Tom Derbyshire 
 
 
 
 So hopefully that heads off any attempt to brand it Boney McBoneface after a public vote. 
 
 This single-lot sale on June 4 offers this unique, recently unearthed skeleton of an unknown theropod and is the first auction of such a specimen destined for scientific study. 
 
 It has been estimated at €1.2-1.8m. 
 
 The 9m-long skeleton still has 70% of the original bone conserved. It was discovered in the course of excavations carried out in 2013 at a site on the Morrison Formation, an Upper Jurassic geological sequence laid down 155-148 million years ago that covers much of the western US and that is one of the world’s richest sources of dinosaur fossils. 
 
 It was only in 2016, when the skeleton was being prepared by European specialists, that scientists noticed that it presented major anatomical differences from known allosaurs, opening a new line of palaeontological research all the more promising for the completeness of the skeleton. 
 
 For a start, it has more teeth and a more substantial pelvis with a broad suture between the pubic bones, while the scapulae (shoulder blades) are more elongated and there are also differences in the bones of the skull. 
 
 These differences were observed and reported by palaeontologists Pascal Godefroit, a Belgian specialist known for his work on dinosaurs, and Simone Maganuco, of the Museum of Natural History, Milan. 
 
 Original skull 
 
 The skeleton has been mounted on a stainless-steel structure capable of supporting the weight of the skull, rather than having to replace it with a lighter, resin replica as is the case in most museum displays. This structure, whose lattice construction is a nod to Gustave Eiffel, also allows for individual bones to be removed for scientific study. 
 
 Eric Mickeler, expert consultant for the sale, said: “The discovery of this specimen probably represents the high point of my career, so significant are its scientific implications.” 
 
 Mickeler is employed all over the world as a consultant for the valuation of fossils. According to Aguttes, 15 years ago he “revolutionised the auction market for natural history and cabinets of curiosities, bringing major fossils to auction at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Aguttes”, and he is also “an enthusiastic populariser of palaeontology among the general public”. 
 
 Mammoth purchase 
 
 Last December Aguttes sold a rare complete mammoth skeleton from Siberia dating from the late Pleistocene era for a hammer price of €430,000 (£380,530) in a sale held in Lyons. 
 
 It measured 17ft 5in (5.3m) long from the tail to the tip of its massive tusks. ||||| Skeleton of unknown theropod is 70% complete and expected to fetch more than €1.2m in Paris auction 
 
 Anyone with a spare million euros or two will have the opportunity to own a unique dinosaur skeleton next month, and even to name it, if scientists can show it is a new species. 
 
 Scientists say the skeleton of the species of theropod – or three-toed dinosaur – dates from the late Jurassic period about 155m years ago, give or take a million or so years. 
 
 How do you discover a dinosaur? Read more 
 
 It will go on sale at an auction to be held inside the Eiffel Tower in Paris and is expected to fetch more than €1.2m (£1.1m). Some proceeds from the sale will go to charities for endangered animals, including Sea Shepherd and Ann Van Dyk Cheetah Centre in South Africa. 
 
 The skeleton of the unknown predator, which is about 8.7 metres long and 2.6 metres high, and is 70% complete, was discovered in Wyoming by its current owners, an unnamed group of British palaeontologists, about five years ago. 
 
 Scientists at first thought it was an Allosaurus, but when the carnivore’s remains were more closely examined in 2016, specialists noticed it had major anatomic differences, including more teeth and different bones. 
 
 
 
 Dinosaur expert Prof Eric Mickeler, who is overseeing the sale for auctioneers Aguttes, said the skeleton was the highlight of his 20-year career. 
 
 “It’s not every day you come across a new species of carnivore and a skeleton that is so complete – in fact it’s very rare,” Mickeler told the Guardian. “This is the first time in almost 20 years I’ve seen anything like this. It’s fantastic, with an extraordinary skull, lots of teeth and the claws.” 
 
 He added that if such a discovery were confirmed to be new, the owner would have some chance of giving it its scientific name. This depends, however, on passing peer review and meeting a range of rather strict protocols. 
 
 “The palaeontologists who were on the digging site really thought it was an Allosaurus. The extraordinary thing was that in the process of getting it out [of the ground] the scientists noticed there were lots of characteristics, like the teeth and skull for example, that didn’t correspond with a classic Allosaurus.” 
 
 Allosaurus derives from the Greek words allos meaning strange or other, and sauros meaning lizard. The dinosaur was similar to Tyrannosaurus rex. 
 
 Mickeler said such discoveries were extremely rare. “This isn’t something you just stumble across: you have to go looking and digging for it.” 
 
 The dinosaur skeleton is mounted on a stainless steel structure allowing for the skull to remain, rather than be replaced with a lighter resin replica as most museum displays. This structure also allows individual bones to be removed for scientific study. 
 
 Mickeler said he hoped the skeleton’s new owner would put it on public display. 
 
 “Dinosaur skeletons used to be bought by museums or collectors but recently there’s interest from a whole range of people. Thankfully in all the sales I have handled there’s never been one where the skeleton has ended up in a private place. Buyers like to share their pleasure, and there’s the size to consider,” he said. 
 
 In recent sales, dinosaur bones have gone for more than £1m. The skeleton, which is on display in the southern French city of Lyon, will be transported and reassembled in the Gustave Eiffel salon on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower next month and be sold in a single-lot auction on 4 June after a two-day exhibition. 
 
 • This article was amended on 12 and 15 May 2018. An earlier version incorrectly spelled theropod as “therapod”. Some quotations about the naming of new species have been removed or clarified to spell out under what circumstances such naming is allowed. An sentence relating to the dinosaur skeleton has been removed; it stated: “So we can therefore confirm that this is totally new.” The headline, which spoke of a naming right, has been corrected.
– It was nearly 30 feet long and 9 feet tall when it died about 155 million years ago, and it could be yours for a cool million or two dollars. A Jurassic-era dinosaur skeleton discovered in Wyoming in 2013 is going to be auctioned off in Paris, at the Eiffel Tower, on June 4, per the Guardian. Researchers who dug up the skeleton initially thought it was a type of theropod known as an allosaurus, but it was found to have more teeth, a bigger pelvis, and differences in the bones of the skull, reports the Antiques Trade Gazette. Scientists are now content to classify it as an unknown species of theropod, which walked upright, on three-toed limbs, similar to a tyrannosaurus rex. "We can therefore confirm that this is totally new," reports fossil expert Eric Mickeler, who is handling the sale for the Paris auction house Aguttes. Aguttes recently sold a rare late Pleistocene-era mammoth skeleton from Siberia for about $515,000. But that was a shrimp in comparison, measuring 18 feet long, from tusk to tail. Whoever buys the skeleton will have naming privileges and can put it wherever they like, but Mickeler believes the buyer will want to make it available for public viewing. He’s never handled a dinosaur sale where the buyer tucked the skeleton away. "Buyers like to share their pleasure, and there’s the size to consider," he said.