A rare woolly mammoth skeleton was sold for about US$300,000 (£189,000) to a private collector at an auction in the United Kingdom Wednesday.

The skeleton was part of Eastern European private collection for decades but was only "recently mounted for the sale," according to Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, West Sussex.

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The auction house said the skeleton, also known as "Monty," was one of the most complete examples of the Ice Age mammal, which died out about 10,000 years ago.

"Although mammoth are not as rare as some dinosaur skeletons, the chances to buy an almost complete skeleton don't come up very often. We had interest from private buyers as well as institutions from around the world and there was bidding going on between buyers in the sale room and on the phones," said Curator Errol Fullor.

The unidentified UK-based private buyer purchased the specimen through a telephone bid. The sale price was £150,000 but it amounted to £189,000, which includes the buyer's premium.

Monty, which was found in Eastern Europe and is between 30,000 and 50,000 years old, measures "11-foot-6 in height (3.5 meters), 18 feet (5.5 meters) long, and weighs up to 6 tons", BBC News reported.

The mammal is 90 percent complete with only a few small bones missing, reports confirm.

'What's exceptional about this one is it's more or less complete with two magnificent tusks. There are one or two toes missing,"

TagsSkeleton of Woolly Mammoth, woolly mammoth, animal skeleton, dinosaur skeleton, mammal skeleton, Woolly Mammoth auction, Ice age, ice age animal