The private market for dinosaur fossils is booming — and it’s taking a major toll on scientific discovery. A new study published on April 10 in Palaeontologia Electronica lays bare the growing trend of Tyrannosaurus rex specimens vanishing into private hands, leaving researchers with dwindling access to some of the world’s most scientifically valuable fossils.
Science is Losing the T. rex Arms Race
In his new study, Tyrannosaurus rex: An endangered species, paleontologist Thomas Carr of Carthage College presents a troubling picture: 71 scientifically informative T. rex specimens are now in private or commercial ownership, compared to just 61 in public museums or academic institutions.
Carr conducted an exhaustive review of public museum inventories, auction records, media reports, and anecdotal sources. He focused on fossils that provide critical data for scientific research — skulls, full skeletons, and diagnostic bones — and found that the majority of newly discovered T. rex specimens are going to the highest bidders, not scientific collections.
Yet only 11% of these fossils ever reach public trusts, according to Carr’s findings.
Lost Juveniles, Lost Data: The Hidden Cost Of Fossil Speculation
The problem isn’t just one of access — it’s about what is being lost. According to Carr and other researchers, juvenile and sub-adult specimens are especially vulnerable to vanishing into private ownership. These younger fossils are rare, and they hold vital clues to how T. rex developed from a hatchling into one of the most formidable predators in Earth’s history.
“Our knowledge of one of the most basic aspects of T. rex biology is frustratingly compromised by market interests,” Carr noted. “The early growth stages of T. rex are bedeviled by a poor fossil record, and so the loss of them carries the heaviest scientific cost.”
Scientists trying to understand how T. rex evolved physically and behaviorally throughout its life stages now face a fossil record fragmented by private hoarding.
The Rise Of The Luxury Fossil Market
In 2024, a Stegosaurus skeleton sold for a staggering $44.6 million, the most expensive dinosaur fossil ever auctioned. It currently resides on loan at the American Museum of Natural History, a rare case of a private purchase benefitting public access.
T. rex fossils have also made headlines. “Stan,” the famous skeleton auctioned in 2020 for $31.8 million, disappeared from scientific discourse until reports surfaced suggesting Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson may have purchased it.
A Divided Scientific Community Reacts
Thomas Holtz Jr., a paleontologist at the University of Maryland, called the situation “disheartening,” particularly in light of the missing juvenile fossils that could illuminate growth patterns.
“I am concerned not merely that there are good specimens which are not accessible to researchers,” Holtz said, “but especially that juvenile and sub-adult specimens happen to be overrepresented in the commercial samples.”
Others, like David Hone, a zoologist at Queen Mary University of London, acknowledge the problem but suggest the impact may be limited.
“While I’d certainly love to see more specimens in public collections, there are still plenty that can be studied,” Hone said. He also emphasized more urgent concerns about the illegal fossil trade.
Still, most agree that the imbalance between private and public fossil ownership is trending in the wrong direction.
