Stan the T-Rex Sells for Record-breaking $31.8 Mn

Stan is at display at Christie's in New York. AP file photo
Stan is at display at Christie's in New York. AP file photo
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Stan the T-Rex Sells for Record-breaking $31.8 Mn

Stan is at display at Christie's in New York. AP file photo
Stan is at display at Christie's in New York. AP file photo

One of the most complete specimens of a T-Rex fossil in the world was sold for a record $31.8 million Tuesday by Christie's in New York, nearly quadrupling the previous highest price for a dinosaur at auction.

The apex predator made mincemeat of Christie's opening price of between six and eight million dollars, showing off the lasting power of the T-Rex.

It then shredded the previous record set by a specimen called Sue that was sold for $8.4 million in October 1997 by Sotheby's to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Only around 50 Tyrannosaurus fossils have been discovered since the first was unearthed in 1902.

Bids hit the $9 million mark in less than two minutes after the start of the auction, but after 14 minutes there were just three bidders left in the race, until the hammer came down on an offer of $27.5 million, to which were added costs and commissions.

The sale was organized in New York, where the expert assessor was located, but with lines open to Hong Kong and London, where Christie's specialists were taking calls from collectors.

The fossil, nicknamed Stan, stands 13 feet (four meters) high and 40 feet long, with puncture marks in the skull and neck that experts believe show evidence of fights with fellow T-Rexes. He would have weighed in at around eight tons when alive, some 67 million years ago.

The fossil was discovered in South Dakota in 1987 and named after the amateur paleontologist who came across the remains, Stan Sacrison.

Paleontologists from the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in South Dakota spent more than 30,000 hours excavating and then assembling the 188 bones of the skeleton, AFP reported.

Casts were then taken for dozens of museums around the world that wanted a copy of this exceptional specimen of Tyrannosaur, which experts believe was around 20 years old when it died.

Ironically, the terms of the sale prevent the buyer from producing 3D models of the dinosaur.

By law, such specimens can only be sold if the fossil was discovered on private land, which in this case it was.



UN Ocean Conference Sets Sail Off France on World Oceans Day

People take photos of vessels during the "Ocean Wonders" event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the UN Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)
People take photos of vessels during the "Ocean Wonders" event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the UN Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)
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UN Ocean Conference Sets Sail Off France on World Oceans Day

People take photos of vessels during the "Ocean Wonders" event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the UN Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)
People take photos of vessels during the "Ocean Wonders" event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the UN Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Dozens of research and exploration vessels from around the world set sail just off the French coastal city of Nice on Sunday to kick off the third UN Ocean Conference and pay tribute to World Oceans Day.

The event, themed “Ocean Wonders,” saw the vessels sail across Nice's Baie des Anges, or Bay of Angels, to spotlight the beauty and importance of the ocean while urging world leaders not to lose sight of its value as they make decisions about the planet’s future.

Thousands of delegates, including heads of state, scientists, and environmental advocates, are expected in Nice this week to confront growing threats to the ocean, and the need to transform pledges into protection.

The United Nations has called the threats a global emergency facing the world’s oceans as they confront rising temperatures, plastic pollution choking marine life, and relentless overexploitation of fish and other resources.

Just 2.7% of the global ocean is effectively protected from destructive activities like industrial fishing and deep-sea mining — far below the global goal of 30% by 2030, The Associated Press reported.

Participating boats included the Energy Observer, a solar-panel covered catamaran that was the first vessel to circumnavigate the globe using renewable energy alone. It produces hydrogen fuel on board via seawater electrolysis, offering a vision of zero-emissions maritime travel.

Other standout vessels included France’s Alfred Merlin, dedicated to underwater archaeology; the OceanXplorer, a high-tech billionaire-owned research yacht; and the WWF’s Blue Panda, which is working to map and protect the last remaining seagrass meadows in the Mediterranean Sea.

At the heart of the conference is the push to ratify the High Seas Treaty, adopted in 2023. If it takes effect, the treaty would for the first time allow countries to establish marine protected areas in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean and remain largely ungoverned.

“The High Seas Treaty is critical to ensuring we can protect biodiversity in the ocean,” said Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance. “We’re in the middle of a biodiversity and climate crisis. We absolutely have to protect the ocean to address those crises.”

But even in waters already designated as protected, enforcement often falls short. Many countries, France included, face criticism from environmental groups over weak regulation and continued industrial activity within their marine protected areas.

“The ambition is not there, the speed is not there, and the scale has not been there,” said Sílvia Tavares, project manager at Oceano Azul Foundation. “Moments like UNOC are key to changing that.”

Several countries are expected to announce new marine protected areas, or MPAs, during the conference, along with bans on bottom trawling and other destructive activities within their existing MPA networks.

The “Ocean Wonders” fleet will remain docked in Nice and open to the public until the conference concludes on June 13.