Steven Spielberg's film Jurassic Park initiated a global fascination with dinosaurs, increasing demand in the fossil market. A recent auction at Sotheby's featured a Ceratosaurus skeleton that sold for over $30 million, despite an estimate of $4 to $6 million. The auction ignited applause but raised concerns among experts about private ownership hindering educational access. Paleontology professor Steve Brusatte voiced worries that such high prices deter museums from acquiring fossils, potentially leading to fossil collections becoming mere investments for wealthy individuals rather than resources for learning and research.
"The mounted young Ceratosaurus nasicornis - from the Kimmeridgian period some 150 million years ago - had a pre-auction estimate of $4million to $6million."
"Who has that kind of money to spend on a dinosaur? Certainly not any museums or educational institutions."
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