Auctioneers at Binoche et Giquello hope that it's a good year for vintage furnishings—and that someone out there has at least $1.2m Euros and a lot of space to stash a full-size Triceratops skeleton. The 66m-year-old fossil's skull alone is 2.62m (8' 7") long and 2m (6' 7") wide. With a total length of 8m (26'), it's the largest Triceratops ever dug up.
The dinosaur lived in Laramidia, an island continent which stretched from present day Alaska to Mexico, and perished in an ancient flood plain currently known as the Hell Creek formation in South Dakota, where he was discovered by geologist Walter W. Stein Bill in May 2014. The dinosaur was excavated a year later, and later restored in Italy, the company said in a statement. The creature's remains were preserved in mud, and the skeleton is more than 60% complete and with a 75% complete skull. However, Big John does bear the wounds of a difficult life, with a laceration in his collar from an altercation with a smaller triceratops, which the auctioneers said was due to territorial defense or courtship of a mate.
