State paleontologist John Hoganson says he hopes whoever bought a 65-million-year-old triceratops skeleton at an auction house in Paris will consider putting the skeleton in its home state.

The remains of the 25-foot-long, three-horned dinosaur were found in Bowman County in southwestern North Dakota. The skeleton was sold at an auction house in Paris earlier this month.

"We haven't heard anything. I don't know who bought it or where it's at now," Hoganson said Thursday.

The skeleton is reported to have been purchased by an American collector for nearly $1 million. Hoganson said it was 70 percent complete.

"These things aren't common. We don't have that complete a triceratops in the Heritage Center (in Bismarck)," he said.

Hoganson learned about the auction only about a week before it was held. He said the skeleton was found on private land and was sold for an undisclosed amount to a German collector, who then put it up for sale.

"We're disappointed in those things leaving (the state), but equally important is the fact the scientific information is leaving, too," Hoganson said.

-Associated Press