A rare, almost complete skeleton of a dodo is set to be sold at auction.

The composite of the extinct bird was put together in the early 2000s and is 95% complete, missing only a part of the skull and one set of claws.

It is believed to be first composite skeleton pieced together since the early 20th century.

The item is expected to fetch a six-figure sum when it goes under the hammer at Summers Place Auctions, West Sussex, in November.

Image: The majority of the composite's bones were bought by the seller in the 1970s and 1980s

Rupert van der Werff, Summers Place Auctions director, told Sky News: "We got a telephone call out of the blue from somebody saying they had the skeleton of a dodo and we didn't really quite believe it.


"We thought all the remains that are out there were known.

"It turned out that he amassed it over quite a few decades and it is just extraordinary."

The dodo, which only lived in Mauritius, was first seen by Dutch sailors in 1598 but became extinct within 70 years.

They were about 1m tall and it has been suggested that they would have weighed between 10kg and 20kg.

Only one skeleton made from the bones of a single dodo still exists.

Image: Summers Place Auctions curator Errol Fuller says that the item is "amazingly rare"

It is on display in Port Louis, Mauritius.

Composite skeletons held in museums around the world mostly come from bones collected from a Mauritius swamp in 1865.

The 95% composite skeleton to be sold in West Sussex was pieced together over a number of decades.

Mr van der Werff said: "(The seller) has always been interested in dodos.

"He got some bones, found some other bones in auctions, got talking to collectors and came to realise that he was pretty close to having a full skeleton."

Image: The skeleton is said to be the first composite ever made available at auction

He added: "It's a very difficult thing to put a value on.

"It's such an iconic species, it's a really good example and probably one of the best four or five there is.

"We hope it makes an awful lot of money."