'Apex' Stegosaurus skeleton fetches record $44m at Sotheby's auction

150-million-year-old skeleton was discovered in 2022 near the town of Dinosaur in Moffat County, Colorado

A 150-million-year-old skeleton of a Stegosaurus, called Apex by the palaeontologist who discovered it, is on display at Sotheby’s in New York, where it sold for a record $44.6 million at auction on July 17. AFP

Apex was found near the town of Dinosaur, in Moffat County, Colorado. The Stegosaurus, despite its frightening looks, was a herbivore. AP

Apex is about 3.5 metres tall, 8.2 metres long and 1.8 metres wide. Its sales price was well above the estimate of between $4 million and $6 million. AP

'I don't know of another Stegosaurus that matches the size and quality of this one,' said Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's senior vice president. AFP

The distinctive, upright plates on the Stegosaurus's back. AFP

A guest at Sotheby’s provides context for the huge beast's size. AFP

A Sotheby's "handler" stands near his 150-million-year-old charge. EPA

Apex, with a multimillion-dollar smile only a mother could love. EPA

A Sotheby's handler inspects Apex a week before the skeleton went under the hammer. EPA

Sotheby's has auctioned off the 150-million-year-old skeleton of Apex the Stegosaurus for a record $44.6 million.

The auction , which ended on Wednesday morning, was expected to bring between $4 million to $6 million.

The buyer's identity was not immediately disclosed.

The previous auction record for a dinosaur skeleton – $31.8 million – was set in 2020 for a Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed Stan.

“This is an incredibly important discovery, and I don't know of another Stegosaurus that matches the size and quality of this one,” said Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's senior vice president, and global head of science and popular culture.

Apex is about 3.5 metres tall, 8.2 metres long and 1.8 metres wide – almost twice the size of Sophie, the Stegosaurus in London's Natural History Museum.

“The quality of the fossil is excellent,” Ms Hatton said. “Even impressions of the skin have been preserved.”

The skeleton was discovered in 2022 near the town of Dinosaur in Moffat County, Colorado, according to Sotheby's. A palaeontologist made the discovery on their own land.

The Stegosaurus roamed the Earth between 145 million and 155 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic period.

Skeletons of the dinosaur have been found in the western US and in Portugal.