Why Was the Auction for the Tyranno Fossil Estimated at 30 Billion Won Canceled?

‘Shen’ Fossil Scheduled for Auction on 30th Uses Replica Bones from Another Dinosaur ‘Stan’
Only 79 Real Bones... T-Rex Estimated to Have 300-380 Bones in Total

Tyrannosaurus rex 'Shen' fossil exhibited in Singapore ahead of Christie's Hong Kong auction. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The auction of Asia's first Tyrannosaurus rex (T-rex) fossil, which was scheduled to be put up for sale in Hong Kong at the end of this month, has been abruptly canceled.

According to a report by The New York Times (NYT) on the 20th (local time), auction house Christie's announced in a statement that "after consulting with the consignor of the Tyrannosaurus rex, we have decided to cancel the auction scheduled to be held in Hong Kong on November 30," adding, "The consignor has agreed to lend the specimen to a museum for public exhibition." The fossil, named 'Shen,' was expected to fetch between $15 million and $25 million (approximately 20.15 billion to 33.58 billion KRW). This was the first time a T-rex fossil was put up for auction in the Asian region, and until the cancellation, Christie's had heavily promoted "Shen" as a world-class fossil specimen meeting museum exhibition standards. When asked about the reason for the withdrawal, the auction house briefly replied, "We believe the specimen will be helpful for further research."

However, the NYT pointed out that the sudden cancellation of the auction is linked to controversy over 'fake bones.' In recent weeks, the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in South Dakota, USA, raised doubts that Shen's skeleton is similar to another T-rex fossil named Stan. The Stan fossil was sold at a Christie's auction in 2020 for $31.8 million (approximately 42.7 billion KRW). Since Black Hills participated in the excavation of Stan starting in 1992 and has studied it for 30 years, they are well acquainted with the fossil's characteristics. Moreover, Black Hills holds intellectual property rights for the Stan specimen and continues to sell polyurethane Stan models for $120,000 (approximately 161 million KRW) each.

In an email interview with the NYT, Peter Larson, director of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, said, "We noticed a hole in the left lower jawbone, a distinctive feature of Stan, also present in Shen, and that their skulls are similar." Larson speculated that Christie's anonymous owner of Shen purchased molds of Stan from Black Hills to supplement missing bones. He accused, "They are using Stan to sell a dinosaur that is not Stan."

As the issue escalated, Christie's revised the auction description posted online to include the fact that Stan's replica bones were used in the Shen fossil. Christie's also stated that Stan's teeth are fake. Meanwhile, Christie's claimed that "Shen's bone density is 54%," which was also criticized by fossil experts. Margaret Lewis, president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology who vocally opposed Stan's 2020 auction, said, "Bone density has no scientific significance."

Almost all dinosaur fossils are incomplete, so additional materials such as cast bones from other specimens are used to reconstruct them. Therefore, the value of a fossil depends on the number of original bones. Although the total number of T-rex bones is not precisely known, scientists estimate it to be between 300 and 380. Shen has only 79 genuine bones, which is far fewer compared to Stan's 190 real bones and the 250 bones of the T-rex displayed at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Dinosaur fossil auctions have been booming in recent years. Earlier this year, Christie's sold a fossil of Deinonychus antirrhopus, the dinosaur that inspired the Velociraptor in the movie "Jurassic Park," for $12.4 million (approximately 1.665 billion KRW), more than twice the highest estimate. Dinosaur fossil auctions have faced much criticism from museums and paleontologists who fear that scientifically important specimens ultimately become privately owned and disappear from researchers' reach.