By Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com
Published: 19:40 EDT, 7 June 2016 | Updated: 19:55 EDT, 7 June 2016
Most flock to auctions for unique artwork or vintage cars, but one attendee recently walked away with a 25-foot long dinosaur.
A rare duck-billed dinosaur skeleton has been sold for an impressive $170,000 after the contents of a closed-down natural history museum were auctioned off in a once-in-a-180 million year lifetime sale.
Dating back 75 million years, this harpocrasaurus was first discovered in Montana in the US during the 1990s and has since been on display at Emmen Zoo in Holland – which named it 'Freya'.
A rare duck-billed dinosaur skeleton has been sold for an impressive $170,000 after the contents of a closed-down natural history museum were auctioned off in a once-in-a-180 million year lifetime sale. Dating back 75 million years, this harpocrasaurus was first discovered in Montana in the US during the 1990s and has since been on display at Emmen Zoo in Holland – which named it 'Freya'
The internationally-acclaimed history museum, Emmon Zoo, is moving to another location where there is no need for dinosaur exhibits and as a result, all of the artifacts were sold at Summers Place Auction in Billinghurts, West Sussex.
Some of the items sold in this once-in-a-180 million year lifetime sale included:
The internationally-acclaimed history museum is moving to another location where there is no need for dinosaur exhibits and as a result, all of the artifacts were sold at Summers Place Auction in Billinghurts, West Sussex.
The main event was 'Freya' is about the same size as a Tyrannosaurus Rex, 25 feet long and 9 feet tall, but a herbivore that was once a tasty meal for the ferocious meat eater.
And since the harpocrasaurus lived 65 million to 75 million years ago, it is said to be the last living species of the dinosaurs.
Fossilized remains of a hoplophonus, or a saber-toothed cat, were also part of the sale that fetched $46,000 – far above the estimated amount of $11,636.
These ancient cats lived on the planet 11,000 years ago and used their massive canine teeth to prey on elephants and rhinos.
Holophoneus was the largest toothed of the species and lived in North America between the late Eocene and early Oligocene.
Its limbs were much shorter than modern day cats and like the most famous of saber-tooth tigers, Smilodon, it had a pronounced flange on the lower jaw.
Also joining in the auction was a four-foot long skeleton of an Eohippus, a creature that evolved into the modern-day horse.
This ancient beast existed more than 50 million years ago in parts of North America and its remains were sold for $36,362.
Nicknamed ‘dawn horse’, this creature is among an extinct group of horses that flourished in North America and Europe during the Eocene Epco.
And the massive head of a large Brontotherium magacerops was purchased for $18,179.
This massive creature resembled a modern rhinoceros and roamed the plains of North America during the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene some 38 million to 30 million years ago.
It is a popular find among palaeontologist and has been known for different names, such as Megaecrops, Brontops and Titanops.
Although similar to a T.rex in size, the duck-billed dinosaur was often a tasty meal for the carnivores. The public flocked to the auction to get a glimpse at the prehistoric creature that roamed the earth 75 million years ago, but one lucky phone bidder was able to take Freya home -- after dishing out $170,000
The internationally-acclaimed history museum is moving to another location where there is no need for dinosaur exhibits and as a result, all of the artifacts were sold at Summers Place Auction in Billinghurts, West Sussex. The duck-billed dinosaur is is about the same size as a Tyrannosaurus Rex, 24 feet long and 9 feet tall
A rare fossilized shark was purchased for $8,116 and a bird skeleton lodged in a rock from the well-known Green River formation in Wyoming brought in $22,617.
Theses fossils are approximately 60 million years old and comes from the Eocene era.
Although some bidders attended to take home large prizes, others saw the beauty in smaller creatures.
A tiny fossilized bird that stood no more than six inches tall that sold for $4,000 and a Palaeochiropteryx bat fossil was taken home for almost $10,000.
Fossilized remains of a hoplophonus, or a saber-toothed cat, were also part of the sale that fetched $46,000 – far above the estimated amount of $11,636. These cats lived on the planet 11,000 years ago and used their massive canine teeth to prey on elephants and rhinos
Holophoneus was the largest toothed of the species and lived in North America between the late Eocene and early Oligocene. Its limbs were much shorter than modern day cats and like the most famous of saber-tooth tigers, Smilodon, it had a pronounced flange on the lower jaw.
But 'Freya' stole the show, weighing around four tons, this massive creature roamed the earth in the Late Cretaceous period.
And although it lacked body army to protect itself against predators, it made up for it with its size.
By the age 10, these dinosaurs had likely grown to its mature length of 30 feet, according to a study by Kent University.
Also joining in the auction was a four-foot long skeleton of an Eohippus, a creature that evolved into the modern-day horse. This ancient beast existed more than 50 million years ago in parts of North America and its remains were sold for $36,362. Nicknamed ‘dawn horse’, this creature is among an extinct group of horses that flourished in North America and Europe during the Eocene Epco
The massive size would force its enemy, the Tyrannosaurus rex, to hunt juvenile duck-billed dinosaurs because they did not reach their adult size until 20 to 30 years old, reports Live Science.
'The carnivorous dinosaurs are looking at the younger herbivorous dinosaurs,' Lisa Noelle Cooper, a doctoral student at Kent State University in Ohio, told LiveScience.
'They are actually hunting the younger ones.'
Although some bidders attended to take home large prizes, others saw the beauty in smaller creatures. A tiny fossilized bird that stood no more than six inches tall and sold for $4,000
Once the Hypacrosaurus reaches that adult size, we think it's safer from predation. It's a size refuge.'
The team compared growth rate data of the creature with three predators that also lived during the Late Cretaceous period – the T.rex, Troodon formosus and the tyrannosaurs Albertosaurus.
Cooper and her colleagues investigated thin sections of long leg bones of the Hypacrosaurus.
A Palaeochiropteryx bat fossil (left) was taken home for almost $10,000. This creature is one of the oldest bats known, existing around 48 million years ago. They were tiny bats with a wingspan of 25 to 30 cm and preyed mostly on moths and caddisflies
While analyzing the remains, they counted and measured the growth rings, which revealed the specific creature in the study was about 12 years old when it died.
'Our duck-billed dinosaur grew three to five times faster than any potential predators that lived alongside it,' said Drew Lee, a postdoctoral fellow in Ohio University's College of Osteopathic Medicine who worked with Cooper on the finding.
'By the time the duck-billed dinosaur was fully grown, the tyrannosaurs were only half grown — it was a huge size difference.'
A rare fossilized shark was purchased for $8,116 and a bird skeleton lodged in a rock from the well-known Green River formation in Wyoming brought in $22,617. Theses fossils are approximately 60 million years old and comes from the Eocene era
The massive head of a large Brontotherium magacerops was purchased for $18,179. This massive creature resembled a modern rhinoceros and roamed the plains of North America during the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene some 38-30 million years ago. It is a popular find among palaeontologist and has been known for different names, such as Megaecrops, Brontops and Titanops
If only I had the money and the space...
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