Triceratops skeleton sets record with $7.7 million sale

Make no bones about it, this triceratops skeleton tops them all.

The largest triceratops skeleton known to man sold for a whopping $7.7 million at a recent auction in Paris.

An anonymous collector from the United States made the lofty purchase of the dinosaur skeleton, which is referred to as Big John due to its gargantuan measurements of 23 feet long and 8 feet tall.

“The overall quality of Big John really deserved this price,” paleontology expert Iacopo Briano told The Associated Press. “For a triceratops and for an herbivore. This is (an) unbelievable record.”

Auction officer Violette Stcherbatcheff gestures next to the world's biggest triceratops skeleton, known as "Big John," during its auction Thursday in Paris. (Francois Mori/)

Big John is believed to be 66 million years old.

About 75% of the bones from the dinosaur’s head have been found, while about 60% of the overall skeleton has been recovered.

“It’s a record for Europe,” auctioneer Alexandre Giquello said of the massive auction price.

This purchase is only a fraction, however, of the $32 million spent on a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in 2020.

That T-Rex sale, which was made at a New York auction, is the biggest ever for a dinosaur skeleton.

With News Wire Services