Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City.
The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs, and are being sold by Bonhams auction house.
According to Thomas Lindgren, Bonhams Co-Consulting Director of Natural History, the fossils “are the rarest dinosaurs that have ever been found.”
Lindgren says the dinosaurs - a Nanotyrannus (a meat-eater) and a Ceratopsian (a plant-eater ) appear to be locked together in mortal combat. Hence the name Dueling Dinosaurs.
“The Nanotyrannus itself has never been found as a skeleton before. Only partial skeletons and actually only two skulls exist and they are partial skulls,” according to Lindgren.
They’re being sold by the owners of the ranch where the fossils were found.
It's located in the fossil-rich Hell Creek formation, where dinosaurs are believed to have once roamed.
Clayton Phipps, the amateur paleontologist who found the dinosaurs, calls himself lucky to have found the fossils.
“I am hoping that it will be studied and professionally academically studied and you know I want to know more about ‘em,” Phipps said.
Each of the specimens is well preserved.
Paleontologists believe one may be a close relative of Tyrannosaurus rex.
The other may be a new species similar to a Triceratops, but this has yet to be independently verified.
The fact that these dinosaurs were commercially collected has created some controversy in the scientific community.
“There are those scientists that believe unless they have had the opportunity to actually work on them themselves they have no value. Yet there are the other scientists that say this is the most amazing discovery in the dinosaur world of all time,” according to Lindgren.
The two dinosaurs are slated to be offered as a single lot at Bonhams auction house on November 19th.
The auction house estimates it could bring $7 million to $9 million.
