'Sabre-toothed Tiger' Skeleton Up For Auction
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published December 01, 2020 | 11:30 PM
Geneva, Dec 1 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Dec, 2020 ) :A nearly 40-million-year-old skeleton belonging to what is popularly known as a sabre-toothed tiger is going under the hammer next week in Geneva a year after its discovery on a US ranch.
The skeleton, some 120 centimetres (nearly four feet) long, is expected to fetch between 60,000 and 80,000 Swiss francs ($66,560 to $88,750; 55,300 to 73,750 Euros) at auction on December 8 in the Swiss city.
"This fossil is exceptional, above all for its conservation: it's 37 million years old, and it's 90 percent complete," Bernard Piguet, director of the Piguet auction house, told AFP on Tuesday.
"The few missing bones were remade with a 3D printer," he added, with the skeleton reconstructed around a black metal frame.
Piguet said he was fascinated by the merger of "the extremely old with modern technologies".
The original bones are those of a Hoplophoneus. Not strictly a true member of the cat family, they are an extinct genus of the Nimravidae family and stalked around North America.
"It was found in South Dakota during the last excavation season, towards the end of summer 2019," Swiss collector Yann Cuenin, who owns the dozens of paleontology lots on auction, told AFP.
"As in most finds, erosion had unearthed part of the skeleton. While walking around his property, the ranch owner saw bones sticking out of the ground." While the skeleton is the star of the show, there are plenty of other treasures from the past up for grabs, including ammolite, an opal-like organic gemstone, in shades of red and orange.
Measuring 40 cm long by 36 cm wide, the fossil from the Cretaceous period is 75 million years old and hails from the Canadian Rocky Mountains. It is estimated to fetch between 20,000 and 30,000 Swiss francs.
Jurassic Park enthusiasts can also buy a Tyrannosaurus Rex tooth (2,200 to 2,800 francs), or, for 5,000 to 7,000 francs, an impressive 85-cm long fin from a mosasaur -- a marine reptile that in the Cretaceous period was at the top of the submarine food chain.
Recent Stories
Food minster for ensuring transparent distribution of Bardana
Russia says has evidence Moscow attackers were linked to Kyiv
PM chairs review meeting on stoppage of electricity theft
IPM survey proves biocontrol technology profitable for cotton farmers
Pandemic accord talks heading for extra time
Senate elections in KP hang on reserve seat oath-taking, states ECP
UK's biggest water supplier plunges into deeper financial crisis
DG SEPA for installation of waste water treatment facilities
Man gets life imprisonment for killing wife
French parliament condemns 1961 Paris massacre of Algerians
First Inter Schools Naat Competition held in Larkana
S.Africa electoral body bars ex-president Zuma from May election
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Shaheed Jalil Andrabi remembered on his martyrdom anniversary
1 day ago -
Architectural grandeur of Mohabat Khan Mosque attracts visitors, archeology lovers
1 day ago -
Besant Hall cultural centre to hold programme in memory Pir Hassam din Rashdi
3 days ago -
USA beats Mexico 2-0 for CONCACAF Nations League title
4 days ago -
World urged to intervene for peace in Kashmir
4 days ago -
Undeterred resolve – only way to end economic woes
4 days ago
-
Organic Food: A booming trend in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
5 days ago -
From Soil to Harvest: Use of modern technology vital for agricultural renaissance
5 days ago -
Spring season offers glimpse into GB's natural beauty, cultural heritage
5 days ago -
Nation to mark decades’ long journey of resilience through annals of history
6 days ago -
23rd March: A historic day reminds Muslims’ heroic struggle for Pakistan
7 days ago -
Measures urged to recharge depleting water table: Experts
7 days ago