“I have a passion for
fossils,” says Nielsen,
whose first purchase
was a T. r e x tooth, soon
followed by an entire
T. r e x. Both the T. r e x
and the Othnielosau-
rus are currently on
loan to museums in
Europe. “I like to work
with museums,” says
Nielsen, a finance andAn Othnielosaurus—
a diminutive species
that scampered around
what’s now the United
States some 150 mil-
lion years ago—seems
ready to pounce from
its tabletop perch in
the London home of
collector Niels Nielsen
(climbing the stairs
with his youngest son).
real estate executive.
“It allows them to put
some spectacular fos-
sils on display that
they couldn’t acquire
on their own.”134 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC