Apex (dinosaur)

"Apex" is a fossilized Stegosaurus skeleton that was sold at Sotheby's on 17 July 2024 for $44.6 million, making it the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction.

Description
Apex is the largest and most complete known Stegosaurus skeleton, with 254 bones preserved out of approximately 319. It measures 3.4 m in height and 8.2 m in length. The animal to which it belonged was a large, robust adult, with possible signs of rheumatoid arthritis indicating an advanced age. No traces of combat-related injuries or post-mortem scavenging are present on the fossil. It has been compared to the Stegosaurus stenops specimen Sophie, also known for its high degree of preservation.

The specimen is 150 million years old, dating to the Late Jurassic epoch.

Discovery
Apex was discovered in May 2022 by commercial paleontologist Jason Cooper, on privately owned land in Moffat County near the town of Dinosaur, Colorado. The fossil was found encased in hard sandstone. No other fossils were found nearby, although the area is part of the larger Morrison Formation. Excavation of the specimen lasted until October 2023.

The New York broker Sotheby's, which would later put the fossil to auction, claimed to have worked alongside Jason Cooper since the discovery in order to bring the fossil to the market.

Auction
The fossil was put to auction at Sotheby's on 17 July 2024, with a pre-sale estimate of between $4 million and $6 million. Seven bidders took part in the auction. After 15 minutes, the specimen was sold to an anonymous buyer for $44.6 million, or 11 times its lower pre-sale estimate. It was stated by Sotheby's to be the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction, as well as the first Stegosaurus to be put to auction.

At the time of the auction, the fossil was mounted on a custom steel armature, in an attack pose.

On 18 July, the buyer was revealed to be billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin, founder and CEO of the hedge fund Citadel LLC. Griffin intends to put the specimen on loan to an American institution, claiming after the auction that "Apex was born in America and is going to stay in America!"