Apex -Courtesy of Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s recently held an auction, leaving paleontologists in disbelief and clutching their fossil brushes. The star of the show? Apex – a remarkably complete stegosaurus fossil that once roamed what is now Colorado about 150 million years ago. With its signature pointy back plates and massive rib cage, this prehistoric marvel captured the attention of bidders worldwide.
Discovered in 2022 by commercial paleontologist Jason Cooper, Apex was found on his property near the aptly named town of Dinosaur, Colorado. This tiny community, practically an amusement park for paleontologists, is near Dinosaur National Monument and the Utah border. Cooper stumbled upon a bit of femur sticking out of the ground and soon uncovered one of the most complete stegosaurus skeletons ever found; it stands 11 feet tall and stretches to 27 feet long when fully re-constructed.
The auction saw seven bidders from around the globe engaged in a fierce 15-minute bidding war. The final, mind-blowing bid was made by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, who plans to loan Apex to a U.S. institution, ensuring it doesn’t end up as a quirky garden statue on someone else’s estate. “Apex was born in America and is going to stay in America!” Griffin declared, according to a source familiar with the matter. Griffin’s winning bid of $44.6 million shattered the estimated $4 million to $6 million price range and left the previous record ($31.8 million) set by a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil in the dust.