With more than eleven meters long and almost four and a half high, Trinity, the first Tyrannosaurus skeleton to be auctioned in Europe and the third worldwide, was presented today in a concert hall in Zurich, where it will go on sale on April 18 for a Estimated price between 5 and 8 million dollars (between 4.6 and 7.4 million euros).

If these forecasts come true, the amount paid for this giant will be far from that reached by one of its two predecessors, Stan, who was sold for $31.8 million to a Dubai buyer by Christie’s in London. in 2020.

However, what no one doubts is the “unique and rare” character of a fossil like this50.17% original and composed of the remains of three different specimens of Tyrannosaurus that were unearthed between 2008 and 2013 in several American excavations of the Rocky Mountains, in the states of Montana and Wyoming.

«Last year we had a call from an American individual who offered us this piece,» the CEO of the Koller auction house, Cyril Koller, explained to EFE, who was very enthusiastic about being able to culminate many months of work in this way.

«As soon as we heard about Trinity, we began our investigations to find out how original these remains were and what history was behind the dinosaurs that make it up,» he said.

Experts are still not entirely clear how the three t-rex can diebut they suspect that their deaths are not due to natural causes and believe that they may drown in several floods or perish after a bloody fight.

The veteran family firm will put the remains up for sale along with other «extraordinary objects», such as the suit of a Soviet cosmonaut or a Martian meteorite.

Regarding who could bid for Trinity, Koller preferred not to give more details to the press out of discretion with the people who have shown interest in the dinosaur, but he assured that the buyer will probably be an individual.

«What is going to happen to private hands It does not prevent the public from being able to see it. In fact, something similar happens with works of art, and on many occasions the people who own them agree to show them in museums or make them available to science”, he clarified.

A controversial auction

Previous sales to the highest bidder for dinosaurs were also controversial and alerted the scientific community, which described their extremely high prices as «absurd» and avoided the danger of this type of practice for research.

Present today in the room, the Zurich archaeologist Hans-Jakob Siber told EFE that «in an ideal world, culture would be free», but regretted that the costs of the excavations and the subsequent assembly of the skeletons are impossible for a industry «so underdeveloped» as paleontology.

In this sense, he admitted with a laugh that Tyrannosaurs are not only an undeniable source of fascination for all dinosaur fans, but also It represents an economic incentive for museums that have some specimen in their collection.

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«In my opinion, it is unlikely that an individual would buy Trinity and place it in their home, so that no one can enjoy its majesty,» said the expert, who warned those who may fall into this temptation that «a fossil like this it is not easy to maintain in good condition”.

For the moment, the fantasies of great tycoons who treasure dinosaurs in their mansions remain in fiction and in the dreams of the little ones, who today ran with their mouths open through the sumptuous concert hall, while the piped music sounded melody composed by John Williams for the movie «Jurassic Park».