Remains of 'Big John', largest known triceratops, sell for 6.65 mln euros

PARIS (Reuters) - The fossilised remains of  Big John , the largest triceratops dinosaur ever discovered by paleontologists, sold for 6.65 million euros ($7.74 million) at a Paris auction on Thursday.

The hammer price at the Drouot auction house, before commission and other costs, was 5.5 million euros.

Big John roamed the lands of modern-day South Dakota more than 66 million years ago.

Drouot had estimated the skeleton would fetch between 1.2-1.5 million euros.

The first piece of bone from the supersized skeleton - the skull alone is 2.62 meters long and two meters wide - was found in 2014.

By 2015, paleontologists had unearthed 60% of the skeleton, a rare feat, made of over 200 pieces which were painstakingly put together in Italy, to prepare for the Paris auction. ($1 = 0.8589 euros) (Reporting by Michaela Cabrera and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Mike Collett-White)