A new study has found that the private trade in Tyrannosaurus rex fossils is hampering researchers’ understanding of the iconic Cretaceous predator. Thomas Carr, an associate professor of biology at Carthage College, found that there are now more scientifically valuable T. rex specimens in private or commercial ownership than in public museums and other public trusts. The private market is likely to be an underestimate, as commercial companies are discovering twice as many T. rex fossils as museums.
Private Fossil Trade Threatens T. rex Research Progress
Carr concentrated on “scientifically informative” specimens—heads, skeletons, and isolated bones—to understand exactly how the private market sets the limitations for researchers able to obtain T. rex fossils. The most valued dinosaur sold in 2024 was a Stegosaurus, which sold for $44.6 million ; Carr wants to bring attention to his work so that other researchers may investigate how the commercial market is influencing other extinct species, including the T. rex.
As per the study, it is claimed that the private trade in Tyrannosaurus rex fossils is compromising knowledge of the famous Cretaceous predator. Director of the Carthage Institute of Palaeontology in Wisconsin and associate professor of biology at Carthage College, Thomas Carr, discovered that private or commercial ownership of T. rex specimens currently numbers more than those in public museums and other public trusts. The loss of juvenile and subadult specimens is especially worrisome, as the early growth stages of T. rex are bedevilled by a poor fossil record, and the loss of them carries the heaviest scientific cost.
Study Reveals T. rex Fossils Vanishing into Private Hands
Carr’s research, “Tyrannosaurus rex: An endangered species,” was published in the Palaeontologia Electronica magazine. He focused on “scientifically informative” items, like isolated bones, skeletons, and heads, to learn more about how the private market affected the quantity of T. rex fossils that scientists could use. He discovered 71 specimens, including 14 juveniles, in private ownership and 61 specimens in public trusts altogether.
Carr hopes that his efforts will inspire other scholars to look into how the commercial market is affecting other ancient animals. This is because of the luxury fossil market that includes all kinds of dinosaurs, private sales of dinosaurs other than the Tyrannosaurus Rex, like he has done with the T. rex, and the most costly auction ever for a stegosaurus, which brought $44.6 million in 2024.
