NEW YORK — A dinosaur skull found buried in South Dakota is expected to sell for $15 million or more when it goes up for auction in New York.

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The skull fossil, nicknamed Maximus, is a 6 1/2-foot, the 200-pound skull of a Tyrannosaurus rex and was excavated from Harding County, South Dakota, The Associated Press reported.

Sotheby’s head of science and popular culture, Cassandra Hatton, told the AP that the area where the skull was found is “the world capital for T. rexes,” because other famous skeletons, such as Sue and Stan, were found in the same area.

The fossil is estimated to be 76 million years old and still has most of the external skull and teeth, the AP reported.

Hatton told the AP that the skull has two large puncture holes, which may be evidence of a fight with another T. rex.

“We don’t know that this is what caused the death of this animal, but we can tell that it did have a major battle during its lifetime.”

The person selling the fossil is remaining anonymous, Sotheby’s told the AP.

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T. rex skull expected to sell for $15 million at auction The fossil is estimated to be 76 million years old and still has most of the external skull and teeth, as well as two puncture holes that may have been the result of a fight. (Courtesy of Sotheby's)

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