The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is getting a prehistoric holiday gift. Philanthropists Eric and Wendy Schmidt have donated a nearly complete Pachycephalosaurus skull to the institution, and it will go on view from December 22–28. The pair purchased the dinosaur skull at Sotheby’s in July for $1.7 million, far above its high estimate of $1.2 million. The fossil will become part of the Washington, D.C., museum’s permanent exhibition in the coming years, according to a press announcement.

The skull, which is believed to date back 66 to 72 million years, was excavated on private land in the Hell Creek Formation of Perkins County, South Dakota, according to the museum. The region has intrigued paleontologists and conservationists for over a century, and digs are ongoing.

Matthew Carrano, the curator of Dinosauria at the National Museum of Natural History, with the museum’s new Pachycephalosaurus specimen. Photo: James D. Tiller.

Dome-headed Pachycephalosaurus fossils are relatively rare, as they account for less than 1 percent of Hell Creek Formation discoveries (compared to Triceratops fossils, which comprise 40 percent of the finds). It’s even rarer to find a complete skull, making the Schmidts’ fossil, featuring 32 cranial bones, particularly exceptional. Paleontologist Matthew Carrano, the NMNH’s curator of Dinosauria, suggested that the skull likely came from a dinosaur that was not fully grown, and the institution will scan and digitize it in order to learn how Pachycephalosaurus changed as they grew. 

“This skull is by far the most spectacular specimen of this type of dinosaur that we have at the museum,” Carrano noted in a statement. “We almost never get to see the animal’s face or the teeth or other parts of the head because they usually have broken away.”

Oblique frontal view of the recently acquired skull of the dome-headed dinosaur Pachycephalosaurus. Photo: James D. Tiller and Phillip R. Lee.

Wendy Schmidt added: “When we see an ancient fossil like this one, we are confronted with the story of our planet’s past and can consider how humans fit into Earth’s geologic history in a profoundly different way. Eric and I hope the digitization project and this rare Pachycephalosaurus skull will provide access to these fossils to anyone, anywhere in the world, and will offer insights into our brief role in our planet’s story of life.”

Eric Schmidt is the former chief executive of Google and former executive chairman of its parent company, Alphabet. His wife Wendy began her career in journalism before shifting her focus to philanthropy and investment in nonprofit organizations. In 2006, the couple started the Schmidt Family Foundation which, according to its website, focuses on ameliorating “challenges facing communities around the world, working for clean renewable energy, healthy food systems, healthy oceans and the protection of human rights.” The Schmidts subsequently founded Schmidt Ocean Institute and Schmidt Sciences, which support oceanographic research and scientific research at large.

Apex, the Stegosaurus, on view in the American Museum of Natural History’s Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. Photo: Alvaro Keding & Daniel Kim/© AMNH.

The pair’s donation follows another major dino gift by hedge fund founder and philanthropist Ken Griffin. Last year, he loaned a Stegosaurus skeleton called Apex to the American Museum of Natural History. Griffin purchased it at Sotheby’s earlier that year for $44 million, setting a record for the most expensive dinosaur fossil to ever sell at auction.