Dino skeleton that looks like mini T. rex sells for a giant US$47 million

The blockbuster price tag for ‘Jodi’, as the Nanotyrannus fossil is nicknamed, makes it the second-priciest set of dinosaur bones ever sold

A dinosaur that looks like a miniature T. rex is now one of the world’s most expensive fossils.

The rare skeleton of a Nanotyrannus – recently confirmed to be a distant cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex, not just a young specimen – sold for US$47.3 million to a mystery buyer at auction in New York on Tuesday, according to Sotheby’s.

The auction house had expected it to fetch anywhere from US$6 to US$9 million.