Meet Apex: The world's most expensive dinosaur fossil ever will go on display in NYC

NEW YORK − The most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold will have a temporary home in Manhattan while on display at the American Museum of Natural History beginning Sunday.

The nearly complete Stegosaurus fossil, thought to be the largest ever discovered, sold at auction at Sotheby's in New York in July for $44.6 million. The man who bought it is letting the storied museum borrow it for four years, after which a cast of the specimen will take the fossil's place, the museum said in an announcement.

The Stegosaurus, nicknamed Apex, is 27 feet long and 11.5 feet tall and "extremely well-preserved," the museum said. It's also one of the few Stegosaurus specimens ever found that "lived to an advance age."

"We hope our millions of visitors are as awe-struck as we are by Apex," President of the American Museum of Natural History Sean M. Decatur said in a statement.

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Kenneth C. Griffin − the man who paid millions for the bones − has previously donated to the museum. Griffin is also founder and CEO of Citadel, which analysts have deemed the most profitable hedge fund in history. The hedge fund became a household name in 2021, coming under fire after being accused of trying to stop people from investing in GameStop during a short squeeze of the company's stock. The accusations where investigated by the federal government, which did not find wrongdoing.

Griffin said in a statement that Apex "offers a unique window into our planet's distant past" and he is grateful millions of visitors and researchers will be able to learn from the magnificent specimen at the museum.

“The joy and awe every child feels coloring a Stegosaurus with their crayons will now be brought to life for the millions of people who have the opportunity to see this epic dinosaur in person," Griffin said in a joint statement with the museum.

Apex was discovered in 2022 in Colorado by paleontologist Jason Cooper, who worked with Sotheby's to prepare the fossil for auction. Apex's sale beat that of Stan, a Tyrannosaurus rex that previously held the title of most expensive dinosaur after fetching $31.8 million at auction in 2020.

Record-breaking sale: Apex goes for $44.6M at auction

Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s global head of science and popular culture, spoke to USA TODAY in May 2024 ahead of the bidding. She said Apex was one of the best fossils of its kind ever to be unearthed.

"I am thrilled that Apex will inspire curiosity and wonder for generations to come," Hatton said Friday in a statement to USA TODAY. "In fact, I am beyond excited to bring my own family to come see Apex at the American Museum of Natural History."

The American Museum of Natural History's famed dinosaur exhibits − further popularized by the 2006 movie "Night at the Museum" − contain the first Tyrannosaurus rex ever put on public display, as well as The Titanosaur, a life-sized cast of a 122-foot-long sauropod dinosaur, Patagotitan mayorum, discovered in 2014.

Around the world, only about 80 Stegosaurus specimens have been acquired by scientific institutions, the museum said.

“Stegosaurus is one of the top dinosaurs known by the general public, but scientifically, we have much more to learn," the museum said in a statement.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stegosaurus fossil, the most expensive ever, to go on display in NYC