The Dinosaur Museum News

The rare skeleton of the dinosaur Triceratops was sold today at Christies in Paris for 592,250 Euros to a private US collector.

The Dinosaur Museum in Dorchester made a desperate attempt to bring the dinosaur to the UK but was unable to raise sufficient funds.

The award winning Dinosaur Museum in Dorchester had received an offer from an anonymous backer to bid for the dinosaur skeleton of Triceratops auctioned by Christies in Paris on Wednesday. The funds however proved to be insufficient and the Museum hoped that it would be able to find an additional sponsor to enable it to make a successful bid.

Jackie Ridley, Director of the Museum said “Time was against us, and unfortunately in spite of all our efforts we were unable to raise sufficient funds in the time available”.

The Museum has always relied on the generosity of individual sponsors and donors many of whom wish to remain anonymous. However, the difficulties in raising sufficient funds in a limited time frame has highlighted the problems of adding to the Museum’s collections by funding offers from individual sponsors made in this way. As a consequence the Museum hopes to establish a general collection fund that can be used in the future for major acquisitions.

“Its unfortunate that this important dinosaur fossil skeleton has gone to a private collector,” said Tim Batty, curator of the Dinosaur Museum.
“Skeletons such as this should be in a Museum so that scientists can study them and the public can see them. It is also unfortunate that it has gone back to America, we need to have a specimen such as this in Europe. That was the essence of our efforts to obtain the Triceratops, to keep it in Europe and preferably housed in the Dinosaur Museum, Dorchester.”