The fossilized skeletons of an aerial predator with a 20-foot wingspan and an aquatic reptile with a snake-like neck will be auctioned in New York this month, Sotheby’s announced Tuesday.
The two creatures, both tens of millions of years old, will be sold July 26 in the latest sale of prehistoric fossils from the auction house that launched a new era of fossil auctions by selling a Tyrannosaurus rex named Sue in 1997.
“More than 25 years since the groundbreaking sale of Sue the T. rex at Sotheby’s, we are very excited to now turn our attention to its predatory peers of the sky and the sea,” Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s head of science and popular culture, said.
T. REX SKELETON SELLS FOR OVER $5M AT SWISS AUCTION
Almost all of the specimen’s original fossil bones have been preserved, Sotheby’s said.
“To get something of this size with the level of preservation is incredibly rare,” Hatton said. “Generally, if you go to a museum and you find a specimen that’s super well preserved, it’s going to be something on the smaller side.”
Sotheby’s is estimating that the pteranodon will sell for $4 million to $6 million.
Sotheby’s is calling its specimen Nessie. The estimated auction price is $600,000 to $800,000.
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Sotheby’s has not identified the seller of either fossil.