According to the information from a French auction house, a 22-meter long giant herbivorous dinosaur skeleton named “Vulcain” was recently sold to an anonymous collector for 6 million euros (approximately 6.325 million US dollars).
The skeleton, named “Vulcain”, of an Apatosaurus was originally found in the state of Wyoming, USA in 2018. It took three years to excavate the skeleton, consisting of a total of 300 bones, and then it was sent to the Paleomoove Laboratory in southeastern France for a two-year restoration.
After the restoration was completed, the skeleton was transported to a castle in the city of Dampierre-en-Yvelines in north-central France for exhibition during this summer, and the auction took place in the courtyard of the castle.
Archaeologists point out that this Apatosaurus fossil is composed of 75% to 80% original bones and has a total length of about 70 feet (22 meters). This giant herbivorous animal lived in the Jurassic period about 150 million years ago, with an estimated weight of up to 20 tons during its lifetime.
Last Saturday (November 16), an auction was jointly held by Collin du Bocage and Barbarossa auction houses in Paris. Ultimately, a French anonymous collector purchased the skeleton for 6 million euros (including value-added tax and auction commission), which was estimated to be between 3 million to 5 million euros earlier.
Collin du Bocage auction house informed Agence France-Presse that the buyer has promised to lend the skeleton to museums for exhibition in the future or allow research institutions to conduct research on it; while Barbarossa auction house stated on its website that “Vulcain” is “the largest dinosaur ever sold at an auction”.
It is reported that the Apatosaurus, previously known as Brontosaurus, appeared in the 1993 Hollywood sci-fi film “Jurassic Park” and is often featured in children’s toys or picture books. This prehistoric creature fed on ferns and despite its strong fighting ability, it had a gentle personality.