Hector at auction

The skeleton of a dinosaur Deinonychus nicknamed Hector was sold at auction at Christie's in the United States on Thursday for $12.4 million. According to Christie's website, the remains of Hector are better preserved than those of other dinosaurs of the species.

It is noted that this is the only Deinonychus skeleton that will be in private ownership.

The name Deinonychus was given to the dinosaur because of its large claws by palaeontologist John Ostrom in 1969.

Deinonychus are known to have lived in what is now North America some 115-108 million years ago. They were predators, and their ability to stand on two legs made them more agile when hunting. Deinonichs are now thought to be closer to the bird class than to reptiles.

Hector's skeleton was recovered from 2012-2014 in the US state of Montana. According to Christie's website, it is over three metres tall.

Christie's was founded in 19766 by James Christie and the current CEO is Guillaume Cerutti.

John Ostrom is an American paleontologist, born in 1928 in New York.

It is worth noting that John Ostrom was a professor at Yale University, which to this day houses the fossil collection originally started by Othniel Charles Marsh.