T. rex auction in Hong Kong cancelled after doubts raised about parts of the skeleton

The sale of ‘Shen’ would have followed that of another T. rex skeleton, ‘Stan’, in 2020. A fossil company said it appeared ‘Shen’ had replica parts from ‘Stan’

Christie’s says the seller will loan the skeleton to a museum for public display. The sale was controversial because it would have put ‘Shen’ in private hands

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Visitors look at the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex named ‘Shen’ during a preview in Singapore ahead of its planned sale in Hong Kong, which auctioneer Christie’s has now scrapped. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:06pm, 21 Nov 2022Updated: 9:06am, 24 Nov 2022

Christie’s has called off the auction of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, the auction house said on November 21, days before it was due to go under the hammer in Hong Kong.

The cancellation came after an American fossil company raised doubts about parts of the skeleton named “Shen”, The New York Times reported a day earlier.

Christie’s said that Shen – a 1,400kg (3,100lb) skeleton – was withdrawn from its autumn auctions week that starts in Hong Kong on November 25.

“The consignor has now decided to loan the specimen to a museum for public display,” it said.

Visitors look at the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex named ‘Shen’ at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall in Singapore, where it was displayed ahead of its planned auction in Hong Kong. Photo: Xinhua

Excavated in the US state of Montana, Shen stands 4.6 metres tall and is 12 metres long, and is thought to be the skeleton of an adult male T. rex that lived about 67 million years ago.

Its auction would have followed the sale of another T. rex skeleton named “Stan” by Christie’s for US$31.8 million in 2020.