Most of the posts you’ll see here on Barn Finds feature wheels, but we recently spotted something so unique and unusual that we wanted to include it for those readers who have eclectic tastes, plenty of display room, bottomless pockets, or happen to own a museum. What’s before us here is not only claimed to be a bonafide actual dinosaur skeleton, but it’s also notable for being one of the more complete known examples in existance and comes from one single animal, not parts of multiple prehistoric reptiles pieced together. 254 of the approximate 319 original fossil bones are present, with additional 3-D printed and sculpted elements to fill the void for the missing 65 pieces.
This specimen is believed to have been alive during the late Jurassic era, estimated by the seller at some period between 161 to 146 million years ago, although it was only recently discovered and excavated between 2022 and 2023 at the privately-owned Morrison Formation in Moffat County, Colorado. Once all the remaining bones were carefully dug out, they were examined extensively, which revealed that the large animal was likely an adult of advanced age, as there were signs of arthritis. However, this one must have remained capable of standing his or her ground, as the seller mentions that no signs of combat injuries are present.
The scavengers lovingly named this beast “Apex”, who now rests on a metal armature with each bone fitted anatomically correctly to a separate holding bracket, which ensures easy removal should a particular piece of the framework need to be studied. An aggressive attack mode stance was chosen, which resulted in a mounted footprint of about 20 and a half feet long, although the animal itself measured nearly 27 feet in length and stood at 11 feet tall.
The seller assures us the skeleton was meticulously prepared to the highest available standards, which I would expect considering the opening bid starts at $3,000,000, although it’s estimated the cost may climb to as high as 4 to 6M dollars. Be sure to get your wife’s permission first, but if she approves and you’d like to be the next owner, Apex can be found here on the Sotheby’s website. This would make a spectacular museum centerpiece or a great conversation starter if you’ve got an epic-sized garage, but for this kind of expenditure, I might consider investing in a few Hemi Mopars instead. However, that’s just me, and I’m guessing someone or some institution will be delighted to be the future destination to proudly display such a unique, one-of-a-kind piece of archosaurian history. What are your thoughts on this prehistoric Stegosaurus skeleton?
Does it have a clear title?
Lol, well said
Probably a rebuilt title 🙃
Perfect for the guy who drives a car with Flintstones floors.
I have seen this skeleton in person and I am quite sure that it’s actually a VW based kit car
Dinosaurs Never Existed.
I remember the dealer soaping up the windows the week before these babies arrived.
My mother wanted the first one, but my old man convinced her to wait until they worked the bugs out.
We ended up getting a dog.
No cup holders? I’m out!
How many miles? Wasn’t this on Craigslist last week?
Bones all from one animal? So, this is a numbers matching classic
Barn find? This is millions of years before the invention of the barn.
True. Ought to be called Bone Find.
Call it what it really is people! It’s not patina, it’s fossilized!
How much will it take to put it back into running condition?
Ran when parked
I had a chance to buy a Stegosaurus exactly like this back in 1985, it was a beautiful red with black deluxe interior, factory stripes and spoilers. As I was a Senior in HS and delivering pizzas for Domino’s, it was way beyond my budget. I had hoped that my Mom would co-sign for it, but she was convinced it was too powerful for a young driver such as myself and she was probably right- it probably would have killed me.
Talk about fossil fuels!
Digging up parts for something like this might be challenging though.
Good Night To All
Flint
Well, ( here it comes), I think this pushes the limits of a classic vehicle site, I’m disappointed this made the cut and my ’56 Chevy cab forward manure spreader didn’t. I think it should at least be remotely related to a vehicle and we’ve seen some doozies over the years. I do however find solace in featuring a dinosaur on a classic car site. Too easy,,,
Looks like the rear ride height may have been altered from factory.
Love the silly comments folks; one of the reasons I’m an avid visitor to this site. On a more serious note, the scientific community is appalled at the prospect of this skeleton in private ownership; denying researchers the opportunity to study it further. And todays mega rich are unlikely to consider donating it to a museum.
I’d put an LS in it…
Where’s threepedal, at least it’s got 4 on the floor,,,
Coyote swap and that thing will run like a T-Rex on steroids and cocaine.
Come out, this is the Jurassic era, you can’t put a Cretaceous era engine in it! It has to stay original! There just aren’t many left.
Has the IMS bearing been done?
Why the quick flip?
I’m the guy who would want to buy it then figure out how to put robotics in it so you can move it around then cover it in cow hide or something like that and have it walk around my city on Halloween.
Wouldn’t last long around my house, my son’s Dog would chew the bones into powder in days, Now drop a Crate motor in it, make it run and the Dog would be begging for a ride, bringing hid chew toys with him
,… Flintstones meet the Flintstones.
They’re the modern stone age family.
From the town of Bedrock, they’re a
page right out of history. Now if you
found Fred’s Flintmibile, you’d really have something! But that would be a
cave find. Wait, I got it! It’s the remains of a Bedrock fire engine!
Puppy!
Clearly missing a lot of parts, but it does appear to have good bones.
I’m out. Couldn’t get the wife’s permission. But maybe I’ve softened her up enough to acquire the Hemi Mopar.
Trying to figure out if the saddle was invented because of hemorrhoids….
A stegosaurus skeleton walks into a bar and orders a bucket of beer….and a mop.
“Just so you know, I’ve got three other people interested in this dinosaur and one put a deposit down for me to hold it”.
Rust free from dry Colorado
That’ll buff right out….
What in the world is that woman wearing? Looks like some sort of blanket with red overspray on it.
Me too Cwrbob. My SIL and my niece
gave me the thumbs down on this
too. Besides, our Chihuahua would
have it buried all over our apartment.
Would we look for anything from a BARN if we had deep pockets or had to ask our wives ??
Howard probably remembers when it was just a puppy..
I’m so old, I remember when the Dead Sea was still sick,,,( boom tis)
“Some Assembly Required”
One of my most treasured toys from my childhood (1966-ish) was a 6ft long, 4 ft high Styrofoam tyrannosaurus skeleton my mom picked up for me when she got tired of stepping on all my Hot Wheels. With the hall light on, the skeleton was illuminated just enough in my room that my cat refused to come in. The only movable part was the lower jaw, but I sure got mileage out of jut how much that jaw opened and closed before the styrofoam gave up the ghost. Now on the north side of 70, I still will GOOGLE for a similar toy to amuse my cats.
I GOGLED “tyrannosaurus rex styrofoam skeleton” and think I found a photo of my old toy (Vintage 1968 Kenner Styrofoam). Just an ad and no “for sale” listing, but it’s a start.
In whose barn did they find it?
Perfect for an EV retrofit.
I wonder if it’s original miles. Maybe J.C. Whitney has a after market skin kit.
Higher top speed! More RPM!
I’m sure someone on here will want to drop in a bigger engine. Someone always does.
I prefer T-Tops
Pretty rust free for the age
All joking aside, the skeleton beat the pre-auction estimate. It sold for 44.6 million dollars!!!
Cave find! Too hard to get parts for a complete restoration.