How Market Forces Came for the Dinosaurs
Fossils are fetching high prices at auction, as anonymous buyers bid millions for a piece of history and a dash of celebrity. But none of that money serves science.
Illustration: Mikyung Lee for Bloomberg
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Around 110 million years ago, a dinosaur went hunting. Stalking through ferns along a riverbank, he twitched his nose to the wind and caught scent of a plant-eater ahead. His head darted upward. His eyes locked on the target. The dinosaur drew his sickle claws upward, ready to make a lethal strike. But something wasn’t right. The ground was sinking. His legs were trapped in sand and mud. Limbs flailing, the hunter slid deeper and vanished under the ooze.
It was not the last time this dinosaur disappeared.