The world’s largest triceratops ever discovered is coming to the Glazer Children’s Museum this Spring. His name is Big John. At 26 feet long and 10 feet high, he’s about the size of an RV. John holds the Guinness World Record for largest documented skeleton of a triceratops.
Moving to Tampa
Big John was purchased by the Pagidipati family. They bought him at a Paris auction in 2021 for nearly $8 million. Intending to bring the triceratops to Tampa for the public to enjoy. Owner Siddhartha Pagidipati has long been fascinated by dinosaurs roaming the Earth. And wants to share this gift with the Tampa Bay area.
“Our interest in purchasing Big John and other specimens is first and foremost to make them available to the public and for research,” added Siddhartha Pagidipati. “We want to do our part to help the Tampa Bay area become the best place in our country for families to live and raise their children.”
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And the Glazer Children’s Museum has big plans for Big John. The museum has unveiled renderings for the immersive dinosaur exhibit designed to take children and adults into the Late Cretaceous. With the titanic triceratops fossil as the focal point. The groundbreaking exhibit features tunnels with clear domes. Here, curious kids (and flexible grown-ups) can pop up and see Big John’s skeleton from underneath.
Rendering of the Big John exhibit. Courtesy The Glazer Children’s Museum. 
Rendering of the Big John exhibit. Courtesy The Glazer Children’s Museum. 
Rendering of the Big John exhibit. Courtesy The Glazer Children’s Museum. 
Rendering of the Big John exhibit. Courtesy The Glazer Children’s Museum. 
Rendering of the Big John exhibit. Courtesy The Glazer Children’s Museum. 
Rendering of the Big John exhibit. Courtesy The Glazer Children’s Museum.
Big John — The World’s Largest Triceratops
Big John was discovered in South Dakota’s Hell Creek geological formation. He would have roamed the planet during the Late Cretaceous. over 66 million years ago. Big John is 5-10% larger than any other known triceratops.
If his horns were under a basketball net, his tail would stretch out past the three-point line.
Big John’s massive skull, measuring 6.6 feet wide, is more than 75% complete. The large shield-shaped “frill” on the back of the skull bears the mark of a traumatic injury. Likely because of a fight with another triceratops. Signs of healing on the skull suggest that he did not immediately die from this injury. Although he may have died from infection months later.
The Pagidipati Family
The benefactors bring Big John to Tampa Bay is the Pagidipati Family. The family moved to Florida in the early 1990s. They have founded businesses focused on improving healthcare delivery and created thousands of jobs in our local community. Today, their family office, Ayon Capital, focuses on purpose-driven investing with an emphasis on improving healthcare and democratizing finance.
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