The 25 kg Martian rock, named NWA 16788, was uncovered in the Sahara Desert in Niger by a meteorite hunter in November 2023. The rock was ejected from Mars by a colossal asteroid impact and traveled 225 million kilometers to reach Earth, as reported by Sotheby’s.

The estimated sale price before the auction was $US2 million to $US4 million.

The auction for the juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton began with a starting offer of $6 million USD. Bids then rose by increments of $500,000 and later by $1 million, ultimately reaching a final sale price of $30.5 million USD, including fees and expenses. Initially, the dinosaur skeleton was expected to sell for between $4 million and $6 million USD.

Parts of the skeleton were found in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, a gold mine for dinosaur bones. It’s more than two metres tall and nearly three metres long.

Specialists assembled nearly 140 fossil bones with some sculpted materials to recreate the skeleton and mounted it so it’s ready to exhibit, Sotheby’s says.

The skeleton is believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, Sotheby’s says.

Ceratosaurus dinosaurs were bipeds with short arms that appear similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex, but smaller. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 7.6m long, while the Tyrannosaurus rex could be 12m long.

The skeleton was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting company.

Wednesday’s auction was part of Sotheby’s Geek Week 2025 and featured 122 items, including other meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals.