Allosaurus dinosaur skeleton up for auction in West Sussex

The skeleton of the 9ft-long (2m) juvenile Allosaurus was found at a quarry in Wyoming

A near-complete skeleton of a juvenile Allosaurus is expected to fetch up to £500,000 at auction.

The 9ft-long (2.7m) carnivore is the first predatory dinosaur skeleton to be sold in the UK, according to the auctioneers in West Sussex.

It was found at a quarry in Wyoming in the US, and retains an articulated skull with dagger-like teeth.

It will be sold at Summers Place Auctions, Billingshurst, on 25 November.

The Allosaurus lived during the late Jurassic period and fully grown could reach 28ft (8m) in length.

'Wow factor'

Rupert van der Werff, director at Summers Place, said: "The Allosaurus, together with the T-Rex, has become the quintessentially large, carnivorous dinosaur in western popular culture.

"Given the size of this Allosaurus it also adds the cute factor and may not just attract interest from museums but could also be the wow factor in a luxurious living room."

It was found by renowned palaeontologist Raimund Albersdoerfer in 2009.

Two years ago, the auction house sold the skeleton of a long-necked Diplodocus longus to the Natural History Museum of Denmark for £400,000.