It seems that the mystery of selling the most expensive dinosaur fossil in the world has finally been revealed with a new statement from the National Geographic platform, which confirmed that the Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi will display the dinosaur to the public on the occasion of its opening in 2025.
The dinosaur "Stan" was sold for $ 31.8 million to an unknown buyer on the fifth of October 2020, but the National Geographic Corporation tracked the shipment of the dinosaur to find that it stopped in the United Arab Emirates about a year ago from now, and then it was confirmed that the buyer was a circle Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi.
cinema king
"Stan" is a two-legged carnivorous dinosaur, a type "Tyrannosaurus", known for its acronym "T-Rex", and it is one of the most famous dinosaurs and one of the most studied and most visible in global popular culture, especially in cinema and novels.
"Stan" was first discovered in 1992 in the state of "South Dakota" in the United States, by a hobbyist paleontologist named "Stan Sacrison". As a result, the dinosaur bore the name "Stan".
At the moment of his discovery, Stan did not think that this was a complete dinosaur fossil, but with the participation of a specialized research team, the surprise arose.
The researchers conducted two additional excavations of the site, which resulted in the discovery of 199 known tyrannosaur bones, representing more than 70 percent of its body, making Stan the fifth most complete tyrannosaur species as of 2019.
The fossil spent nearly two decades in the "Black Hills Private Institute for Geological Research" in South Dakota, but when the owners of the institute disagreed over financial matters, the dinosaur was sold at a public auction by a court order, and it belonged to the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi.
This dinosaur is considered one of the most important fossils for researchers of tyrannosaur range (websites)
research role
This dinosaur is considered one of the most important fossils for researchers of the tyrannosaur range, and in particular its almost complete skull, which is preserved in perfect condition, played a major role in developing our understanding of the food pattern of this type of dinosaur and its bite force, which subsequently transferred to the world of cinema.
Stan lived about 67 million years ago, with an estimated length of about 12 meters and a height of about 4 meters from the ground.
This genus was the last to live on Earth before the Tertiary Cretaceous extinction event, which wiped out the dinosaurs.
But Stan died long before that.
It is not known exactly the cause of his death, but many hypotheses indicate that it may be the result of old age, or starvation due to limited movement from his previous injuries whose impact was clearly visible on the fossils of his skeleton, or perhaps due to a parasitic infection whose effects also appear in the fossil.