Apex the $45M stegosaurus is on display in New York. Here's what scientists hope to learn about it
The most expensive dinosaur fossil ever discovered will be on view in New York starting this weekend
NEW YORK — The most expensive dinosaur fossil ever discovered will be on view in New York starting this weekend, American Museum of Natural History officials announced Wednesday.
The giant stegosaurus fossil, dubbed “Apex,” is 11 feet (3.3 meters) tall and 27 feet (8.2 meters) nose to tail. The display will start in a giant atrium at the museum’s entrance before being moved to the museum's existing fossil halls next year.
The museum also confirmed the identity of the philanthropist who purchased Apex. Billionaire hedge fund manager and longtime museum donor Ken Griffin bought it at an auction in July for $45 million, the most ever paid for dinosaur remains. Sean Decatur, president of the American Museum of Natural History, said that Griffin approved a long-term loan of Apex, as well as allowing scientists to take samples from the fossil for analysis.
“This partnership allows Apex to have pride of place at a museum world-renowned for its dinosaur collection and for its longstanding leadership in paleontology and, even more exciting, enables us to pursue specialized Stegosaurus research centered around this extraordinary and scientifically important specimen,” Decatur said in a statement Wednesday.
Of the more than 80 stegosauri made available to scientific institutions, very few are substantially complete, the statement said. Apex is the most complete specimen ever found, Decatur said. With about 80% of its 320 bones preserved, it is miraculous for creature that has been dead for 150 million years. The specimen is also prized by scientists because it is estimated to have died at a relatively old age, and it could reveal
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