Many people think of them as the dinosaurs from "Jurassic Park", hunting children through a kitchen.
In the 1993 movie, they are called Velociraptors, but they are not related to Deinonychus antirrhopus, the author of the novel.
The movie helped turn the Velociraptors into one of the most recognizable dinosaurs. Dinosaur enthusiasts can now bid on their own.
The Deinonychus skeleton, which was excavated from Montana several years ago, will be sold by Christie's. It would be the first public sale of such a specimen. The price tag is estimated to be between $4 million and $6 million.
James Hyslop, the head of science and natural history at Christie's, said in an interview that it was the dinosaur that everyone wanted to see.
Paleontologists have differing opinions on the practice of auctioning off dinosaur skeletons, some are opposed to the practice as it opens up the possibility that someone with no interest in scientific or public access will bid more than the museum. ctor was on display at the Natural History Museum ofDenmark for over a year and a half.
Steve Brusatte is a professor of paleontology and evolution at the University of Edinburgh.
A T. rex skeleton, dubbed Stan, brought in a record $31.8 million in 2020, nearly quadrupling its high estimate of $8 million. National Geographic reported this year that officials in Abu Dhabi were planning to include Stan in a new natural history museum.
The auction house has taken a page from the book and is calling the lot "the raptor" and "Hector", both easier to say than "Deinonychus". The specimen was excavated by a commercial paleontologist in Montana about nine years ago and was later acquired by its current owner, who is anonymous, according to the sales catalog. The rest of the skeleton are reconstructed.
Meeting Sue at the Field Museum in Chicago is not the same as meeting the four-foot- tall and 10-foot-long Hector. The experience of meeting an animal at a zoo is similar to that of an elephant.
The bones that are not real are cast or 3-D printed, making the creature something of a piece of art as opposed to a fossil. Christie said that reconstructing most of the skull is common with dinosaurs of this size. Sue and Stan's skeletons aren't completely whole.
The name Deinonychus was given to the dinosaur by the paleontologist John H. Ostrom, who said it was a terrible claw and used to slash its prey. It was Ostrom's discovery that paved the way for scientists to understand dinosaurs that were less reptilian and more birdlike.
Before this, we thought of them as lumbering lizards, but now we know they are very active, predatory birds.
The excavation team behind Sue was seized by the F.B.I. because they did not have a federal permit to dig. Sue was cleared for auction after years of court battles, but she was sentenced to two years in prison for violating currency laws. He has asked for a pardon.
The Field Museum bought Sue for $8.36 million, nearly 15 million dollars in today's dollars, and he said he saw value in the high price tags. The way of thinking is criticized by some paleontologists because they fear it will cause illegal digging and drive up prices so public institutions can bid competitively.
When the dinosaur goes up for auction on May 12 he hoped it would go to someone willing to share it with the public, noting that a little boy inside of him wants to see it again and again.
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