The Tyrant King has been overthrown or, rather, outbid. A Sotheby’s auction recently ended in the record-breaking $44.6 million sale of the Stegosaurus fossil known as Apex, leaving previous auctions of iconic Tyrannosaurus rex specimens in the geological dust.
The commercial fossil trade has long sparked debate and controversy, and the Western United States is no different from fossil-rich regions around the world that have seen their cultural and geological heritage traded internationally. In the case of legal sales such as this, the pressing question remaining concerns Apex’s future. Will the specimen be hidden away as a private collectible, lost to science, or will Apex be made available for research and public engagement, a titular figurehead for science communication that can spark joy and wonder about our natural world?
Stegosaurus roamed the ancient American West 150 million years ago and is best known for the armor plates spanning its back, as well as the multiple sharp tail spikes that constitute the “thagomizer” (a term paleontologists coyly adopted from cartoonist Gary Larson). Apex was discovered near the aptly named town of Dinosaur, Colorado, entombed in rocks of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, perhaps the most famous dinosaur-bearing beds in the world. This is the geological unit that spawned Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Brontosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, etc. (Note that I’m going alphabetically, and we’re barely through the D’s of famous dinosaurs.) It was ground zero for the late 19th century “Bone Wars” between Othniel Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope, as well as a second great “Dinosaur Rush” that witnessed the rise of paleontology programs and exhibits in major U.S. natural history museums.
In many ways the Morrison Formation and its dinosaur denizens represent the birthplace of American paleontology. Nearly all major natural history museums highlight dinosaur specimens from the Morrison Formation. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County features several in our Dinosaur Hall, and is in the process of mounting a giant Morrison sauropod dinosaur to anchor a new welcome center. Many museums also maintain active field expeditions that continue to reap new insights from these rocks representing the zenith of dinosaur evolution.
Apex’s name is fitting then, both for its immense size, representing the largest Stegosaurus specimen ever collected, as well as its place within American paleontology lore. It is also unique for its relative completeness — the average dinosaur specimen is a few chunks of bones, not the beautifully articulated “raptor” that dust is brushed off in the movie — and its exceptional preservation, including skin impressions and fine details of its armor plates. While it is somewhat arbitrary to attach a monetary value to Apex as a research object or an aesthetic art piece, it’s relatively uncontroversial to say that it is a unique and rare specimen — something worthy of appreciation for both the scientific insights and public wonder it can unlock.
Perhaps it wasn’t surprising then, that Apex’s auction ended in an intense 15-minute bidding war, with the final sale more than 11 times the auction house’s low estimate. Apex’s champion was hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel, and no stranger to supporting paleontological outreach and education. Griffin has previously made major donations to The Field Museum in support of new exhibitions for the famed T. rex Sue and the gigantic long-necked titanosaur Máximo, as well as a traveling exhibition focused on Antarctic dinosaurs. As co-curator of the latter exhibition, I had a front-row seat to witness the difference this kind of exceptional philanthropy can make, both to our field’s research and to our use of paleontology as a gateway for understanding and communicating science more broadly.
Griffin’s donation to reimagine Sue the T. rex exhibit at the Field Museum is notable in this regard, as it allowed for this remarkable specimen to finally be viewed within its larger geological and environmental context — something that scientists often bemoan about exhibits and museum staff strive to deliver. Sue effectively went from a stand-alone object in the museum hall to the centerpiece of a broader story about the Cretaceous, extinction and earth history. The stegosaur Apex now stands at a similar crossroads — to be displayed as an isolated (yet objectively beautiful) art piece, devoid of context, interpretation and public appreciation; or to serve as a gateway to the Morrison Formation and its rich history, diversity and ecology — a crown jewel of America’s most important contributions to paleontology.
It has been reported that Griffin desires for this unique specimen to stay in the United States, with Sotheby’s news release quoting the new owner emphasizing: “Apex was born in America and is going to stay in America!” With a growing number of noteworthy fossil sales from the U.S. to international institutions and private collectors, it’s comforting to know that Apex will be accessible to, and appreciated by, the citizens and communities that span the great continent it once roamed. This would follow the gracious precedent set by Griffin’s acquisition of a copy of the U.S. Constitution, which was lent to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art for exhibition.
A fossil specimen that is so emblematic of the West and the birth of American paleontology belongs in our country. And in the words of a fictional, fedora-clad archaeologist: “It belongs in a museum.”
Nathan D. Smith, Ph.D., is a paleontologist and Gretchen Augustyn director and curator of the Dinosaur Institute at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. His research focuses on dinosaur evolution and the use of comparative methods in paleontology. The IMAX film “Dinosaurs of Antarctica” features Smith’s Antarctic field program, and he co-curated the traveling exhibit “Antarctic Dinosaurs.”
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