Nanotyrannus skeleton sells for $47.3m in New York auction
The sale of the rare skeleton reignites debate in the scientific community about whether dinosaur remains should end up in private hands or public view.
The mounted skeleton of a newly-identified dinosaur once mistaken for a young Tyrannosaurus rex has sold at auction for a colossal $47.3m (£35.5m).
Nicknamed Jodi, the roughly 10-foot-tall (3m) skeleton was auctioned by Sotheby's in New York. The sale comes a year after researchers confirmed that the skeleton belongs to a distinct genus.
The Late Cretaceous carnivore was expected to fetch at least $9m when it went under the hammer on Tuesday. The auction comes after Sotheby's sold a Tyrannosaurus rex, dubbed Gus, for a record $50.1m in July.
The skeleton was discovered in the US state of Montana by rancher Jodi Pierson on her land in the Hell Creek Formation, a heavily studied geological site. It was later excavated by commercial palaeontologist Clayton Phipps.