Ceratosaur Fossil Auctioned For 30.5 Million Dollars by Sotheby’s

A juvenile ceratosaur fossil was sold by Sotheby’s on July 16, 2025, as part of their Natural History auction in New York. The fossil broke a record of being sold for 30.5 million dollars, far exceeding its initial estimate of four to six million dollars.

Ceratosaurs are members of the clade Ceratosaur, a group of dinosaurs defined as all theropods sharing a more recent common ancestor with Ceratosaur than with birds.

Discovered in 1996 at Wyoming’s Bone Cabin Quarry, this 150-million-year-old specimen is one of only four known ceratosaur fossils and the only juvenile of its kind. Its skeleton was nearly complete compared to the other three fossils, including its 139 original bones and its most remarkable intact bone. Before the auction, it was being preserved in the Utah Museum, where people could see it closely. However, when it was up for sale in the auction, rich collectors went crazy, because the price came up to 30 million dollars, way passed the expected price which is 4 to 5 million.

This isn’t the first time a dinosaur fossil has sold for a surprisingly high price. In 2023, a Stegosaurus named “Apex” sold for 44.6 million dollars and was later displayed in a museum. Maybe the same will happen with this Ceratosaur fossil. But some people had a question: should fossils be treated like art, or should they stay in a museum where everyone can see them?

According to ABC News, Dr. Paul Sereno doesn’t agree to sell this precious fossil to collectors. Firstly, they want important fossils in museums where everybody can see them. Secondly, private buyers or collectors might hide them away so no one can study them. This is very important since there are just four ceratosaur fossils found around the world. Thirdly, even though the museum can try to buy the fossils at the auction, it doesn’t have enough money for such expensive fossils.