Anyone with a spare million euros or two will have the opportunity to own a unique dinosaur skeleton next month, and even to name it, if scientists can show it is a new species.

Scientists say the skeleton of the species of theropod – or three-toed dinosaur – dates from the late Jurassic period about 155m years ago, give or take a million or so years.

It will go on sale at an auction to be held inside the Eiffel Tower in Paris and is expected to fetch more than €1.2m (£1.1m). Some proceeds from the sale will go to charities for endangered animals, including Sea Shepherd and Ann Van Dyk Cheetah Centre in South Africa.

The skeleton of the unknown predator, which is about 8.7 metres long and 2.6 metres high, and is 70% complete, was discovered in Wyoming by its current owners, an unnamed group of British palaeontologists, about five years ago.

Scientists at first thought it was an Allosaurus, but when the carnivore’s remains were more closely examined in 2016, specialists noticed it had major anatomic differences, including more teeth and different bones.



Dinosaur expert Prof Eric Mickeler, who is overseeing the sale for auctioneers Aguttes, said the skeleton was the highlight of his 20-year career.

“It’s not every day you come across a new species of carnivore and a skeleton that is so complete – in fact it’s very rare,” Mickeler told the Guardian. “This is the first time in almost 20 years I’ve seen anything like this. It’s fantastic, with an extraordinary skull, lots of teeth and the claws.”

He added that if such a discovery were confirmed to be new, the owner would have some chance of giving it its scientific name. This depends, however, on passing peer review and meeting a range of rather strict protocols.

“The palaeontologists who were on the digging site really thought it was an Allosaurus. The extraordinary thing was that in the process of getting it out [of the ground] the scientists noticed there were lots of characteristics, like the teeth and skull for example, that didn’t correspond with a classic Allosaurus.”

Allosaurus derives from the Greek words allos meaning strange or other, and sauros meaning lizard. The dinosaur was similar to Tyrannosaurus rex.

Mickeler said such discoveries were extremely rare. “This isn’t something you just stumble across: you have to go looking and digging for it.”

The dinosaur skeleton is mounted on a stainless steel structure allowing for the skull to remain, rather than be replaced with a lighter resin replica as most museum displays. This structure also allows individual bones to be removed for scientific study.

Mickeler said he hoped the skeleton’s new owner would put it on public display.

“Dinosaur skeletons used to be bought by museums or collectors but recently there’s interest from a whole range of people. Thankfully in all the sales I have handled there’s never been one where the skeleton has ended up in a private place. Buyers like to share their pleasure, and there’s the size to consider,” he said.

In recent sales, dinosaur bones have gone for more than £1m. The skeleton, which is on display in the southern French city of Lyon, will be transported and reassembled in the Gustave Eiffel salon on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower next month and be sold in a single-lot auction on 4 June after a two-day exhibition.

• This article was amended on 12 and 15 May 2018. An earlier version incorrectly spelled theropod as “therapod”. Some quotations about the naming of new species have been removed or clarified to spell out under what circumstances such naming is allowed. An sentence relating to the dinosaur skeleton has been removed; it stated: “So we can therefore confirm that this is totally new.” The headline, which spoke of a naming right, has been corrected.