There is a major dinosaur fossil for sale on eBay, and paleontologists aren't happy about it

We're not talking a Barney stuffed animal or a life-size replica of Baby Sinclair: There is a real dinosaur up for sale on eBay, with the seller asking $2.95 million, plus $45.70 shipping and handling, for the fossil.

Estimated to be 68 million years old, the fossil is of an infant Tyrannosaurus rex, with a 15-foot-long body and 21-inch skull. In an understatement, the eBay listing describes this as a "RARE opportunity indeed to ever see a baby REX."

The skeleton was found by Alan Detrich in 2013, on private land near Jordan, Montana. In 2017, he let the University of Kansas Natural History Museum borrow it, and surprised everyone when he announced he wanted to auction the fossil off. Paleontologists had hoped that by examining the skeleton, they'd be able to finally figure out whether small Tyrannosaurs from North America are infants, or if they should actually be classified as Nanotyrannus, The Guardian reports. If the fossil goes to a private collector, the debate won't be settled anytime soon.

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While stopping short of wishing an asteroid would hit Detrich and the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology made it known they are very upset with both parties. In an open letter, the organization said the skeleton should have been studied before going on display, and that by exhibiting the fossil, it was brought to the attention of "hundreds or thousands of visitors, potentially enhancing its commercial value."