Rare Nanotyrannus skeleton sells for $47.3m at New York auction

By the Editorial Team · Thursday, October 29, 2026

A nearly complete Nanotyrannus skeleton named “Jodi” sold for $47.3 million at Sotheby’s in New York, marking it as the second most expensive dinosaur fossil auctioned. The sale raises concerns among scientists about potential limitations on research access, as the fossil’s private ownership could restrict public and scientific examination.

A nearly complete skeleton of a Nanotyrannus, a smaller relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex, sold for $47.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on Tuesday, making it one of the priciest dinosaur fossils ever sold at auction. The specimen, named “Jodi” after its discoverer, was the subject of a competitive, twelve-minute bidding contest involving six participants from online and telephone platforms before final sale to an undisclosed buyer.

Unveiled earlier this month in Manhattan, the fossil was found in 2019 by Jodi Pierson on her privately owned land within the Hell Creek Formation in Garfield County, Montana, near the town of Jordan. Sotheby’s reported the skeleton measures approximately 19.6 feet from nose to tail and stands 9.6 feet tall when mounted, composed of roughly 191 fossilized bone elements.

Sotheby’s had initially estimated a sale range between $6 million and $9 million. The auction result positions “Jodi” as the second most valuable dinosaur fossil ever sold. According to Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s vice-chair and global head of science and natural history, the excavation and preservation process—featuring the expertise of a dedicated team—was vital to bringing the specimen to market. Hatton described the sale as recognition of the ongoing scientific and public interest in Nanotyrannus.

“Jodi” is significant scientifically as one of only three known substantive Nanotyrannus skeletons worldwide. The genus was only formally confirmed last year. Sotheby’s notes that the specimen represents an adult individual based on bone size and development. Nanotyrannus is characterized as a specialized, agile carnivorous tyrannosaurid that coexisted with T. rex during the late Cretaceous period, roughly 67 million years ago. While some scientists have previously considered Nanotyrannus juvenile T. rex fossils, the auction house cited over 150 morphological distinctions separating the two species.

The sale has drawn criticism from some paleontologists concerned about the implications for scientific study and public access to important fossils. Thomas R. Holtz Jr., a noted tyrannosaur researcher and vertebrate paleontology lecturer at the University of Maryland, expressed reservations about private sales of significant fossils. Holtz highlighted the disparity between the auction price and the budgetary struggles faced by natural history museums, some of which are closing or facing funding challenges with costs far below the auction total.

Holtz argued that resources invested in major fossil auctions might have greater scientific impact if directed toward museum operations that support broader paleontological research and public education. He also warned that fossils in private collections risk being lost to research and public exhibition unless eventually donated or loaned to institutions. The identity of the buyer of “Jodi” remains unknown, leaving its accessibility to science and the public uncertain.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.