Vulcain – the giant American dinosaur that once roamed the earth 150 million years ago–who was excavated in Wyoming and brought to France for its first public exhibition has been sold. At an auction in France, the skeleton went under the hammer for €6 million/$6.3 million, one of the highest selling dinosaur skeletons sold in Europe.

Lovely Bones

The dinosaur skeleton sold by French auction houses Collin du Bocage and Barbarossa in front of a live audience at Château de Dampierre-en-Yvelines outside Paris where the magnificent specimen has been residing since July 13. The representative of the buyer was in the room and wishes to entrust it to a museum.

“This auction is one of the highest made for a dinosaur skeleton in France. We are satisfied that the purchaser intends to lend it to an institution. We will know more soon,” said auctioneer Olivier Collin du Bocage at the end of the sale. Indeed, this auction constitutes one of the highest prices for the sale of a dinosaur skeleton in the world after the Apex Stegosaurus ($44,600,000), the T-Rex Stan ($31,800,000), the Raptor ($12,400,000), the T-Rex Sue ($8,400,000) and the Triceratops Big John (€6.6 million euros sold in France).

A Matter Of History

The majestic Apatosaurus (formerly known as a Brontosaurus) skeleton, a herbivore, measuring 20.50 meters/67.25 feet long with approximately 80% of its bone mass native bones (i.e. more than 306 fossilized bones), is the most complete dinosaur skeleton to be discovered and offered in auction history.

“This auction constitutes one of the world records for the sale of a herbivorous dinosaur” commented Professor Eric Mickeler, expert of the sale who appraised “Vulcain.” He is the former consultant of Sotheby’s and Christie’s and current Curator of the Dinosaur Museum of Prague (Dinosauria Museum Praha).

Since taking residence at the magnificent Château de Dampierre-en-Yvelines in July, Vulcain has captivated the imagination of the French who have dubbed it “La Bête de Dampierre” and received a record number of more than 40,000 visitors who came to marvel at the towering prehistoric masterpiece at its exhibition.

(Images: Collin du Bocage)