Outrage as baby T-Rex listed on eBay for £2.3m

A fossil hunter in the US has caused outrage after trying to sell the remains of a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex on eBay for £2.3m.

In his listing, Alan Detrich claimed it was "most likely the only baby T-Rex in the world" and said the discovery was made near the town of Jordan, Montana.

He said the dinosaur skeleton has a "15ft-long body and a 21-inch skull with serrated teeth" - and claimed it was a "rare opportunity indeed to ever see a baby Rex".

Anyone wanting to "buy it now" can at a cost of $2.95m or "make an offer".

Mr Detrich added: "Histology shows the specimen to be approximately four years old upon death. Reconstruction of the skull has been done by curator of vertebrate paleontology (from Natural History Museum in Florida). "

But the post has faced a backlash on social media with one tweet from Patricia Holroyd saying: "As an alum, I am disappointed to see the state's most important natural history museum acting as a shill for commercial fossil sales."

In a reply to Dr Holroyd, the museum said: "We do not sell or mediate the sale of specimens to private individuals.

"The specimen on exhibit-loan has been removed and is being returned to the owner. We have asked the owner to remove any association w/us from his sale listing."

The listing has had over 3,600 "watchers" and at one point had 91 views per hour.

But anyone thinking about make a bid is being warned that Mr Detrich "does not accept returns".