An anonymous American collector bought the remains of "Big John," the largest triceratops ever discovered by paleontologists, for 6.65 million euros at an auction in Paris on Thursday.
Big John, named after the owner of the farm where his bones were found, roamed what is now South Dakota 66 million years ago.
"The American collector is absolutely thrilled at the idea of personal use of such an acquisition," says a representative of the buyer.
Its length reached 7-9 m. (1 meter was only its horns), height up to 3 m. and weight that reached 6-12 tons. It had 2 large frontal horns and a smaller one on its snout. With these he defended himself against his enemies while the males fought with their horns among themselves for the right to mate.
In addition to its impressive and unique features in the world of dinosaurs, Triceratops is of great paleontological interest since it was one of the last species of dinosaur to appear on the planet. It is estimated that it appeared in North America 68 million years ago, two million years before the fall of the huge asteroid that caused planetary destruction, wiping out among others all the dinosaurs.
The skeleton discovered in 2014 is more than 60% complete and is eight meters long, while the 75% complete skull is two meters in diameter. The "Big John" skeleton was covered by a thick layer of mud which helped to keep it in excellent condition.
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