The skeleton of a “terrifying” dinosaur made famous by the “Dinosaur Park” movies has sold for an astronomical $12 million, according to press reports.
According to the British newspaper, “The Sun”, the dinosaur, a giant “Deinonychus” with huge claws on its feet, inspired the American movie “Velociraptor” directed by Steven Spielberg.
The source stated that the skeleton of the dinosaur, which is 1.2 meters long and 3 meters wide, has a lifespan of 110 million years.
This dinosaur became among the most famous dinosaurs in the world, after the launch of the “Dinosaur Park” series in 1993.
The skeleton, which was auctioned on Thursday, contains 126 real bones, while the rest of the parts, including the skull bones, have been reconstructed.
The name of the buyer of the dinosaur bones, which was found by a paleontologist in the US state of Montana, was not revealed.
Experts say that the bones sold in New York are the only dinosaur skeleton that is in private ownership in the world (meaning owned by an individual), while museums and scientific institutions put their hand on most of the structures discovered until today.
The auction had initially estimated the initial price of the skeleton at $6 million, but it sold twice as much, amid the demand of competitors from around the world.
Paleontologists and researchers do not hide their annoyance at selling these precious bones to ordinary people, because these deals mean missing out on the opportunity for specialists to conduct their studies and reveal more secrets about the planet.