{"id":4204,"date":"2026-05-29T09:13:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/?p=4204"},"modified":"2026-05-29T09:13:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:13:20","slug":"you-could-own-one-of-the-largest-t-rex-fossils-ever-discovered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/?p=4204","title":{"rendered":"You Could Own One of the Largest T. Rex Fossils Ever Discovered"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 67-million-year-old T. rex named \u2018Gus\u2019 is heading to Sotheby\u2019s with a $30m estimate, making it one of the most valuable dinosaur fossils ever auctioned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"sotheby's<\/div>\n

Sotheby\u2019s will auction \u2018Gus,\u2019 a colossal 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex fossil, in July with an estimated value between $20m to $30m. <\/p>\n

Tyrannosaurus rex has long captured the public imagination as one of history\u2019s most fearsome apex predators. Roaming western North America during the Late Cretaceous period, the species possessed an enormous skull, a devastating bite force, and an acute sense of smell. Decades after their extinction, T. rex dinosaurs continue to dominate popular culture through films, television, and museum exhibitions worldwide.<\/p>\n

\"sotheby's
\u00a9Sotheby\u2019s \/ Matthew Sherman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Far from an ordinary T. rex, \u2018Gus\u2019 ranks among the largest and most complete specimens ever discovered. The fossil consists of 183 preserved bone elements, making it approximately 63 percent complete overall. Its immense skull alone measures 53 inches and retains around 82 percent of its original bone structure. Paleontologists also recovered exceptionally preserved ft, a reconstructed pelvis, and the rare furcula, or wishbone. Standing roughly 12 and a half ft tall, with a femur stretching more than 50 inches, it offers an extraordinary glimpse into one of prehistory\u2019s most formidable predators.<\/p>\n

\u201cGus is the culmination of years of rigorous excavation and preparation under some of the most challenging field conditions imaginable, and years of exacting study, documentation, and research,\u201d said Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby\u2019s vice chairman and worldwide head of science and natural history. \u201cTyrannosaurus rex is the most iconic pre-historic species in the fossil record, and Gus stands firmly among the greatest examples ever found.\u201d<\/p>\n

See also: The Psychology of Why We Collect<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"sotheby's
\u00a9Sotheby\u2019s \/ Matthew Sherman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The story behind the fossil\u2019s discovery is just as remarkable as the dinosaur itself. In 2021, paleontologists from Theropoda Expeditions<\/a> began excavations in Harding County, South Dakota, on land owned by rancher Gary \u2018Gus\u2019 Licking, for whom the specimen is named. Licking had spent years uncovering small bones and fossilized teeth on his property and suspected something much larger was buried beneath the surface. His instincts proved correct: the excavation team located the T. rex exactly where he had suggested they begin searching.<\/p>\n

Recovering the fossil was a painstaking process that stretched over several years. Excavation alone took three years, followed by another three years dedicated to preparing and extracting the bones.<\/p>\n

See also: This Dutch Collector Turned His Home Into an Incredible Fossil Museum<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"sotheby's
\u00a9Sotheby\u2019s \/ Matthew Sherman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis specimen took three years to excavate \u2013 with the team sometimes working for weeks straight without finding a thing,\u201d explained Thomas Heitkamp, president of Theropoda Expeditions and the discoverer of \u2018Gus\u2019. \u201cThe site was a complex fossil bed and preserved many fossils of the flora and fauna that comprised the larger Cretaceous ecosystem. We documented each stage with quarry maps, inventories, and collection data. In the end, our diligence paid off and we were delighted to discover what turned out to be a huge and incredibly complete T. rex specimen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heitkamp described the reconstruction process as both demanding and rewarding. \u201cIt really does feel like tackling the world\u2019s hardest puzzle, except we have to find all the pieces first,\u201d he said. \u201cAll those bones separated for 67 million years that we can now, almost magically, fit back together. There\u2019s something deeply satisfying about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"sotheby's
\u00a9Sotheby\u2019s \/ Matthew Sherman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Dana Licking, wife of the late Gary Licking, witnessing the journey of \u2018Gus\u2019 from discovery to public exhibition has been deeply meaningful. \u201cIt has been an amazing opportunity to follow a discovery as significant as \u2018Gus\u2019 from start to finish,\u201d she said. \u201cSeeing the dedication of the team, working hard together to preserve every detail has been both phenomenal and enlightening. Few people know what it takes to bring a specimen of this magnitude to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sotheby\u2019s has played a major role in the history of dinosaur auctions. In 1997, the auction house sold \u2018Sue,\u2019 the first T. rex ever offered at auction. More recently, the stegosaurus \u2018Apex\u2019 shattered records when it sold for $45m in 2024. Now, \u2018Gus\u2019, expected to fetch around $30m, will continue that legacy when it arrives in New York ahead of Sotheby\u2019s Natural History Auction on July 14. The fossil will go on public display at Sotheby\u2019s Breuer gallery beginning July 1.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 67-million-year-old T. rex named \u2018Gus\u2019 is heading to Sotheby\u2019s with a $30m estimate, making it one of the most valuable dinosaur fossils ever auctioned.\u00a0 Sotheby\u2019s will auction \u2018Gus,\u2019 a colossal 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex fossil, in July with an estimated value between $20m to $30m. Tyrannosaurus rex has long captured the public imagination as one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"","beyondwords_project_id":"","beyondwords_content_id":"","beyondwords_preview_token":"","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}