It was trapped under the Siberian permafrost for more than 12,000 years, and discovered by fossil hunters who at first mistook it as a mammoth tusk. But on Sunday, the 4 1/2-foot-long fossilised walrus penis — believed to be the world's largest specimen — was the most talked-about piece of natural history up for auction at IM Chait here.

The prehistoric phallus sat on a metal display stand, curving to a narrow point. The bony specimen, known as a baculum, is so well preseved it still exhibits a intact layer of its weathered, Pleistocene Period skin. The question of the day: who shelled out thousands for the prehistoric phallus? Believe it or not, it was Ripley’s, the chain of oddity museums, whose owners made the third and final bid of $8,000 over the phone from Orlando.

Although the piece will cost the company $9,600 when the auctioneer’s commission is added on, it was still a bargain. “I was prepared to spend at least twice, probably three times that amount,” said Edward Meyer, vice president of exhibits and archives for Ripley’s Believe it Or Not. Why, some might ask? “This one is considerably bigger than anything we've seen before. When it comes to fossils, size matters,” Meyer said, confirming the new addition to the Ripley collection was destined for a warehouse in Orlando for a detailed examination, then to one of its 30 museums. Ripley’s already has 20 walrus penises in its collection, and none of them measures more than two feet long.