The skeleton of a duck-billed dinosaur almost as large as a T-Rex has sold at auction for more than $130,000.
The rare, almost-complete skeleton was the leading lot in a natural history sale at Summers Place Auctions in the U.K.
The Hypacrosaurus, which translates as "nearly the highest lizard", lived in Montana in North America between 75 and 65 million years ago, and was one of the last dinosaur species to survive.
The skeleton stands in impressive 3.1 meters tall, and 7.1 meters long, but despite its fearsome size the Hypacrosaurus was a herbivore that lived on vegetable matter.
The example offered for sale originated from the collection of the Emmen Zoo in the Netherlands, where it was known as Freya, and led the auction with a final price of £95,000 ($138,470).
The Hypacrosaurus was one of many superb specimens offered from the collection of the museum, which was selling a number of highly rare and important specimens at it downsized its natural history collection.
Another major highlight was a rare fossilised Sabre tooth cat skeleton. Measuring more than a metre long, the species – known as Hoplophoneus primaevus – are believed to have been forest dwellers who shared much in common with the present-day leopard. The virtually complete skeleton quadrupled its top estimate of £8,000 to sell for £32,000 ($46,640).
Further notable lots from the collection included the skeleton of a Hyrachyus, an ancient relative of the tapir, which sold for £10,500 ($15,300); an Eohippus, a small, dog-sized ancestor of the horse, which sold for £20,000 ($29,150); and the skull of a Megacerops, a prehistoric cross between a horse and a rhino, which sold for £10,000 ($14,570).
