The giant prehistoric skeleton was knocked down for £115,000, the top lot of the sale. The male remains measured 7ft 11in (2.4m) high and 13ft (4m) long and date to the Ice Age. They were found in the Tomsk Region of Siberia, after flooding washed away tons of earth and sand close to the river Chulym. On investigation it was discovered that the bones belonged to a mammoth that died around 10,000 years ago in a natural disaster.
It was offered as part of the firm’s sixth Evolution Sale which took place in Billingshurst on November 20.
Also starring was a complete articulated skeleton of a Moa. The extinct species of bird existed before the 15th century in New Zealand and this specimen measured 3ft 9in (1.14m) high. It is the first example to be offered at auction in the UK since the 1930s and sold for a mid-estimate hammer price of £22,000.
Elsewhere in the sale, a 19th century collection of Baltic amber from 22m years ago containing insects was offered in a single lot. It was knocked down for £5800 against an upper estimate of £5000.
