Written by Oscar Holland, CNN 
 
 The near-complete skeleton of a 150-million-year-old dinosaur has gone under the hammer for more than $2.36 million (€2 million) in Paris. The auction was held on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. 
 
 Discovered in Wyoming, US, and dug up between 2013 and 2015, the fossil measures 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) tall and is almost 9 meters (30 feet) long. Scientists are yet to confirm the exact species of the dinosaur, which has been identified only as a carnivorous theropod. 
 
 Specialists assemble the 9 meter long, 2.5 meter high dinosaur skeleton at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Credit: Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 According to the auction house Aguttes, two paleontologists closely examined the fossil ahead of yesterday's sale. They say that it most closely resembles an Allosaurus, a dinosaur that roamed the Earth between 155 and 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period. 
 
 But a number of anatomical differences, including the structure of the fossil's pelvis, skull and teeth, mean that it could yet be classified as a completely new genus of dinosaur. The identities of the buyer and private seller also remain unconfirmed. 
 
 The fossil is in reportedly good condition, with around 70% of the skeleton remaining intact. Aguttes said that part of the sale proceeds will be given to two wildlife charities. 
 
 Questions remain 
 
 With unanswered questions around the dinosaur's identity, a number of scientists have spoken out against the auction. Last month, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, which represents over 2,000 professionals and students, called for the sale to be canceled. 
 
 The skeleton was exhibited by Aguttes auction house on the first floor of the Eiffel tower. Credit: Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 In an open letter to Aguttes, the organization requested that the specimen be "held in public trust," thereby allowing experts to "reexamine, re-measure and reinterpret" the fossil. The letter also challenged claims that the new owner might be able to name the unidentified species. 
 
 The auction brochure had suggested that the dinosaur "could be named after them or after one of their children, with the agreement of the scientist who formally describes the species." ||||| Tom Derbyshire 
 
 
 
 So hopefully that heads off any attempt to brand it Boney McBoneface after a public vote. 
 
 This single-lot sale on June 4 offers this unique, recently unearthed skeleton of an unknown theropod and is the first auction of such a specimen destined for scientific study. 
 
 It has been estimated at €1.2-1.8m. 
 
 The 9m-long skeleton still has 70% of the original bone conserved. It was discovered in the course of excavations carried out in 2013 at a site on the Morrison Formation, an Upper Jurassic geological sequence laid down 155-148 million years ago that covers much of the western US and that is one of the world’s richest sources of dinosaur fossils. 
 
 It was only in 2016, when the skeleton was being prepared by European specialists, that scientists noticed that it presented major anatomical differences from known allosaurs, opening a new line of palaeontological research all the more promising for the completeness of the skeleton. 
 
 For a start, it has more teeth and a more substantial pelvis with a broad suture between the pubic bones, while the scapulae (shoulder blades) are more elongated and there are also differences in the bones of the skull. 
 
 These differences were observed and reported by palaeontologists Pascal Godefroit, a Belgian specialist known for his work on dinosaurs, and Simone Maganuco, of the Museum of Natural History, Milan. 
 
 Original skull 
 
 The skeleton has been mounted on a stainless-steel structure capable of supporting the weight of the skull, rather than having to replace it with a lighter, resin replica as is the case in most museum displays. This structure, whose lattice construction is a nod to Gustave Eiffel, also allows for individual bones to be removed for scientific study. 
 
 Eric Mickeler, expert consultant for the sale, said: “The discovery of this specimen probably represents the high point of my career, so significant are its scientific implications.” 
 
 Mickeler is employed all over the world as a consultant for the valuation of fossils. According to Aguttes, 15 years ago he “revolutionised the auction market for natural history and cabinets of curiosities, bringing major fossils to auction at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Aguttes”, and he is also “an enthusiastic populariser of palaeontology among the general public”. 
 
 Mammoth purchase 
 
 Last December Aguttes sold a rare complete mammoth skeleton from Siberia dating from the late Pleistocene era for a hammer price of €430,000 (£380,530) in a sale held in Lyons. 
 
 It measured 17ft 5in (5.3m) long from the tail to the tip of its massive tusks.
– It was nearly 30 feet long and 9 feet tall when it died about 155 million years ago, and it could be yours for a cool million or two dollars. A Jurassic-era dinosaur skeleton discovered in Wyoming in 2013 is going to be auctioned off in Paris, at the Eiffel Tower, on June 4, per the Guardian. Researchers who dug up the skeleton initially thought it was a type of theropod known as an allosaurus, but it was found to have more teeth, a bigger pelvis, and differences in the bones of the skull, reports the Antiques Trade Gazette. Scientists are now content to classify it as an unknown species of theropod, which walked upright, on three-toed limbs, similar to a tyrannosaurus rex. "We can therefore confirm that this is totally new," reports fossil expert Eric Mickeler, who is handling the sale for the Paris auction house Aguttes. Aguttes recently sold a rare late Pleistocene-era mammoth skeleton from Siberia for about $515,000. But that was a shrimp in comparison, measuring 18 feet long, from tusk to tail. Whoever buys the skeleton will have naming privileges and can put it wherever they like, but Mickeler believes the buyer will want to make it available for public viewing. He’s never handled a dinosaur sale where the buyer tucked the skeleton away. "Buyers like to share their pleasure, and there’s the size to consider," he said.