(NewsNation) — Have you ever wanted a real dinosaur? Well, if you have more than $1.28 million, now is your chance.
The “unusually well-preserved” skeleton of a Camptosaurus dinosaur will be available for auction next month in Paris.
The sale will take place at the Drouot auction house, known for its collections of rare art and objects.
The Camptosaurus was named “Barry” after Barry James, the paleontologist who restored its some 150-million-year-old skeleton.
While it’s uncertain how long ago Barry actually lived, paleontologists have dated its skeleton back to the late Jurassic period. The dinosaur’s remains, however, were first discovered back in the 1990s in Wyoming. James conducted Barry’s initial restoration in 2000.
Mammals may have hunted down dinosaurs for dinner, rare fossil suggests
Italian laboratory Zoic, which acquired Barry last year, has done further restoration work on the skeleton, which is 6.9 feet tall and 16.4 feet long.
“It is an extremely well-preserved specimen, which is quite rare,” said Alexandre Giquello, from Paris auction house Drouot.
“To take the example of its skull, the skull is complete at 90% and the rest of the dinosaur (skeleton) is complete at 80%,” Giquello said.
Dinosaur specimens on the art market remain rare, with no more than a couple of sales a year worldwide, Giquello said.
The skeleton, which will be shown to the public in mid-October before the sale, is expected to sell for close to $1.28 million.
Reuters contributed to this report.
