Big John, an enormous triceratops, is to be auctioned in October 2021 and is expected to get big bucks on the auction block in France.
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Key Points
- Big John’s skeleton is more than 66 million years old and is 60% complete,
- It is the largest triceratops ever found, measuring about 26 feet long.
- Its skull is 75% complete and is 6.6 feet wide.
Auction of Triceratops
Skeleton of Big John will be displayed to public by French auction house Giquello from September 16 to October 15 at 13 Rue des Archives in Paris. On October 18, it will make its debut appearance at the Parisian auction house Hotel Drouot. In the Parisian auction house, it will be auctioned on October 21 to the highest bidder. It is expected to fetch between $1.4 million and $1.8 million.
About the Triceratops
Tri-horned triceratops inhabited North America during Cretaceous period some 67 million to 65 million years ago. Big John lived on an island continent called Laramidia, in South Dakota. Island continent Laramidia was formed during the Cretaceous when a shallow sea had flooded the central region of North America.
When its fossil was discovered?
Paleontologist Walter W. Stein had discovered the fossil of triceratops in 2014. He excavated the skeleton from Hell Creek Formation which is an ancient flood plain and a rich fossil site spanning over Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. Big John died and was covered by thick mud as a result it got fossilized.