Dodos have been dead for more than 350 years, but the market for their skeletons is alive and well — in fact, it’s positively thriving.
The first dodo skeleton to come up for sale since the early 20th century will hit the block thanks to UK-based Summers Place Auctions at its “Evolution” sale on November 22nd.
A composition of bones and other fossils its owner has been amassing since the 1970s, the 95%-complete skeleton is said to be one of the most accurate Dodo composites in the world — it’s only missing a tiny part of its skull and one set of claws.
“The rarity and completeness of this specimen cannot be over emphasised, and it provides a unique opportunity for an individual or an institution to own a specimen of this great icon of extinction,” says Summers Place rep Rupert van der Werff.
In addition to being extremely rare, the icon is also extremely expensive: the skeleton is expected to sell for upwards of $625,000 based on what similar pieces have gone for in the past.
If your disposable income has gone the way of the dodo, Summer is also selling plenty of other more affordable — though equally as bizarre — pieces of natural esoterica at the auction.
Lovely bones, all around.
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