Nanotyrannus skeleton 'Jodi' sells for $47.3 million at Sotheby's New York

The sale in New York

A Nanotyrannus skeleton nicknamed 'Jodi' sold at Sotheby's New York on 27 October 2026 for $47.3 million, fees included. The auction house said the winner beat five other bidders, who competed online and by telephone during a live session that lasted about 12 minutes. Sotheby's had estimated the fossil at $6 million to $9 million, and ARTnews reported a hammer price of $40.5 million before fees. The winning buyer has chosen to stay anonymous, and the auction house did not say who won. The final price came in more than five times above the top of the pre-sale estimate.

The fossil

The skeleton stands about 2 metres tall and is nearly 6 metres long, and it is considered about 70% complete, according to AP. Sotheby's describes it as one of only three known Nanotyrannus skeletons, and ARTnews reports that it includes 191 fossil bone elements, among them a nearly complete skull. The animal was roughly half the length of an adult T. rex, with longer forelimbs, larger hand claws and slender, blade-shaped teeth. Rancher Jodi Pierson found it on her land in Montana's Hell Creek Formation in 2019, and the excavation was featured in the Discovery Channel series Dino Hunters in 2020. The skeleton had been on display at Sotheby's Upper Manhattan headquarters since early October 2026.

Record context

The sale ranks as the second-most expensive dinosaur skeleton ever sold at auction, behind the T. rex named Gus, which sold for a record $50.1 million at Sotheby's in mid-2026. Jodi came close to that record, and it sold for more than the $44.6 million paid in 2024 for the Stegosaurus Apex. Christie's sold the T. rex Stan for $31.8 million in 2020, and a juvenile Ceratosaurus brought $30.5 million at Sotheby's in 2025 against an estimate of $4 million to $6 million.

Gus (T. rex, mid-2026)50.1

Jodi (Nanotyrannus, 2026-10-27)47.3

Apex (Stegosaurus, 2024)44.6

Stan (T. rex, 2020)31.8

Ceratosaurus (2025)30.5

Gus (T. rex, mid-2026)

50.1 million USD

Jodi (Nanotyrannus, 2026-10-27)

47.3 million USD

Apex (Stegosaurus, 2024)

44.6 million USD

Stan (T. rex, 2020)

31.8 million USD

Ceratosaurus (2025)

30.5 million USD

Data from the article text

The skeleton has an earlier market history. In 2023, when it was known as 'Chomper' and was still identified as a juvenile T. rex, London dealer David Aaron offered it for $20 million at Frieze Masters. That offer did not produce a sale, because the current consignor had acquired the skeleton in 2021, according to Sotheby's provenance listing.

Scientific dispute

For decades, researchers debated whether Nanotyrannus was simply a juvenile T. rex. A 2025 study in Nature identified it as a distinct genus that lived alongside its much larger relative, according to ARTnews. The dispute traces back to a skull found in 1942 by a team from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, which was then thought to belong to an adolescent T. rex. In 1988, further study suggested it may have been a cousin of T. rex, according to The New York Times. AP reports that some scientists oppose private sales of such fossils and say important specimens like Jodi should be shown in museums or other institutions.

Market concerns

Criticism of such auctions is growing, according to VRT NWS, because the skeletons are kept out of reach of research and the public. Bidding contests push prices into the millions, beyond what public museums and universities often can afford, according to N-tv and newsORF. ARTnews reports that paleontologists worry scientifically important fossils are increasingly priced beyond the reach of museums and disappearing into private collections.