In July last year, the Stegosaurus fossil "Apex" sold at Sotheby’s New York for US$44.6 million, setting a new world record for a fossil sold at auction. The buyer, American finance tycoon Ken Griffin, has since loaned the specimen to the American Museum of Natural History, where it is now on public display for a four-year term.

One year later, Sotheby’s New York once again turned the spotlight on dinosaur fossils in its Natural History auction. This time, the star lot was a rare Ceratosaurus fossil – unearthed in 1996 and never formally named. Only four complete Ceratosaurus fossils are known to exist, all others held in museum collections. This is the only known juvenile specimen.

After competitive bidding involving no fewer than five collectors, the fossil was hammered down at US$26 million, 6.5 times its estimate. The final price, including buyer’s premium, reached US$30.51 million – making it the third most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold at auction.

Lot 1 | A Mounted Juvenile Ceratosaurus Skeleton
Late Jurassic, Kimmeridgian Stage (approx. 154-149 million years ago)
Length: around 3.1 meters
Height: around 1.9 meters
Provenance:

• Excavated on privately owned land by Western Paleontological Laboratories at Bone Cabin Quarry (West), Wyoming, USA, in 1996;
• Acquired by the Museum of Ancient Life, Thanksgiving Point, Utah;
• De-accessed by the above, 2024;
• Fossilogic, LLC, acquired from the above in 2024;
• Finished and mounted by the above from 2024-25

Estimate: US$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Hammer Price: US$26,000,000
Sold: US$30,510,000

Auction House: Sotheby's New York
Sale: Natural History
Date: 16 July 2025

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Ceratosaurus was a medium-sized, bipedal carnivore that lived during the Late Jurassic Period, approximately 154 to 149 million years ago. It is considered an early relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex, having roamed the Earth nearly 100 million years earlier.

The fossil offered in this sale was discovered on private land in Bone Cabin Quarry, Wyoming – a site with a rich 150-year excavation history dating back to the fierce fossil-hunting era known as the “Bone Wars” of the late 19th century. Today, the quarry is a popular paleontological tourism destination.

The Ceratosaurus was found in the Morrison Formation, the most fossil-rich geological layer in North America. Dating back to the Late Jurassic, the Morrison Formation spans some 1.5 million square kilometers across inland U.S. states, with Wyoming and Colorado at its core. The Stegosaurus “Apex” was also discovered within this formation, near the Colorado region.

The Stegosaurus fossil "Apex" sold at Sotheby’s New York for a record US$44.6 million

Ceratosaurus fossil | Utah Natural History Museum

The name Ceratosaurus nasicornis means “horned lizard,” referring to the prominent horn on its snout. Other distinguishing features include short forelimbs, a row of bony plates running down its spine, and sharp, serrated teeth.

The fossilized skeleton sold at Sotheby’s measures approximately 3.1 meters long and 1.9 meters tall, and was assembled from 139 original fossil bones, including 57 skull elements and 43 teeth. Notably, the skull was excavated disarticulated – meaning it can be removed from the mount and studied bone by bone, a valuable trait for scientific research.

What makes the fossil especially rare is that it belonged to a juvenile dinosaur. Young dinosaur bones are extremely fragile and rarely survive fossilization. In many cases, they were scavenged or destroyed before burial. As a result, complete juvenile fossils are exceedingly rare, making this Ceratosaurus a particularly important specimen.

The field jacket containing the Ceratosaurus fossil 

The placement of the original fossil bone elements

After it was unearthed in 1996, the fossil was acquired by the Museum of Ancient Life in Utah. Brock Sisson, who worked at the museum as a 16-year-old, recalls receiving a mysterious box in 1999 containing the dinosaur’s upper jaw and nasal horn – along with a warning not to drop it.

“This is a pretty interesting specimen scientifically, but it was just kind of sitting there and not getting any attention,” said Sisson.

Years later, Sisson founded Fossilogic, a commercial paleontology company. When he learned the museum intended to deaccession the fossil, he acquired it – the sale price remains undisclosed. He then led a full restoration of the skeleton, using 3D printing to replicate missing parts and reconstruct the dinosaur in full.

As for the decision to sell, Sisson explained it was both a business move and a preservation effort, designed to ensure Fossilogic’s sustainability and support the conservation and expansion of its fossil collection.