The mystery surrounding who bought the skeleton of Stan the T-Rex for $31.8 million from a Christies auction in 2020 has been solved. Tracked down by National Geographic, Stan will take up residence in the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, a 377,000-square-foot museum on Saadiyat Island due to be completed in 2025.
Found in South Dakota in 1987, Stan (named after palentologist Stan Sacrisons who discovered him) is the 5th most complete T-Rex fossil ever found and the most duplicated T-rex fossil. More people have seen Stan (and casts of Stan) than any other Tyrannosaurus.
Abu Dhabi authorities also purchased a fragment of the Murchison meteorite, a scientifically significant, carbon-rich meteorite that broke apart above Australia in 1969 which allegedly contains the“oldest particulate matter ever encountered on our planet.”
In a statement to National Geographic, Mohamed Khalifa al Mubarak, the chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism said: “Natural history has a new home here in Abu Dhabi, and we will tell the story of our universe through some of the most incredible specimens known to mankind. These are rare gifts from nature that we are proud to protect and share with the world.”
