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That's rex-spensive! Tyrannosaurus rex sells for record-breaking amount

An T. rex skeleton with some rib bones missing stands on a pedestal held up by five metal bars. In the background is rolling brown hills and forest. The sky has thick grey clouds.Matthew Sherman

A rare Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed 'Gus' has been sold at auction for a record amount.

The skeleton sold for $50.1m (£37.4m) with fees at Sotherby's in New York.

It is the most ever paid for a dinosaur.

The 67 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex stands 12 feet (4m) tall and is one of "the most complete" specimens according to the auction house, Sotheby's.

The sale beats the previous record of $44.6m (£34.2m) for a nearly complete stegosaurus fossil.

The T. rex was excavated on a ranch in South Dakota, USA, in 2021.

It took three summers when the ground wasn't frozen to fully dig out the bones.

It then took another three years for experts to put Gus back together again in a lab.

Over 60% of its bones were recovered, making it one of the most complete fossils ever found.

There were also insights into the T. rex's life such as bite marks to the skull and broken ribs which may have been the result of fighting with other dinosaurs.

The head, neck and some ribs of a tyrannosaurus rex fossil.Reuters

A stegosaurus called Apex was the previous most expensive dinosaur fetching £34 million in 2024.

Its owner then lent it to the American Natural History Museum for four years.

So while the person who bought Gus has not yet been revealed, dino fans will be hoping that they do something similar.