Barry, a dinosaur from the Camptosauridae subfamily of the Iguanodontidae, is set to be auctioned on October 20, 2023, a dinosaur named Barry, which dates back 150 million years, will be auctioned in Paris. The expected price for Barry ranges from €8,00,000 to €12,00,000. The auction will take place in room 9 of Hôtel Drouot.
Barry is a mature Camptosauridae specimen, a subfamily of the Iguanodontidae, one of the earliest discovered dinosaur species. The existence of Barry provides answers to many questions about dinosaurs that have been debated by top paleontologists throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
According to a press release from Hôtel Drouot, Barry was discovered in the Morrison Formation of Wyoming, USA in the early 2000s. After its discovery, Barry was displayed in the Colorado home of a well-known American neuroscientist and astrophysicist for over two decades. In 2022, the Italian company Zoic purchased Barry for a comprehensive rediscovery project.
The press release also stated that with the help of the University of Bologna’s Paleontology Department, Zoic disassembled, cleaned, and catalogued Barry’s original bones for a complete reconstruction according to current scientific standards. After its recovery, Barry now stands five metres long and two metres high.
Alexandre Giquello from Drouot told CNN that Barry is an extremely well-preserved specimen. For instance, its skull is 90% complete and the rest of its skeleton is 80% complete.
This isn’t the first time a dinosaur skeleton has been auctioned. In April 2023, a composite skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex was also auctioned.
