Jodi, a Nanotyrannus skeleton, sold in New York on Tuesday, Oct. 27, for $47.3 million including auction fees, The New York Times reported; Anadolu Ajansı said it ranked second among dinosaur fossils sold at auction.
Jodi’s price was more than five times Sotheby’s $9 million upper estimate, within a published range of $6 million to $9 million. It surpassed the $44.6 million paid for Apex, a nearly complete Stegosaurus, in 2024. Gus, a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, brought $50.1 million at Sotheby’s in July and remains ahead of Jodi.
Sotheby’s says Jodi contains about 191 fossilized bone pieces from one animal. Its skull is nearly whole, with 53 bones and about 50 teeth at different stages of development. The fossil dates to roughly 67 million years ago; on its display frame, it is 19.6 feet long and about 9.5 feet tall.
Anadolu Ajansı reported that Montana rancher Jodi Pierson found the fossil on privately owned land in 2019. The outlet said commercial paleontologist Clayton Phipps led the excavation that year, and the fossil joined a private collection in 2021.
Anadolu Ajansı reported that the fossil was shown at Frieze Masters in London in 2023 as a young T. rex. A 2025 study classified Nanotyrannus as its own dinosaur, rather than an immature Tyrannosaurus rex. The identity dispute had lasted more than 80 years, the outlet reported.
Sotheby’s says only two other Nanotyrannus skeletons are known to science. The auction house described Jodi as the first of the genus to reach auction after research recognized it as a separate genus.
Anadolu Ajansı reported concerns that private collections could limit researchers’ access to significant fossils and reduce opportunities for public display.
