ZURICH - The skeleton of a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex, a creature that roamed the Earth 67 million years ago, sold for 5.5 million Swiss francs ($6.13 million), less than expected, in Zurich on Tuesday.

Measuring 3.9 metres (12.8 feet) high and 11.6 metres (38.1 feet) long, TRX-293 TRINITY is a composite skeleton of 293 bones from three different T-Rexs found between 2008 and 2023 in the U.S. states of Montana and Wyoming.

An undisclosed buyer offered the winning bid of 4.8 million Swiss francs, less than the 5 million to 8 million Swiss francs estimate, but the total price was higher with the buyer's premium and fees at Koller Auctions.

It was the first time in Europe and the third time worldwide that an entire T-Rex skeleton of exceptional quality was offered at auction, Koller, Switzerland's largest auction house, said in a statement.

More than half of the skeleton's bones are original. The rest are replacements made from plaster and epoxy resin casts.

Two other T-Rex models discovered in North America, called Sue and Stan, were sold for $8.4 million and $31 million respectively in 1998 and 2020.

($1 = 0.8978 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Cécile Mantovani and Denis Balibouse; Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Richard Chang)