NEW YORK (AP) Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons, nicknamed the "Montana Dueling Dinosaurs" because they appear forever locked in mortal combat, failed to sell Tuesday at a New York City auction.
A pre-sale estimate had predicted that the skeletons, offered as a single lot, could fetch between $7 million and $9 million a price out of the reach of most museums. There were hopes that a wealthy buyer would donate the skeletons to a public institution.
But the skeletons did not make the reserve at the Bonhams auction; the highest offer was $5.5 million. Auction officials said they remained hopeful that they'd find a buyer, possibly among institutions that had previously expressed interest.
The discovery began with a dinosaur pelvis protruding through rock at the Montana ranch. Three more months of chiseling and digging revealed a remarkable discovery: two nearly complete, fossilized dinosaur skeletons of a carnivore and herbivore, their tails touching.
A pushed-in skull and teeth of one dinosaur embedded in the other suggested a deadly confrontation between them. Clayton Phipps, a fossil hunter who made the discovery, gave the fossils their name.