40-million-year-old sabre-toothed tiger skeleton sells for US$84,350 at auction
- The skeleton, about 120cm (4 feet) long, was snapped up by a private collector in just one minute at an auction in Geneva
- The original bones are those of a Hoplophoneus, which are an extinct genus of the Nimravidae family
A nearly 40-million-year-old skeleton belonging to what is popularly called a sabre-toothed tiger has sold for US$84,350, a year after its discovery on an American ranch.
The skeleton, about 120cm (nearly 4 feet) long, was snapped up by a private collector in just one minute at an auction in Geneva on Tuesday.
The original bones are those of a Hoplophoneus – not technically cats, they are an extinct genus of the Nimravidae family and once stalked the plains of North America.
Such extinct predatory mammals are commonly known as sabre-toothed tigers.
Also on sale was a Tyrannosaurus Rex tooth which fetched just over US$6,000, while a 85cm (2.8-foot) long fin from a mosasaur – a marine reptile that in the Cretaceous period was at the top of the submarine food chain – was bought for almost US$8,000.
