The dinosaur skeleton, Stan, on display at Christie’s in 2020.Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty
A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that vanished after being auctioned off for over $30 million in 2020 has finally been found.
“I know that scientists are hoping for a happy ending, not just for the fossil but for the science that depends on that fossil,” Greshko, who has been attempting to track down Stan’s whereabouts for some time now, toldABC News.
However, after spending years on display at Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, which the brothers owned at the time, a legal dispute between the siblings sent the fossil to the auction block.
As part of the 2018 ruling, a judge ordered them to part ways,The Wall Street Journalpreviously reported. While Pete got to keep the institute and most of its fossils, valued at around $5 million, Neal was given the right to sell Stan, according to the newspaper.
And in 2020, the 40-feet long fossil sold for $31.8 million to an unknown buyer — whose identity is still a mystery — making it the most expensive fossil ever sold, perNational Geographic.
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Until this week, the exact whereabouts of Stan remained unknown — although at one point, superstarDwayne Johnsonwas briefly thought to be the fossil’s new owner.
Back in January, Johnson gave an at-home interview on television while sitting in front of a giant T. rex skull that wasnamed Stan. However, after Greshko messaged the actor about it, Johnson quickly set the record straight.
“After my LIVE interview on last night’s #ManningCast on @NFL’s Monday Night Football, there’s been tons of worldwide speculation in the world of science ~ that I am the ‘mystery buyer’ of the original T-REX skull, known as STAN,” he wrote, going on to note that what he had at home was only a replica, which he purchased from the Black Hills Institute.
“My love, respect, fascination and curiosity for paleontological & archeological science runs deep - and if I was the proud owner of the real STAN, I sure as hell wouldn’t keep him in my office,” Johnson added. “I’d keep him in a museum, so the world could enjoy, study and learn from him.”
Making a playful comment about Stan — who likely survived some “brutal fights in his lifetime” — Johnson said that the fossil “reminds me of myself.”
“Not because I’m a badass, but because I’m 67 MILLION YEARS OLD TOO,” he joked.
Earlier this year, Greshko said that the search for Stan “fell into place” after he was going through monthly U.S. export totals — and found an entry for the exact amount Stan was sold for.
“I was very confident it had been exported to the United Arab Emirates,” the reporter told ABC News, “and then the UAE happened to reach out to me about this museum project.”
source: people.com
