The most expensive dinosaur fossil was shown at an exhibition in New York: what the $45 million Apex stegosaurus looks like. Photo

The most expensive dinosaur fossil was shown at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The stegosaurus, named Apex, costs $45 million.

The skeleton of the Jurassic dinosaur is 3.4 meters high and 6 meters long. The stegosaurus is known for its vertical plates on its back and sharp tail, Reuters reports.

The stegosaurus walked on four legs and lived in North America about 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period. Its fossils were first discovered in the 1870s, experts say.

"Everyone has their favorite dinosaur, but the Stegosaurus is in the top five. It's hard not to admire the majesty of this animal," said Roger Benson, curator of the dinosaur museum.

It is known that this stegosaurus fossil was found in Colorado and sold in July at Sotheby's for a record $45 million. The buyer of the Apex, billionaire and longtime museum donor Ken Griffin, loaned it to the New York Museum so that everyone could see this extraordinary creature, AP writes.

"People are amazed by this fossil because the Stegosaurus is an iconic dinosaur. Although it was a herbivore, it was not like a cow or a sheep because it could take care of itself. It had wicked spikes on its tail and plates along its back," said Roger Benson, curator of the Dinosaur Museum.

That is, the stegosaurus had protection against carnivorous dinosaurs, such as, for example, the allosaurus, scientists say.

According to Sean Decatur, president of the American Museum of Natural History, Apex is the most complete specimen ever found. Since about 80% of the 320 bones have been preserved, this is a miracle for a creature that died 150 million years ago.

The Stegosaurus specimen will be further studied by scientists, as it is estimated to have died at a relatively advanced age, so it may reveal information about bone metabolism and growth.

Scientists will take a CT scan of the internal structures of the dinosaur's skull and analyze a small sample of one of its giant femurs, the researchers say.

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