked in* tens of millions of dollars in recent years, but experts have warned the trade could be harmful to science by putting the specimens in private hands and out of the reach of researchers.

Mr Link also said he would like to see a museum snap up Trinity, adding that several had already voiced interest.

GLOSSARY

• dubbed: given a specified name, title, nickname
• auction catalogue: list of items to be sold at an auction
• towering: very high or tall
• memorabilia: mementos or souvenirs
• well-preserved: having been maintained in good condition
• restored: to bring back to a former, original, or normal condition
• indicating: to point out or point to; direct attention to
• terrestrial: relating to land
• predators: animals that exist by preying on other animals
• transparent: open and honest
• specimen: a part of the dinosaur
• raked in: to receive a large amount of money

EXTRA READING

Marine fossil a rare find from head to tail

3D print to rebuild Australian opal dino

‘Fierce’ dino fossil fetches fortune

QUICK QUIZ

1. What is the name of the T-rex that's going up for auction?
2. What does the auction house think it will sell for?
3. Where did the bones of this T-rex come from?
4. What is the name of the most expensive T-rex and how much did it sell for?
5. Why does Mr Link hope a museum will buy the T-rex?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What do you think?
'The skeletons should be donated to a museum!’ Do you agree with this statement? Write a list of points or arguments that would convince someone else to agree with your opinion.

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, History

2. Extension
imagine that you are the successful bidder who has bought the skeleton at the auction. Write a story about what happens next.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

VCOP ACTIVITY
Aside from this, there is also this!
Brackets are a great literacy tool for adding aside comments, or comments that could be covered over and the sentence still makes sense. What’s inside the brackets is extra information.

They can be used for a variety of effects: to add more detail, to add humour, to connect with the reader etc.

My little brother, (the funniest kid I know) got himself into big trouble today.

Select three sentences from the article to add an aside comment to using brackets. Think about not only what you want to add to the sentence, but also what effect you are trying to create.