Lyme Regis plesiosaur sold at auction

The almost complete three-dimensional skeleton of a plesiosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Lyme Regis, the famous fossil-hunting spot in Dorset, England, sold at auction last December (2005) at a closing bid of £30000 (some web-sites report the figure as over £35000). The specimen was collected about 20 years ago and is estimated to be 3.5m long. It has been identified as ‘Dolichodeirus’, a species (belonging to the genus Plesiosaurus) that is relatively common at this locality. Looking at the proportions I’m not convinced by the identification, but the available pictures are too small and grainy to tell for sure. As the buyer remains anonymous it’s hardly worth worrying about – the specimen is probably now lost to science anyway.

more here –

Pre-sale story (BBC) – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/4520378.stm

Lot information (with photos) – http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6582607206

and – http://www.bloomsbury-book-auct.com/news.php

Sold stories – http://www.paranormalmagazine.com/2005/12/fossils-of-nessie-sold-for-35000.html