India, Oct. 28 -- A dinosaur skeleton has fetched $47.3 million at a New York auction, making it one of the most expensive fossils ever sold. The mounted skeleton of the Nanotyrannus, a smaller relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex, became the centre of a bidding war between six people on Tuesday.

The auction was conducted by Sotheby's in New York. Ultimately, the Nanotyrannus skeleton far surpassed the $9 million it was expected to fetch and instead sold for $47.3 million.

Nicknamed "Jodi" after the person who found the skeletal remains in 2019, the specimen is one of only three Nanotyrannus skeletons known to science. It is "distinguished by a beautifully preserved, virtually complete skull," Sotheby's said in a statement.

(Also read: To...