At first glance, the skeleton standing inside Sotheby’s Manhattan headquarters looks like a smaller version of a Tyrannosaurus rex. Its longer arms, lighter build and different teeth, however, tell a different story.
Nicknamed “Jodi,” the nearly 67 million-year-old fossil belongs to Nanotyrannus, a recently confirmed relative of the T. rex and one of only three known skeletons of its kind.
Sotheby’s placed Jodi on display in the lobby of its Manhattan headquarters on Oct. 13 ahead of an Oct. 27 auction, where the fossil is expected to sell for between $6 million and $9 million. Standing about 6.5 feet tall and stretching nearly 20 feet long, the skeleton is almost 70% complete and includes a nearly complete skull with roughly 50 teeth.
For decades, scientists debated whether Nanotyrannus was its own dinosaur or simply a juvenile T. rex. Research published in October 2025 helped settle that debate after scientists examined growth rings preserved in the bones and found that the animals were fully grown adults rather than young tyrannosaurs.
The findings also changed how researchers understood the Cretaceous Period, the final period of the dinosaur age, when T. rex had long been considered the dominant apex predator. Cassandra Hatton, head of science and natural history at Sotheby’s, said the discovery showed that another large predator lived alongside it. “It’s like a lion and a cheetah,” Hatton said. “They hunted different prey. They were around at the same time. It’s possible T. rex ate these.”
Researchers have identified more than 150 differences between Nanotyrannus and T. rex, including major differences in their size, arms and teeth.
An adult Nanotyrannus reached about 18 feet long, roughly half the length of an adult T. rex, and had longer arms, larger hand claws and more slender teeth.
Those features suggest it was a smaller and more nimble predator that may have gone after faster prey. “Those teeth would slash the meat off of the animal it was hunting. It went after faster prey,” Hatton said. “You look at a T. rex, it’s big, lumbering. It went after slower prey, and it would eat the whole thing.”
Jodi was discovered in 2019 by Montana rancher Jodi Pierson, whose first name later became the fossil’s nickname. Its excavation was featured in the Discovery Channel series “Dino Hunters,” and the skeleton was found about 8 miles from where the Dueling Dinosaurs fossil was uncovered in 2006. That 67-million-year-old specimen contained a Nanotyrannus and a Triceratops side by side, making it one of the best-preserved dinosaur discoveries of its kind.
Despite the name, scientists are still studying whether the two dinosaurs were actually fighting when they died or simply ended up buried together.
The fossil was held at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, while Jodi was privately auctioned.
Jodi’s auction had raised questions about whether rare fossils should be sold into private collections or remain in public institutions.
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology has said scientifically important specimens should be kept in museums or other public institutions where researchers can study them and the public can see them.
Hatton said private fossil hunters also play an important role because museums and universities do not have enough resources to conduct every excavation.
“We absolutely need private diggers who invest their own money to go do this,” she said.
On the other hand, Stuart Sumida, president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, said private ownership can limit future scientific and public access.
“Once in private hands it can never be studied, and generations of children and adults alike will never see it again,” Sumida explained. Jodi sold for over $47 million at Sotheby’s on Oct. 27 to a mysterious buyer who chose to remain anonymous following the 12-minute live auction. While it is unknown where one of the few known Nanotyrannus skeletons will go next, questions regarding how rare fossils should be preserved and studied remain unresolved. The fossil has also added to scientists’ understanding of a predator that lived alongside T. rex millions of years ago.