15-Foot-tall Tyrannosaurus Rex Skeleton Will Be Sold in an Auction in Hong Kong Next Month: What Will Be Its Implications to Science?

Paleontologists are mourning the news of a 15-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton being auctioned for the first time in Asia. The 3,000-pound fossil is on its way to Hong Kong where it will be sold, MailOnline reports.

The remains were initially discovered in Montana in 2020, but this is the first of its kind to be sold in Asia. However, scientists are condemning the act as dinosaur remains that were sold to private collectors will no longer have access to the fossil, which they can study for research.

(Photo : ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Dinosaur fans got a glimpse of a rare Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton as it went on public display in Singapore on October 28 before hitting the auction block in Hong Kong in November.

Meet Shen the T. rex

The Tyrannosaurus rex is the most notorious dinosaur in the world and has been featured in many films, and documentaries, and even auctioned in a couple of years.

In 2020, Stan the T. rex staying in Christie's made headlines as it was auctioned and sold for nearly $32 million before finding its permanent home in a museum in Abu Dhabi.

Now, another T. rex skeleton will be in an auction next month. The tyrannosaurus rex skeleton was called "Shen," a name that means God-like perhaps named because of its enormous size. The estimated cost of the whole skeleton is between $15 million and $25 million, per Robb Report.

Shen will be the first T. rex skeleton to be auctioned in Asia s it heads to Christie's 20th-21st Century Art Evening Sale in Hong Kong on November 30.

To date, there are only 20 T. rex skeletons discovered and most of them are incomplete. For instance, Shen is only about 54% complete with 79 bones, including its well-preserved skull that has the frontal, jugal, and other bones. The fossil was found in the Hell Creek formation in Montana and was examined and prepared in Germany.

Professor Dr. John R. Nudds from the University of Manchester said that Shen was one of the best T. rex ever discovered, advancing the science of paleontology and knowledge of theropod behavior.

Paleontologists Mourn Shen's Journey to Asia

While Shen traveling to Asia might excite spectators, MailOnline reports that paleontologists are mourning its impending auction in Hong Kong. Paleontologist Steve Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh said that it is saddening when dinosaur fossils are becoming collectible toys for oligarch class and that she hopes this fad ends soon.

Meanwhile, Christie's Asia Pacific president Francis Belin said they hoped that exceptional objects ended up in institutions so the public will be given the chance to view them.

Shen's upcoming auction in November brings back memories of the 10-foot-tall Gorgosaurus skeleton at Sotheby's auction house in New York last August, which was sold for $6.1 million.

Paleontologists have sounded the alarm for such auctions that could hurt the scientific community. They pointed out that selling dinosaur fossils at the auction is like throwing the last copy of a book into the fire since when the skeleton was purchased by a private collector it will no longer exist to scientists anymore.

They noted that dinosaur fossils should be in museums that are accessible to the scientific community or they will be lost to the world. In response, auction houses said that there is no evidence that's ales to private collectors hurt science as they will continue to exist for millions of years and hopefully be studied at some point in the future.