'Barry' The Extraordinary Dinosaur Skeleton Heading For Auction In Paris
Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s beloved dinosaur movie Jurassic Park is a very special sale of a unique artifact - Barry the dinosaur. Barry, an adult skeleton of Camptosauridae from the family Iguanodontidae, represents one of the earliest groups of dinosaurs ever discovered. He will be auctioned by the renowned Giquello auction house at Paris’ Hôtel Drouot on 20 October 2023. Barry has played a crucial role in scientists understanding how dinosaurs of his species walk, as skeletons this complete are extremely rare. Meticulous work has highlighted the remarkably high percentage of original bone, surpassing 80% and an exceptionally well-preserved skull, boasting over 90% of its original structure and teeth. Barry’s story came to light in the early 2000s when its bones were unearthed in the fossil-rich Morrison Formation in Wyoming, USA, after 150 million years of silence. This extraordinary specimen subsequently caught the attention of a renowned American neuroscientist and astrophysicist who proudly displayed it in her Colorado home for over two decades until 2022, when the Italian company Zoic acquired it for an extensive rediscovery project. His preparation has adhered to the latest scientific techniques and studies - so now he stands tall once again, hundreds of millions of years after he roamed the Earth. In the auction it is estimated that Barry will sell for around $1.2 million (£1 million).