New Delhi, Oct. 29 -- A rare dinosaur skeleton named Jodi has sold for $47.3 million at Sotheby's auction in New York, making it the second-most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold. The specimen belongs to Nanotyrannus, a small tyrannosaur once thought to be a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex).

According to a CNN report, the skeleton attracted six bidders during a 12-minute contest, pushing its final price well beyond the expected range. Sotheby's had estimated that it could sell for between $6 million and $9 million.

The sale came after researchers identified Nanotyrannus as a distinct dinosaur genus, rather than a younger form of T. rex. The classification had been debated among palaeontologists for decades.

Jodi is a rare, relativ...