New York/Los Angeles  - A 150-million-year-old complete and mounted skeleton of a dinosaur failed to sell at a New York auction on Saturday.

There are only two of its kind in the world - the other Dryosaurus skeleton in existence is on display at the Carnegie Museum in Philadelphia, the IM Chait Gallery said in a statement before its Natural History Auction.

The 150-million-year-old, 2.7-metre long, 0.9-metre wide skeleton of the Jurassic Age dinosaur was discovered in Wyoming in 1993, and was expected to sell for between 440,000 to 500,000 dollars.

Although two US museums expressed interest in the dinosaur skeleton, they could not afford the minimum bid, broadcaster CNN reported.

The fossil was dug up by Western Paleontological Laboratories in Lehi, Utah, which was selling it for economic reasons. It took two years to reconstruct the skeleton. (dpa)