A stegosaurus fossil, bought by billionaire Kenneth Griffin for $44.6 million, will be displayed at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York. The four-year loan makes the museum the first institution to exhibit the dinosaur. The public can view the fossil starting Sunday.
The stegosaurus, nicknamed Apex, broke auction records when it sold at Sotheby’s this summer, surpassing the previous record held by a Tyrannosaurus rex. The sale raised concerns among paleontologists about museums being outbid by private collectors. Griffin stated after the purchase that he would lend the fossil to an American institution for public and scientific access.
“I am grateful that millions of visitors and researchers will now be able to see and learn from this magnificent specimen of the late Jurassic period,” Griffin told the New York Times.
The loan includes funding for research and documentation, such as 3D scans of the bones, which AMNH plans to share with researchers.
However, the scientific community’s reaction to these plans remains unclear. Some paleontologists have previously expressed concerns about researching privately owned specimens due to uncertain future access.
“This is a new gray area for us,” said Stuart Sumida, president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, adding that their ethics committee is reviewing the issue and will provide a recommendation in early spring.
AMNH president Sean M Decatur highlighted the stegosaurus’s public appeal and scientific value. “It’s one of the dinosaurs that every kid knows how to draw,” Decatur said. “This is a unique opportunity to have something that simultaneously, I think, really resonates in the public imagination about dinosaurs, but also from a research standpoint, is really a pretty special specimen to understand.”
The nearly complete fossil, discovered in 2022 in Colorado, is about 11 feet tall and over 20 feet long. Museum curator Roger Benson plans to study the dinosaur’s femur to learn about stegosaurus growth and biology. AMNH will also create a replica cast for display after the loan ends.
Benson emphasised the importance of data sharing. “I didn’t think we could do this project if we weren’t able to make the 3D data available to researchers,” he said, adding that the museum has a “stated commitment” from Griffin for continued researcher access to the specimen.