The skeleton of “Misty the Diplodocus” was sold at auction for £400,000 or $652,000. Although the buyer remains unknown, the skeleton will available for public viewing.
The diplodocus, whose name came from the Greek words diplos and dokos or "double beam", was found in Wyoming’s quarry and then was assembled in Rotterdam. They say that it is one of six fossils in the world which is almost 100 percent complete.
The Natural History Museum in London may have been interested in the fossils because their own diplodocus is only a cast which came from two separate diplodocuses. However, even before the auction, they have stated that they will not bid for the 56-feet long Misty at the West Sussex auction.
The auction was held in Billingshurst at the Summers Place Auctions. Before the auction proper, the auctioneer James Rylands shared his thoughts about the diplodocus dinosaur, "We will be sorry to see her go - the downside of being an auctioneer is that once you've sold something you very seldom get to see it again. Hopefully this won't be the case with Misty. It's more likely to be bought by a museum.”
"There's a fast-developing museum market in Asia and the Middle East. The other big thing is upmarket shopping malls or hotels, especially in the US, because of their high ceilings and atriums. Within the context of a shopping mall you can make a real 'wow' statement,” he added.
Rupert van der Werff who is from the auction organization told BBC News, "I'm absolutely thrilled. It has been an awful lot of work and a very exciting project, and to finally get to this final conclusion - we are delighted. I can't tell you who bought it but it is going on public display."
Misty was sold at the said auction house because the curator Errol Fuller personally knows the German paleontologist Raimund Albersdoerfer who owned the diplodocus skeleton.
