'Dueling Dinosaur' Fossils Fail to Sell at Auction

[Buster's Uncle]

'Dueling Dinosaur' Fossils Fail to Sell at Auction
LiveScience.com
By Megan Gannon, News Editor  4 hours ago



An artist's model of the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs based on geographical placement of the fossils.



This story was updated at 4:15 p.m. ET.

NEW YORK — Two fossilized dinosaurs discovered side-by-side in the Montana badlands failed to sell when they went under the hammer in here Tuesday (Nov. 19), despite projections that they would break auction records.

Bonhams auction house, which handled the sale of the so-called Dueling Dinosaurs, had estimated the bones would sell for between $7 million $9 million. Bidding started at $3 million and stopped at $5.5 million, however, failing to meet the auction house's undisclosed reserve.

So for now at least, the famed T. rex called Sue remains the most expensive fossil specimen to be sold at public auction. The Field Museum in Chicago bought that dinosaur in 1997 for $8.36 million, blowing away expectations at the time that it would sell for around $1 million.

Auction house officials said they are hopeful the dinosaur duo will find a home and are now entering into negotiations with interested U.S. institutions.

"The story isn't over," said Thomas Lindgren, co-consulting director of the natural history department at Bonhams in Los Angeles, who put together today's natural history auction in New York, which drew a crowd prospective buyers, curious onlookers and reporters.

"Behind the scenes, before the sale occurred today, I've had museums mention that they have difficulty coming up with funds this quickly, but should the lot not sell — which of course occurred — they want us to be in negotiations immediately," Lindgren said during a press conference after the sale. "I'm very confident we're going to find a scientific home for these dinosaurs."

Locked in the same chunk of earth, the two dinosaurs were being auctioned off as a single specimen, still encased in dirt and their plaster field jackets. Some paleontologists had expressed fears ahead of the auction that the dinosaurs could be lost to science should they end up in the hands of a private collector who has no desire to loan or donate them to a public institution.

Lindgren said he had been guiding the sale toward the institutions and donors that would house the fossils in a public collection, adding that he wasn't thrilled with the idea that they could "disappear to a private individual who would not make them available."

Fossil hunters uncovered the massive herbivore and the meat-eater on a ranch in the Montana badlands in 2006. The beasts' poses suggest they were engaged in mortal combat, and hence the nickname of the Dueling Dinosaurs.

Billed as the most complete dinosaur fossils from North America's Late Cretaceous rocks, the Dueling Dinosaurs are extremely well articulated and bits of skin even cling to the sand that surrounds the bones.

The creatures in question are a ceratopsid — perhaps a new species of Triceratops — and a tyrannosaurid — possibly a Nanotyrannus lancensis, according to Bonhams.

Researchers are often loathe to put a price tag on their study specimens, and some objected to the sale on scientific grounds, arguing that the fossils' true importance, identity and death saga (i.e., whether they represent fierce combatants or perhaps a pair of unlucky strangers washed away in a flood) cannot be known until the bones are examined in peer-reviewed studies. 

The fossils previously had been offered to museums in the United States, but they were turned down because of the prohibitive price, by some accounts. Hans-Dieter Sues, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, told LiveScience earlier this month that his institution was offered the fossils for $15 million.

Earlier this week, Bonhams ran into some trouble with other lots that were supposed to be sold at today's auction. The San Diego Museum of Natural History withdrew a dozen fossils from the sale after paleontologists objected to the possibility that study specimens that have been in the public trust for nearly 100 years could be turned over to private hands.





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[Buster's Uncle]

'Montana Dueling Dinos' fail to sell at NY auction
Associated Press
By ULA ILNYTZKY and DEEPTI HAJELA 4 hours ago



In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 photo, Clayton Phipps poses for a picture with one of the two "dueling dinosaurs" he discovered in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)



NEW YORK (AP) — Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons, dubbed the "Montana Dueling Dinosaurs" because they appear forever locked in mortal combat, failed to sell Tuesday at a New York City auction.

A pre-sale estimate had predicted that the skeletons, offered as a single lot, could fetch between $7 million and $9 million — a price out of the reach of most museums. There were hopes that a wealthy buyer would donate the skeletons to a public institution but the price failed to meet the reserve at the Bonhams auction; the highest offer was $5.5 million.

Auction officials said they remained hopeful a buyer could be found, possibly among institutions that previously expressed interest.

"We already had parties contacting us in advance of the sale, that should they not sell, please keep us in mind, we're very interested," said Thomas Lindgren, Bonhams co-consulting director of natural history. "Those negotiations will begin immediately."

There is precedent for a wealthy bidder to purchase and donate such a find. Sue, a Tyrannosaurus rex discovered in South Dakota in 1990, was purchased and donated to The Field Museum in Chicago.

The dueling dinos' discovery began with a pelvis protruding through rock at a Montana ranch. Three more months of chiseling and digging revealed a remarkable discovery: two nearly complete, fossilized dinosaur skeletons of a carnivore and herbivore, their tails touching.



In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 photo, Clayton Phipps points out some features of the nanotyrannus lancensis he discovered, while the fossils are on display in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)


A pushed-in skull and teeth of one dinosaur embedded in the other suggested a deadly confrontation between them. Clayton Phipps, a fossil hunter who made the discovery on his neighbor's land in 2006 in the fossil-rich Hell Creek Formation, gave the fossils their name.

The fossils are believed to be a Nanotyrannus lancensis, a smaller relative of the T. rex, and a newly discovered species of Chasmosaurine ceratopsian, a close relative of the Triceratops, which lived at the end of the Cretaceous age some 65 million years ago.

"I am just the lucky guy that happened to stumble out there and find this dinosaur," Phipps said. "I really appreciate the academic paleontologists that understand the importance of what us amateurs bring to the mix. I am hoping that it will be professionally and academically studied. ... I want to know more about them."

They were found fully articulated with pockets of skin tissue attached. They have been separated into four large blocks because of their total 40-ton weight and are on display in a plaza adjacent to Bonhams.

Kirk Johnson, director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, called the dinosaurs "a significant discovery."



In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 photo, the lower leg of a ceratopsian is displayed in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)


"They are a superb pair of specimens and are certainly of great scientific and display value," he said. "This pair is certainly a unique find" for the Hell Creek Formation.

Lindgren said scientists will have to determine whether the ceratopsian was indeed a new species, but either way, it would "still be one of the rarest ceratopsians of all time."

"It is either the most complete and oldest triceratops that had lived at the end of the Cretaceous or it's a brand-new species," he said.

But Jack Horner, a paleontologist at Montana State University, called the promoters' claims a means "to enhance the price of the specimen."

"These fossils are not worth anything because they were collected to sell and not specifically for their science," he said.

Johnson said the skeletons would need to be extracted from their enclosing sandstone and compared to other skeletons in various museums to determine their "actual completeness." But he said finding a carnivore and herbivore together is still "very unusual."



In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 photo, a model that recreates the position that two dinosaurs were discovered in is displayed in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)



In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 photo, the jaw and skull of a nanotyrannus lancensis is displayed in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)



In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 photo, claws of the nanotyrannus lancensis are displayed in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)



In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 photo, fossilized skin with hexagonal segments was discovered with the skeleton of a ceratopsian which is on display in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)



In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 photo, the skull of a ceratopsian is displayed in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)



In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 photo, a nanotyrannus lancensis fossil is displayed in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)



In this Aug. 19, 2006 photo provided by Bonham's, people work around two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch. The "Montana Dueling Dinosaurs" will be auctioned by Bonhams next week. (AP Photo/CK Preparations, Bonhams)


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