A Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil nicknamed ‘Gus’ has become the most expensive dinosaur ever sold after fetching almost $72 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.

The 67-million-year-old skeleton stands nearly four metres tall and almost 12 metres long.

While it’s around 61 per cent complete, experts say it is one of the largest and best-preserved T-Rex specimens ever discovered.

Gus was unearthed on a cattle ranch in South Dakota, where a commercial excavation team spent three years carefully recovering, cataloguing, and reconstructing the fossil.

The identity of the buyer has not been revealed, but the sale has reignited debate within the scientific community about the growing commercial market for dinosaur fossils.

Palaeontologists argue specimens of this significance should be housed in museums, where they can be studied by researchers and viewed by the public, rather than disappearing into private collections.

Researchers warn that once a fossil enters private ownership, access for scientific study can be severely restricted, potentially preventing new discoveries about prehistoric life.

They also fear the soaring prices are putting important fossils beyond the reach of museums and universities, which often cannot compete with wealthy private collectors.

Gus surpassed the previous auction record held by Apex, a Stegosaurus fossil that sold for about $64 million in 2024.

Another famous T-Rex, Stan, fetched around $46 million in 2020.

While both of those fossils have since been placed on public display, scientists say there’s no guarantee Gus will be as accessible, leaving many hoping the world’s most expensive dinosaur won’t disappear from public view.