Bidder nets a piece of a lost world
The skeleton was pieced together by a collector who had most of the bones. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
LONDON — Summers Place Auctions has sold a composite dodo skeleton to a private collector for $416,300, including buyer’s premium.
The unique specimen of a creature once found on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean was created by a dodo enthusiast who collected the bird’s bones for 40 years until he realized he had enough bones to create an almost complete skeleton.
Hunted into extinction, the dodo has come to epitomize the cruel impact that humans can have on an ecosystem.
The bird’s name recognition was enhanced by Lewis Carroll, who included a dodo in ‘‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.’’
Summers Place had put a guide price of up to $620,000 on the item auctioned Tuesday.
Associated Press
