Skeleton of T. rex Shen on display before auction seen as harmful to science

A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton was displayed in Singapore on Friday ahead of its auction next month, a deal experts say is “harmful to science”.

The 1,400-kilogram skeleton, made up of about 80 bones, will be the first of its kind to be auctioned in Asia, auction house Christie’s said.

Dubbed Shen, which means deity, it will be on display for three days before being shipped to Hong Kong. It will be sold in November.

“None of the 20 existing Tyrannosaurus rex in the world belongs to an Asian institution or an Asian collector,” commented Francis Belin, president of Christie’s Asia-Pacific.

The dinosaur, an adult 4.6 meters tall and 12 meters long and who lived about 67 million years ago, is believed to be male.

It was unearthed in 2020 on private land in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, United States.

“I had never seen a fossil before … I was impressed because it is quite majestic,” said Lauren Lim, 33, who came to see the exhibition.

In recent years, several dinosaurs have been auctioned off, a trend that worries many experts.
“It’s sad that dinosaurs are becoming collectible toys for the oligarchic class,” said Steve Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh, adding that the fossil remains should be in museums.

Thomas Carr, an American paleontologist, said these sales are “unquestionably harmful to science” as there is no guarantee that a private fossil can be studied again.
Belin hopes “that the new owner, whether an institution or an individual, will ensure that the public sees it.”