Straight from the Jurassic period, the dinosaur Zephyr will be the star of an exceptional auction this October 20 in Paris.

Dated to more than 150 million years ago

After Stan the T. rex and Big John the triceratops, it will soon be the turn of Zephyr, another dinosaur to go under the hammer. This was announced on Wednesday by the auction house Giquello & Associés, which unveiled the skeleton during a press conference. Dated to more than 150 million years ago, the specimen is an iguanodon, one of the first genera of dinosaurs described by paleontologists. Zephyr was discovered in 2019 in Colorado in the United States during the construction of a road on private land.

A rare specimen

This specimen of the iguanodon family is 3.20 meters long and could run, in its time, at more than 25 km/h. Reason why his skeleton is presented to the public in a racy and slender look for the race. The rarity of the specimen is also due to the presence of several fossilized tendons on the hips and the dorsal area. The result of painstaking work lasting thousands of hours by a team of paleontologists and preparers, the restoration and assembly of the skeleton was carried out by the Italian company Zoic, which has specialized in the restoration of prehistoric specimens since its creation there. at forty by Flavio Bacchia.

Prices could skyrocket

If the house of Giquello and associates presents it as a new piece in its collection, prices could skyrocket with potential buyers since dinosaur auctions reach sums worthy of art sales. Last year, the auctioneer Alexandre Giquello had sold a triceratops, nicknamed Big John, for 6.6 million euros, while it was estimated between 1.2 million and 1.5 million euros. A record on the European market for this type of sale. However, the world record was set in 2019 in New York, where Dan the T.Rex was sold for $ 31.8 million, at Christie’s. In a few weeks, the dinosaur will have found a foster family. Estimated at 500,000 euros, Zéphyr will undoubtedly rest in a luxurious living room. The dinosaur will thus be able to continue to make old bones to the delight of its future owners. The auctions will begin on October 20 in Paris.

Hôtel Drouot,

9, rue Drouot, 75009 Paris

Exhibition from October 17 to 19, 2022

Public auction, Thursday October 20, 2022 (www.binocheetgiquello.com).