Big John, South Dakota's Biggest Triceratops Fossil Goes on Display, Set To Fetch Big Bucks in Paris Auction

Nicknamed 'Big John', a 66 million-year-old fossilized Triceratops, the biggest and most complete specimen to be discovered, goes on display a month before it is set to fetch big bucks in Paris auction.

During its heyday, the Triceratops, with its gigantic collared skull and characteristic three attacking horns, was unquestionably one of the most dangerous dinosaurs to roam the planet. Roughly 60% complete, Big John stands as the most complete Triceratops specimen to be unearthed, measuring at roughly 26 feet long and a skull that is 6.6 feet wide.

Big John's Paris Auction

Giquello, a French auction house, is set to display the massive fossil for public viewing from September 16 to October 15 at 13 Rue des Archives, Paris, according to a statement by the auction house's representative.

On October 18, Big John will make its debut at the Parisian Auction house, Hotel Drouot, where it is slated to be auctioned on October 21 to the highest bidder, a part of the Giquello's "Naturalia" auction. According to an article by LiveScience, Big John is expected to fetch somewhere around $1.4 million to $1.8 million.

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Triceratops 66 Million Years Ago

During the Cretaceous Era, the frilled tri-horn Triceratops populated North America roughly 67 million to 65 million years ago. Big John is believed to have lived in what we now know as South Dakota.

It is an island continent known as Laramidia, formed during the late Cretaceous era when shallow seas flooded most of the central North American region, reports The Guardian.

It was discovered in 2014 by Walter W. Stein, a paleontologist and owner of an independent commercial paleontology company, PaleoAdventures, South Dakota. Stein unearthed Big John's fossils from the Hell Creek Formation, an ancient flood plain rich in fossil sites spanning Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Millions of years in the past, Big John died and was buried in thick mud that allowed the near-perfect fossilization of its remains.

A well-preserved notch on its collarbone suggests that Big John was heavily wounded due to violent combat, possibly a tussle with another triceratops over territory or mates, which may have resulted in the dinosaurs' demise.

Researchers suggest that the combating Triceratops might have fared worse than Big John in battle since its two largest horns measure nearly 4 feet each and roughly 1 foot wide at its base, withstanding over 16 tons in pressure.

In recent years, other dinosaur fossils have fetched heftier price tags at auctions compared to what Big John is most likely to get. In October 2020, a 67 million-year-old T. rex fossil named 'Stan' was sold at auction for $31.8 million, a record-breaking bid making it the most expensive fossil of all time.

Sales of high-profile fossils have, for years, raised concerns among museums, scientific institutions, and paleontologists that private collectors will outbid researchers where valuable scientific specimens will disappear into private collections.