A T-Rex skeleton that was displayed in Singapore and was to be auctioned on 30 Nov in Hong Kong has been pulled by the organiser, Christie’s, “for further studies”.
It will instead be loaned to a museum for public exhibition, Christie’s said in a statement and reported by the New York Times (NYT).
This comes after the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research raised concerns about similarities between Shen the T-Rex and another skeleton named Stan.
Edward Lewine, a Christie’s spokesperson, said Shen would not be sold at a 30 Nov auction in Hong Kong.
It was displayed in Singapore at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall from 28-30 Oct. Shen is believed to be worth at least US$15 million to US$25 million.
But the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research has claimed similarities between Shen and Stan. Stan was sold by Christie’s for US$31.8 million in 2020, but Black Hills Institute still retains intellectual property rights to the skeleton.
According to Peter Larson, he noted that Shen’s skull bore similarities to Stan’s. A lawyer representing Black Hills Institute had recently approached Christie’s about the concerns, NYT reported.
Shen’s anonymous owner had seemingly bought a cast of Stan from Black Hills to supplement the bones, which Mr Larsen called “misleading” if the claims are provably true.
Black Hills Institute is also concerned that a potential Shen buyer will eventually use Stan’s casts to sell their own casts, which would prove damaging to their earnings.
As of the time of writing, the auction page for Shen had been taken down without explanation from Christie’s website.
Another video, entitled Making history: Shen the Tyrannosaurus rex ‘in all its ferocious glory’ and dated 9 Nov, was also removed.
Source: Christie’s
Whether Shen will eventually be sold is unclear.
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Featured image adapted from @akigonringon10969 on Instagram.
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