Conditional
Sale of Tyrannosaurus bataar, 8-feet high and 24-feet long, will be contingent
upon resolution of a court proceeding.

One
of the great dinosaurs of the Cretaceous era, an eight-foot tall, 24-foot long, 75% complete Tyrannosaurus
bataar – the slightly smaller Asian counterpart to the legendary
North American T-Rex – has sold for $1,052,500, contingent upon resolution of a
Texas state court proceeding. Heritage Auctions sold this dinosaur on May 20 as
part of the company’s Natural History auction at Center 548 (548 W. 22^nd
Street, between 10^th Ave. and West Street). The entire auction
realized $2.63 million, not counting post-auction sales, which are still in
progress.

“This is a once in a generation
dinosaur and collectors definitely responded to both its rarity and its fierce
beauty,” said David Herskowitz, Director of Natural History at Heritage
Auctions. “A dino like this is rare to come across in any condition, let alone
one as pristine as this.”

The sale – marking the first time a
fully prepared Tyrannosaur has been made available at public auction (“Sue” the
T-Rex was sold in 1996, but was still in field jackets) – was not without
controversy, as the Mongolian government released a statement 48 hours before
the auction suggesting the fossil belonged to the country.

“We respect the various opinions on
the subject and wish to protect the legal rights of all parties involved,” said
Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. “We have legal assurances from our
reputable consignors that the specimen was obtained legally. As far as we know,
the Mongolian government has not produced any evidence that the piece
originated in its territory, but the final determination will be up to the
American legal system.”

The proceedings were not without
event, however, as Mongolia’s Texas-based attorney, without authority from the
New York judicial system, tried to interrupt the auction.

The Tyrannosaurus bataar roamed what
is now Central Asia in the Cretaceous period, around 80 million years ago. The
dino had been in storage in England, still in its field jackets, until it was
brought to the United States last year.

Source: http://www.ha.com