NEW YORK, NY.- Nearly three months after the record-breaking sale of “Gus” – which sold for $50.1 million at Sotheby’s New York earlier this year, becoming the most valuable dinosaur ever sold at auction – Sotheby’s is set to bring another remarkable dinosaur to market.

“Jodi” is an exceptionally rare mounted skeleton of Nanotyrannus and one of only three such skeletons known to science. Its emergence follows the long-awaited confirmation of Nanotyrannus as a distinct genus (now split into two species, N. lancensis and N. lethaeus), challenging long-held assumptions that Tyrannosaurus rex was the sole large predator of the Cretaceous. Measuring approximately 6.5 feet tall and 19.6 feet long, “Jodi” is the first Nanotyrannus to come to market following the confirmation of the genus’s validity last year.

The finest and most complete Nanotyrannus available, “Jodi” is an exceptional example of this elusive predator, boasting a virtually complete skull, and is second only to “Bloody Mary,” the Nanotyrannus that forms one half of the celebrated “Dueling Dinosaurs.” Estimated at $6–9 million, “Jodi” will be the star of a dedicated live auction at Sotheby’s New York on 27 October. Ahead of the sale, “Jodi” will be installed at Sotheby’s galleries in New York at the Breuer, with a public exhibition opening on 13 October.

A Landmark in a Nearly Century‑Long Scientific Debate

Nanotyrannus was a fast, highly specialized carnivorous tyrannosaurid that lived alongside Tyrannosaurus rex at the end of the Cretaceous, about 67 million years ago. Previously hypothesized by some to be adolescent T. rex, Nanotyrannus has been shown to have over 150 morphological differences that distinguish it from its much larger cousin. Some of the more obvious traits include: body length: adult Nanotyrannus measured approximately 18 feet in length, compared to the behemoth 40-foot length of a T. rex; Nanotyrannus had proportionally and absolutely longer forelimbs in comparison to T. rex, as well as larger hand claws; Nanotyrannus boasted a greater number of teeth, with up to 17 tooth sockets in the dentary vs 12–13 in T. rex; and among many other distinguishing features, Nanotyrannus had fewer tail vertebrae, with 35 in Nanotyrannus vs 40-45 in T. rex.

For more than 80 years, since the discovery of the “Cleveland Skull” (CMNH 7541) – a nearly complete, articulated skull now recognized as the type specimen for Nanotyrannus lancensis – paleontologists have debated whether small tyrannosaurid skeletons like “Jodi” were juvenile T. rex or a totally new and distinct genus of theropod. Last fall, that debate was resolved with the publication of a groundbreaking paper demonstrating that Nanotyrannus was in fact a valid genus of dinosaur that co-existed with T. rex at the end of the Cretaceous, occupying its own distinct niche in the ecosystem. The paper, published by Drs. Lindsay Zanno and James Napoli, is based on their exhaustive research of over 200 tyrannosaur fossils, including the Nanotyrannus “Bloody Mary.”

Eighty‑four years on from the discovery of the type specimen, the conversation around Nanotyrannus has shifted. A field that once pushed back against the idea of a separate genus now recognizes it, placing the research on Nanotyrannus among the most significant and exciting paleontological developments in recent decades.
 
Meet “Jodi”

“Jodi” was discovered by rancher Jodi Pierson in 2019 in the Hell Creek Formation, on her privately owned land in Garfield County, Montana, just eight miles from the dig site of the famous “Dueling Dinosaurs.” “Jodi” was then excavated by Pierson’s cousin, the renowned commercial paleontologist Clayton Phipps (known as the “Dinosaur Cowboy”), who famously excavated the amazing “Dueling Dinosaurs.” The discovery and excavation of “Jodi” were documented in the Discovery Channel reality documentary series “Dino Hunters” in 2020.

An adult specimen comprising approximately 191 fossil bone elements, “Jodi” is distinguished by a beautiful, virtually complete skull, boasting an incredible 53 bones, including the maxillae, fused nasals, quadratojugals, jugals, dentaries and the braincase - alongside roughly 35 teeth in varying stages of eruption and a rooted tooth fused to the right maxilla.

The skeleton is very well represented, importantly by the bulk of the diagnostic portions of the anatomy, and includes: a complete pelvic girdle; extremely well-represented forelimbs with both ulna, humeri, and coracoids, a scapula and radius, 15 of the 20 manus bones with all four claws present, and the complete, rare furcula (wishbone); a complete femur, and remarkably, 13 bones of the right pes including 3 of the 4 claws; the axial skeleton with 6 cervical, 11 dorsal, 5 sacral, and 15 caudal vertebrae, complemented by 15 cervical ribs, 25 dorsal ribs, 10 chevrons, and about half of the rarely found gastralia (belly ribs, which are osteoderms, and thus not reckoned within the bone count).

The discovery and excavation of “Jodi” was well documented in season one of the Discovery Channel series “Dino Hunters” in 2020, where it was identified as a Nanotyrannus by Commercial Paleontologist Clayton Phipps, excavator of the “Dueling Dinosaurs” and Pete Larson, President of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, who excavated the T. rex “Sue” and “Stan” amongst numerous other dinosaurs. In 2023, the specimen was exhibited at Frieze Masters in London under the name “Chomper,” where it was presented as a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex.

The appearance of “Jodi” marks the latest chapter in Sotheby's industry-leading sales of Natural History. The series began in 1997 with the groundbreaking auction of Sue the T. rex, the first dinosaur ever sold at auction, now a centerpiece of the Field Museum in Chicago, and in the historic 2024 sale of Apex the Stegosaurus, which achieved $45 million, making it the most valuable dinosaur sold at the time, and is now on long-term loan to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Last year, Sotheby's sold a Ceratosaurus for more than seven times its low estimate, reaching $30.5 million to become the third-highest price ever achieved for a dinosaur at auction. "Gus," one of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex specimens ever discovered, sold at Sotheby’s this past July for $50.1 million, becoming the most valuable dinosaur ever sold at auction.